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41-469: The Canadian Communications Research Centre (CRC), based in Ottawa , had been working on various graphics systems since the late 1960s, much of it led by Herb Bown. Through the 1970s they turned their attention to building out a system of "picture description instructions", which encoded graphics commands as a text stream. Graphics were encoded as a series of instructions (graphics primitives) each represented by

82-501: A plotter for instance. Other work produced a fully interactive version. In 1975, the CRC gave a contract to Norpak to develop an interactive graphics terminal that could decode the instructions and display them on a color display. During this period, a number of companies were developing the first teletext systems, notably the BBC 's Ceefax system. Ceefax encoded character data into the lines in

123-737: A back end database. The system offered news, weather and sports information along with shopping mall guides and coupons. Cableshare also developed and sold a leading NAPLPS page creation utility called the "Picture Painter." In the late 1980s, Tribune Media Services (TMS) and the Associated Press operated a cable television channel called AP News Plus that provided NAPLPS-based news screens to cable television subscribers in many U.S. cities. The news pages were created and edited by TMS staffers working on an Atex editing system in Orlando , Florida , and sent by satellite to NAPLPS decoder devices located at

164-423: A competitor to OpenGL . Communications Research Centre The Communications Research Centre Canada ( CRC ; French : Centre de recherches sur les communications Canada ) is a Canadian government scientific laboratory for research and development in wireless technologies, with a particular focus on the efficient use of radio frequency spectrum. Its mission is as follows: Officially established in 1969,

205-441: A four-year plan to fund public roll-outs of the technology in an effort to spur the development of a commercial Telidon system. AT&T Corporation was so impressed by Telidon that they decided to join the project. They added a number of useful extensions, notably the ability to define original graphics commands ( macro ) and character sets ( DRCS ). They also tabled algorithms for proportionally spaced text, which greatly improved

246-434: A single ASCII character. Graphic coordinates were encoded in multiple 6-bit strings of XY coordinate data, flagged to place them in the printable ASCII range so that they could be transmitted with conventional text transmission techniques. ASCII SI/SO characters were used to differentiate the text from graphic portions of a transmitted "page". These instructions were decoded by separate programs to produce graphics output, on

287-436: A slow modem that connected over the consumer's telephone line to host computers. The Sceptre was expensive whether purchased or rented. Despite huge investments by their parent companies, neither Viewtron nor Gateway lasted into the second half of the decade. Another system, Keyfax, was developed by Keycom Electronic Publishing, a joint venture of Honeywell , Centel (since acquired by Sprint) and Field Enterprises , then-owner of

328-723: A standards committee. Sir John Kennedy , as chairman of the Civil Engineers' Canadian Advisory Committee, led the investigation into the necessity of an independent Canadian standards organization. As a result, the Canadian Engineering Standards Association (CESA) was established in 1919. CESA was federally chartered to create standards. At the beginning, they attended to specific needs: aircraft parts, bridges, building construction, electrical work, and wire rope. The first standards issued by CESA were for steel railway bridges, in 1920. In 1927, CESA published

369-505: Is beneficial to companies because it shows products have been independently tested to meet certain standards. The CSA mark is a registered certification mark, and can only be applied by someone who is licensed or otherwise authorised to do so by the CSA. CSA developed the CAN/CSA Z299 series, now called N299, of quality assurance standards, which are still in use today. They are an alternative to

410-530: Is responsible for many other firsts that have impacted Canadian telecommunications: in wireless systems; radio fundamentals, e.g., Software Defined Radio ; communication networks; photonics and interactive multimedia. Recognition of the CRC's contributions include the 1993 designation of the Alouette - ISIS Program as one of the 10 most outstanding achievements in the first 100 years of engineering in Canada. In 2007,

451-535: The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. Keyfax had originally been a WST teletext service, broadcast overnights on Field's Chicago television station WFLD-32 and through the VBI of both WFLD and national superstation WTBS ; the decision was made to convert Keyfax into a subscription service, using a proprietary NAPLPS terminal device in a last-ditch effort to save the service. It did not work and Keyfax had ceased operations by

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492-621: The Canadian Electrical Code . Enforcing the code called for product testing, and in 1933, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario became the sole source for testing nationwide. In 1940, CESA assumed responsibility for testing and certifying electrical products intended for sale and installation in Canada. CESA was renamed the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) in 1944. The certification mark

533-654: The Canadian Standards Association ; CSA ) is a standards organization which develops standards in 57 areas. CSA publishes standards in print and electronic form, and provides training and advisory services. CSA is composed of representatives from industry, government, and consumer groups. CSA began as the Canadian Engineering Standards Association (CESA) in 1919, federally chartered to create standards. During World War I , lack of interoperability between technical resources led to

574-682: The HERMES satellite; another awarded in 2009 for its contribution to standardizing the ATSC Digital Television System; and a third presented in 2012 for its role in standardizing loudness metering for use in broadcast audio. CRC's research and development in telecommunications also earned it the 2007 Special Recognition Award from Canada's Telecommunication Hall of Fame . 45°20′47″N 75°53′03″W  /  45.3463°N 75.8841°W  / 45.3463; -75.8841 Canadian Standards Association The CSA Group (formerly

