TELEVISION All the news that's fit to print — on television By DAVID CRUBER NEWS miVBION WRITER When you watch a program on Channel 31, you may be missing something. Riding on the signal that carries the picture to your screen is a sec ond signal that transmits printed information. You can’t see this information unless you convert It into an image on your screen with a special de coder. That done, however, you can receive what has been dubbed a video newspaper - news, sports, weather, stocks and advertise ments, replete with color graphics. The technology is known as tele text. A decade old, it has yet to catch on with the public, largely because decoders have been diffi cult to get and expensive at rough ly $350 apiece. Now Zenith has developed a tele vision set with a decoder built in. Called the Digital System-3, it al lows viewers to interrupt their pro grams with the latest news bulle tins - on command. Joseph Logelln, owner of Cam pus TV in Ann Arbor, said Zenith's color digital set has a 27-inch screen and may be equipped with an optional printer for printing in formation from the set. The basic set, with decoder in cluded, starts at $1,050. For that price - one that is still formidable for many viewers - you get a tele vision that allows you to capture the signal carried on the "vertical blanking interval" located Just off the screen. The ‘interval’’ is the black bar that used to drive viewers nuts when it dove through the screen during the most dramatic mo ments of their favorite shows. Kept offstage on today’s new sets, it carries printed information that can replace the picture at the touch of a button. Menus enable a viewer to call up a specific page of text from a specific subject area. Teletext can be received while watching any Channel 31 program, says Christopher Webb, the gener al manager of the Ann Arbor sta tion. The station In fact offers two ser vices - Electra, a video newspa per, and Tempotext, a dally listing of 800 selected stocks from the New York Stock Exchange, the Ameri can Stock Exchange, and the Over- the-Counter Exchange. Electra Is produced through a Joint venture between Tempo Enterprises, own er of Channel 31, and the Taft Broadcasting Company. Taft does the newsgathering and transmits the information by long distance dataline to the Tempo En- TV owners with decoders receive a daily electronic newspaper, complete with news, sports and weather. terprlses satellite uplink in Doug- lasville, Ga , outside of Atlanta. From there it is inserted onto the vertical blanking interval of WTBS (the Turner Broadcasting Co.’s ca ble superstation) and Tempo tele vision. It’s available to cable sub scribers receiving either one of those services. Channel 31 is one of six stations nationwide that also make Electra available to non-cable viewers, Webb said. Tempotext's stock listings are updated throughout the day. Tem po is currently exploring the possi bility of carrying a complete listing of stocks from each exchange. Electra and Tempotext are free to viewers, Webb said. The Electra service is intended as an advertis ing medium. It currently carries a Zenith ad on page 215. There are Coca-Cola and McDon ald's ads on the service as well. To demonstrate the system’s versatil ity, McDonald's last year provided viewers with a video coupon which they could print out and redeem at one of the company's restaurants. People interested in receiving te letext can obtain decoders to adapt their present sets to the service, or they can buy the new Zenith. Ze nith plans to offer the option of a smaller, 20-lnch screen, and Pana sonic and Quasar may also offer sets able to receive teletext in the future. “Teletext has to be easy to use, affordable and readily available," Webb said. "It will come into Its own as it becomes easier to ac cess." "It should take off in the next five years because manufacturers will now Include teletext capability in the actual television receiver," he said. Webb believes Ann Arbor, with its "strong demographics" based on a highly educated, well-paid population will provide a good market for it. NIWS PHOTO • COUIIM mZORAID An index to a recent day's top news stories transmitted to home TV screens. PHYSICIANS WEIGHT LOSS CENTERS At Last! Safe weight loss is Fast & Effective. Our medical team will help you lose pounds, inches & dress sizes. And they II show you how to keep it off! we guarantee immediate results! • Fast, safa and affective weight loss • For man ... and woman • No strenuous exercise • Walk in for a FREE consultation Call now for a free consultation! Mon -Frl /9 a m -7:30 p m 971-5885 ANN ARBOR 2812 CARPENTER ROAD Carpantar Bd. ProfaaMonal Building Physicians WEIGHT LOSS i | Centers. tumAios5«un sysums You ve never lost weight so quickly, so safely!