Despite continuing cynicism from some commentators as to the imminence of the emergence of a large scale videotex market, industry interest remains high. Attendance at the Videotex 82 conference in New York--for which registration was $750 per attendee--has been estimated in excess of 1,000, and the technology was well represented in papers at recent Special Libraries Association, American Library Association and World Future Society conferences.
Standards, particularly those for screen displays, continue to receive attention. At Videotex 82 proponents of the British Prestel format argued that the marketplace should set a de facto standard--a position which is understandable in light of the fact that 98% of the 750,000 videotex and teletext sets now in use in the world use the British standard adopted by Prestel. Most of the other participants agreed that a single standard might not be possible for a country as large and complex as the US, but argued that two or three standards be set by the FCC so that the industry could begin to focus on applications and marketing rather than worrying about whether the equipment now being developed would be usable.
Until standards are set, there will continue to be nothing but local area trials, said one participant. We know enough about small audiences now; we need to learn about the mass market. FCC representatives refused to speculate on whether, one or more standards might be forthcoming.
Videotex watchers of all persuasions have been offered a new focus by the publication of Teletex and Videotex in the United States: Market Potential, Technology and Public Policy Issues by McGraw-Hill [ISBN 0-07-000427-7]. The publication is the result of a $226,000 study by the Institute for the Future commissioned by the National Science Foundation. In addition to the more usual definitions of videotex and teletext, the study also defines videotex as a generic name to describe "the class of systems that provide electronic information to the home" and thus incorporates into its arena systems such as The Source and CompuServe. The study examines- the current state-of the technology and its implementation in the United States and elsewhere, forecasts developments in the technology and its application, and analyzes the policy issues which may emerge for widespread acceptance of the medium.
Teletext provides one of the more interesting exhibits at the World's Fair in Knoxville in the form of the Keyfax Teletext Magazine, a 70 page teletext display which uses the British videotex/teletext display standard.
The menu includes news headlines, weather, sports, NY Stock Exchange reports and figures, leisure guide, horoscopes, and a world's Fair calendar of events. The venture is the joint effort of Keycom (itself a joint venture of Centel Corp., Honeywell, and Field Enterprises), North American Philips, Athena Cablevision, WHIR in Knoxville, and Financial Interstate Services.
Starting this Fall, current plans call for an expanded Keyfax to be made available to 20 million cable households nationwide via transmissions systems operated by Satellite Syndicated Systems. Both NBC and CBS have also indicated that they plan to offer nationwide teletext service -in- 1983; [Contact: Pam Dorge, Keyfax, 312-399-2807.]