615-556: The ISO 9001 quality management standard, specific to companies supplying goods to nuclear power plants. Currently forty percent of all the standards issued by CSA are referenced in Canadian legislation. Laws in many jurisdictions in North America require that certain products be tested for standards compliance by a body officially recognized for that purpose. CSA Group is accredited to do so in

656-504: The NABTS teletext standard, for the encoding and display of teletext pages. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, affiliates of the regional sports network group SportsChannel ran a service called Sports Plus Network , which ran sports news and scores while SportsChannel was not otherwise on the air. The screens, which frequently featured team logos or likenesses of players in addition to text, were drawn entirely with NAPLPS graphics and resembled

697-471: The vertical blanking interval of normal television signals where they could not be seen on-screen, and then used a buffer and decoder in the user's television to convert these into "pages" of text on the display. The Independent Broadcasting Authority quickly introduced their own ORACLE system, and the two organizations subsequently agreed to use a single standard, the "Broadcast Teletext Specification". This later became World System Teletext . At about

738-489: The 1960s, CSA developed national occupational health and safety standards, creating standards for headgear and safety shoes. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the CSA began to expand its involvement in consumer standards, including bicycles, credit cards, and child resistant packaging for drugs. Tom Pashby became chairman of the CSA in 1975, serving for two decades to set standards for manufacturers of ice hockey helmets and lacrosse helmets. In 1984, CSA established QMI,

779-540: The 1980s, the Graphical Kernel System (GKS) library , based on a 1970s specification with a similar basic geometry and command structure to NAPLPS, was widely implemented on microcomputers, and became the basis of Digital Research 's GSX graphics system used in their GEM GUI . GKS was later extended into a 3D version, and additions to this resulted in PHIGS (Programmer's Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System),

820-574: The Alouette 1 Satellite Program was designated a National Historic Event. In 1995, the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute awarded CRC's SARSAT team, headed by Dr. A. Winter, Mr. H. Werstiuk and Dr. B. Blevis, the first ever Alouette Award for contributions in advancing search and rescue technology. The CRC has won three Emmy Awards : one in 1987 for its role in developing the Ku-band technology of

861-420: The CRC has made significant contributions to the information and communications technology sector in Canada and abroad. The CRC contributed to many "firsts" in Canadian communications, a number of which involved satellite communications. In 1962 the then-DRTE launched Alouette 1, Canada's first satellite. This led to the development of Canada's own communications satellite program. In 1976 the HERMES satellite

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902-680: The CRC's roots can be traced back to the late 1940s and the Canadian Defence Research Board (DRB). The Defence Research Telecommunications Establishment (DRTE) existed from 1951 to 1969 within the DRB. In 1969, the federal government established a Department of Communications. The DRTE in its entirety was transferred to the new department's research branch, and renamed the Communications Research Centre. The CRC came under Industry Canada's wing in 1994. Throughout its history,

943-455: The European standards, the CRC system was faster, bi-directional, and offered real graphics as opposed to simple character graphics . The downside of the system was that it required much more advanced decoders, typically featuring Zilog Z80 or Motorola 6809 processors with RGB and/or RF output. The Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (then Department of Communications) launched

984-489: The Quality Management Institute for registration of ISO9000 and other standards. In 1999, CSA International was established to provide international product testing and certification services while CSA shifted its primary focus to standards development and training. In 2001, these three divisions were joined under the name CSA Group . In 2004, OnSpeX was launched as the fourth division of CSA Group. In 2008, QMI

1025-632: The Web. In 1983, CRC set up the first permanent Canadian governmental connection to the Internet, via an ARPANET connection (the first full international connection to the USENET portion of the then-Internet being the set up in 1981 by Henry Spencer at the University of Toronto). In the 1980s, the CRC funded and led the development of SHARP , which in 1987 became the world's first microwave-powered aircraft to fly. The CRC

1066-444: The downstream videotex channel to increase to 600 bit/s, about twice that used in the European systems. In videotext mode, Bell 202 modems were typical, offering a 1,200 bit/s download rate. A set top box attached to the TV decoded these signals back into text and graphics pages, which the user could select among. The system was publicly launched as Telidon on August 15, 1978. Compared to

1107-475: The early 1990s as the graphical basis for the Prodigy online service. Some bulletin boards were able to serve NAPLPS content to callers on their 1200 and 2400 bit/s modems . But the technology's chief advantage in an era of slow telecommunication - its ability to encode complex graphics in terse object commands - became moot as data communication speeds increased and raster graphics compression became popular. In

1148-466: The end of 1986. Other early-1980s NAPLPS technology was deployed in Canada, both as a way for rural Canadians to get news and weather information and as the platform for touchscreen information kiosks. In Vancouver these were featured at Expo 86 . The kiosks became ubiquitous in Toronto under the name Teleguide, and were deployed in many shopping centres and at major tourist attractions. The latter city

