For the last few years, there have been software tools that are able to extract European (PAL) teletext, made possible, in part, thanks to the agreed-upon use of a single standard called World System Teletext (WST) among European broadcasters such as the BBC and I-TV. In the U.S., while some services used the WST standard (with some modifications), such as Keyfax/Electra, there was a competing standard, the North American Broadcast Teletext Standard (NABTSN A B T S), used by services such as CBS's ExtraVision and NBC's NBC Teletext.

Unlike in the U.S., teletext was popular in Europe and lasted far longer; for example, the BBC's service, Ceefax (launched in 1974) lasted 38 years, shutting down on October 23, 2012, coinciding with the end of analog broadcasting in Europe.

With the launch of software tools for decoding European teletext, such as VHS-Teletext, there was hope that, at some point, software would be developed to decode long-forgotten U.S. teletext services. However, as the years began to pass, there were still no such software tools available. Besides the fact that Europe and North America used different analog broadcast standards (PAL and NTSC), which complicated things, not much was known about the specific standards used by WST and NABTS in the U.S. Still, hope was not lost among those who had a interest in this field.

All that brings me to August 2026. Thanks to the effort put in by a developer of the LD-Decode project, I am proud to say that U.S. teletext data can now officially be decoded. However, it's important to note that this wasn't the work of just one person, rather a group of dedicated people who've invested their time over these last few years to researching the mechanics behind U.S. teletext standards.

The purpose of this site is act as a repository for these newly decoded services, providing access to decoded files provided by the people who have decoded them. Teletext in the U.S. was not widely known during its short-lived lifespan , it's about time that changes.

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