Radio Times Extra is a means of extending

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

into the medium of digital programme guides provided by

Inview Technology Inview Technology (Inview Technology Ltd or simply Inview) is a UK-based digital TV software company. It specialises in advanced EPGs, interactive broadcast, IP services and solutions for Pay-TV and analogue switch off markets. Their OTT TV ...

. It offers full television listings and synopses forward 14 days, as well as editorialised selections include 'pick of the day'.

History

Radio Times Extra has been installed on certain

Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...

box models through an ' over-air download', but some makers installing the service on new boxes that can be bought in the shops. As of January 2011, Radio Times Extra has been installed on 3.8 million Freeview

set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

es in the United Kingdom from 21 different manufacturers spanning 37 receivers. The service was originally built by

Teletext Ltd Teletext Ltd was the provider of teletext and digital interactive services for ITV, Channel 4 and Five in the United Kingdom. Origins ''Teletext Ltd'' started providing teletext services for ITV and Channel 4 on 1 January 1993, replacing the ...

in collaboration with Inview Technology. In a deal between

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

and Inview Technology, Teletext Extra was relaunched as Radio Times Extra on 31 January 2011, with editorial content from the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

''.

Usage

Radio Times Extra provides users with an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) carrying 14 days of television listings including programme information. You can access the EPG from any Freeview channel by going to your digital

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

and pressing the 'TV Guide' button, when using a Radio Times Extra-compatible Freeview receiver. A small window on the EPG continues to display video from the channel you were on. If you press the 'Text' button on your digital remote while viewing the EPG, you are taken to a digital teletext service with information such as news, sport,

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

, travel, weather, entertainment and

holidays A holiday is a day set aside by Norm (social), custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate ...

. Teletext Extra had more content than Teletext Ltd's digital services on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

and carried high-resolution images with top stories.

Criticism

The software has been installed on some set-top boxes which did not originally include it, by over-the-air updates without the consent of the owners allow the software to be disabled. However, the software disrupts the proper functioning of some older set-top boxes even when disabled. From the set-top box owners viewpoint therefore Radio Times Extra has similar characteristics to unwanted

spam Spam may refer to: * Spam (food), a canned pork meat product * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ( ...

and

computer virus A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a compu ...

es.

References

External links

Radio Times Extra

Radio Times

Inview Technology
Digital television in the United Kingdom Freeview (UK) {{UK-company-stub

History

Usage

Criticism

See also

References

External links