1189-526: The first steps for its ultimately very successful Minitel system, using a rival display standard called Antiope . By 1977, the Norpak system was running, and from this work the CRC decided to create their own teletext/videotext system. Unlike the systems being rolled out in Europe, the CRC decided from the start that the system should be able to run on any combination of communications links. For instance, it could use

1230-714: The formation of a standards committee. CSA is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada , a crown corporation which promotes voluntary standardization in Canada. This accreditation verifies that CSA is competent to carry out standards development and certification functions, and is based on internationally recognised criteria and procedures. The CSA registered mark shows that a product has been independently tested and certified to meet recognized standards for safety or performance. During World War I , lack of interoperability between technical resources led to frustration, injury, and death. Britain requested that Canada form

1271-618: The loading of Prodigy pages over a modem, though slightly faster. Various two-way systems using NAPLPS appeared in North America in the early 1980s. The biggest North American examples were Knight Ridder 's Viewtron (based in Miami ) and the Los Angeles Times ' Gateway service (based in Orange County ). Both used the Sceptre NAPLPS terminal from AT&T. The Sceptre contained

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1312-596: The local cable television companies. Among the firms providing technology to TMS and the Associated Press for the AP News Plus channel was Minneapolis -based Electronic Publishers Inc. (1985–1988). In 1981, two amateur radio operators (VE3FTT and VE3GQW) received special permission from the Canadian Department of Communications to carry out on-air experiments using NAPLPS syntax which was technically not legal at

1353-466: The quality of the displayed pages. A joint CSA / ANSI working group (X3L2.1) revised the specifications, which were submitted for standardization. In 1983, they became CSA T500 and ANSI X3.110, or NAPLPS. The data encoding system was also standardized as the NABTS (North American Broadcast Teletext Specification) protocol. Business models for Telidon services were poorly developed. Unlike the UK, where teletext

1394-502: The same time, other organizations were developing videotex systems, similar to teletext except they used modems to transmit their data instead of television signals. This was potentially slower and used up a telephone line, but had the major advantage of allowing the user to transmit data back to the sender. The UK's General Post Office developed a system using the Ceefax/ORACLE standard, launching it as Prestel , while France prepared

1435-632: The time because it was a "coded transmission". Following their report on the success of the tests, the DOC then permitted general use of NAPLPS on amateur radioteletype. This was reported in the ARRL Radio Handbook for several years following. Between 1988 and 1994, Bell Canada offered a dial-up Telidon service called Alex , similar in spirit to the French Minitel , with the telephone directory its principal information offering. NAPLPS lived on into

1476-460: The vertical blanking interval to send data to the user, and a modem to return selections to the servers. It could be used in a one-way or two-way system. In teletext mode, character codes were sent to users' televisions by encoding them as dot patterns in the vertical blanking interval of the video signal. Various technical "tweaks" and details of the NTSC signals used by North American televisions allowed

1517-729: Was introduced in 1946. Known in the French-language as Association canadienne de normalisation , CSA used the French-language acronym of ACNOR . The initialism "CSA" is now used in both official languages. In the 1950s, CSA established international alliances in Britain, Japan, and the Netherlands, to expand its scope in testing and certification. Testing labs were expanded from their first in Toronto, to labs in Montreal, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. In

1558-410: Was launched. It was the first high-powered satellite and the first to operate at the higher frequency Ku-band. In 1978, CRC offered the world's first direct-to-home satellite television broadcast via Hermes - a Stanley Cup hockey game. Later that year, the CRC gave a public demonstration of Telidon , the Canadian videotex/teletext system that contributed to the development of international standards for

1599-551: Was sold to SAI-Global for $ 40 million. In 2009, CSA purchased SIRA . CSA exists to develop standards. Among the fifty-seven different areas of specialization are business management and safety and performance standards, including those for electrical and electronic equipment, industrial equipment, boilers and pressure vessels, compressed gas handling appliances, environmental protection, and construction materials. Most standards are voluntary, meaning there are no laws requiring their application. Despite that, adherence to standards

1640-468: Was supported by one of only two large companies whose whole revenue model was based on a read-only medium (television), in North America Telidon was being offered by companies who worked on a subscriber basis. Telidon-based teletext was tested in a few North American trials in the early 1980s — CBC IRIS, TVOntario , MTS -sponsored Project IDA , to name a few. NAPLPS was also part of

1681-644: Was the North American nexus of NAPLPS and the home of Norpak , the most successful of NAPLPS-oriented developers. Norpak created and sold hardware and software for NAPLPS development and display. TVOntario also developed NAPLPS content creation software. London, Ontario - based Cableshare used NAPLPS as the basis of touch-screen information kiosks for shopping malls, the flagship of which was deployed at Toronto's Eaton Centre . The system relied on an 8085-based microcomputer which drove several NAPLPS terminals fitted with touch screens, all communicating via Datapac to

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