Genesis Storytime
Encyclopedia
Genesis Storytime was a cable TV channel founded in 1983 in Canada
by Art Doerksen and Greg Stetski and distributed to several cable TV systems throughout the USA.
It was a 24-hour channel that functioned as a "electronic storybook" of sorts, that featured several digitally redrawn children's books, such as Eric Hill's Spot the Dog
series, and Christian
children's stories as well. It displayed each page of a story on-screen, and would draw each page's graphics somewhat slowly, due to the technology of the time. There was no sound transmitted with the channel, since Genesis Storytime was meant to be read out loud by a parent reading a story displayed to a child. Some cable TV companies, however, would feed some audio source (such as a terrestrial or satellite-fed radio station or other audio source received by the cable TV company) along with the channel in place of its silence.
The books were redrawn digitally (using NAPLPS
) because of the way Genesis Storytime was distributed to the cable TV headends. It relied on decoders originally used for the Canadian NAPLPS-based Telidon
videotex
system installed at the headend, with the graphical data for the stories to be displayed being fed to the Telidon decoders via a datastream delivered via satellite to the headend from Satellite Syndicated Systems
, a company that distributed data for teletext
and other services. The data was then decoded and displayed as graphics by the decoder, with the decoder's video output being fed to a cable TV channel. This meant that Genesis Storytime was distributed on a cable TV system as a regular channel viewable on any regular TV set, without any set-top decoder required.
Genesis Storytime's logo was a red heart in a black box, which would blink in the corner of the screen whenever the next page was about to come up.
Although being Canadian in origin, Genesis Storytime was mainly distributed in the USA because of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission regulations that hindered the distribution of Genesis Storytime in Canada. VSP-7
, a public-access channel in Winnipeg
, did air the channel as a 30-minute program on the schedule, ending the program even if a story was not completed.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by Art Doerksen and Greg Stetski and distributed to several cable TV systems throughout the USA.
It was a 24-hour channel that functioned as a "electronic storybook" of sorts, that featured several digitally redrawn children's books, such as Eric Hill's Spot the Dog
Spot the Dog
Spot the Dog is a series of children's books by Eric Hill, which were later made into a popular children's animation series, known as Spot, for BBC television by David McKee's King Rollo Films....
series, and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
children's stories as well. It displayed each page of a story on-screen, and would draw each page's graphics somewhat slowly, due to the technology of the time. There was no sound transmitted with the channel, since Genesis Storytime was meant to be read out loud by a parent reading a story displayed to a child. Some cable TV companies, however, would feed some audio source (such as a terrestrial or satellite-fed radio station or other audio source received by the cable TV company) along with the channel in place of its silence.
The books were redrawn digitally (using NAPLPS
NAPLPS
NAPLPS is a graphics language for use originally with videotex and teletext services. NAPLPS was developed from the Telidon system developed in Canada, with a small number of additions from AT&T...
) because of the way Genesis Storytime was distributed to the cable TV headends. It relied on decoders originally used for the Canadian NAPLPS-based Telidon
Telidon
Telidon was a videotex/teletext service developed by the Canadian Communications Research Centre during the late 1970s and early 1980s...
videotex
Videotex
Videotex was one of the earliest implementations of an "end-user information system". From the late 1970s to mid-1980s, it was used to deliver information to a user in computer-like format, typically to be displayed on a television.In a strict definition, videotex refers to systems that provide...
system installed at the headend, with the graphical data for the stories to be displayed being fed to the Telidon decoders via a datastream delivered via satellite to the headend from Satellite Syndicated Systems
Satellite Syndicated Systems
Satellite Syndicated Systems was a company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1980s that provided distribution services of data for American teletext and other data services via communications satellite. They provided data distribution for the Electra teletext service which was carried on the VBI of...
, a company that distributed data for teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
and other services. The data was then decoded and displayed as graphics by the decoder, with the decoder's video output being fed to a cable TV channel. This meant that Genesis Storytime was distributed on a cable TV system as a regular channel viewable on any regular TV set, without any set-top decoder required.
Genesis Storytime's logo was a red heart in a black box, which would blink in the corner of the screen whenever the next page was about to come up.
Although being Canadian in origin, Genesis Storytime was mainly distributed in the USA because of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission regulations that hindered the distribution of Genesis Storytime in Canada. VSP-7
Videon Cablesystems
Videon Cablesystems was a Cable television service in Manitoba, Alberta, and for a short period northwest Ontario, Canada. The origins of Videon date back to October 1959 when original General Manager Claude Boucher applied to the Lakehead Public Utilities Board in Port Arthur, Ontario to provide...
, a public-access channel in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, did air the channel as a 30-minute program on the schedule, ending the program even if a story was not completed.