Far from the tourists, the strategic Eiffel Tower TV and Radio

From Lucie Godeau | AFP -

Paragraph from the crowds of tourists climb the Eiffel Tower, a few days before the lady still welcomes strategic equipment for radio broadcast and the Ile-de-France Television and test technologies of tomorrow.

"This is where the first attempt was made for television and radio, and now the site has 12 million Parisians" who receive the digital TV signal and FM Radio, explains Florence Jacquemart, associate director of the nearby PTO platform in the sixth floor of the Eiffel Tower.

"Apart from a continuity of service is very high on this side" of strategic importance, arguing that the Supelec engineer who led the transition from analog to 2010 and 2011? Digital TV programs without interruption.

Transmitter room can not be seen at the top of the tower, but discreetly mounted Esplanade and queues of visitors waiting to Paris from the top of the elevators, TNT, etc FM radio buzzing noisy air conditioner.

The control room in which to monitor the regular alarm sound short, two technicians, the distribution of a series of screens and sample the signal 24h/24 strategic points.

"This is the problem that the server space, you can not have failures," said the manager. After three hours without air conditioning, the issuers are very hot and would stop.

For security reasons, many facilities are exaggerated: "There are three power lines come in, generators, there is a backup transmitter."

- A journey of ultra-high-definition -

Two copper tubes arising out of the room, run 300 meters, the entire metal structure tower has reached its peak, pylonet. It is at this level over the heads of tourists on the third floor of the antenna, which allows the distribution of 45 TV channels and 32 radio stations over an area of 50 km radius.

Taking advantage of the summer, a team of broadcasters TDF take combinations express overnight maintenance. The third and last summer, is for August 6, 7, to mobilize planned thirty engineers and technicians, to stop the TNT broadcast FM, and from 1.00 bis 06.00 clock, clock 24:00, 05:30.

The main radio stations always transmit, however, since the alternative does not preclude the issuer owls programs.

It is also the top of the Eiffel tower, which was tested from May to transmit television programs Ultra High Definition (UHD). This program can be used in future models of the new 4K resolution televisions, and reach about 4000 pixels (4 times more than HD).

PTO suffered in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros Live from the Eiffel Tower on a giant screen.

Group also experienced program "B2M", the wireless connectivity on the boards of the Eiffel Tower for digital newspapers and magazines. This gives subscribers the power shelves, if the wifi or 4G networks, is still in search of a business model.

"Historically, the site of the Eiffel Tower from experiments done their DNA, the" Florence Jacquemart said.

But "today we are no longer growing every day," then "there are 20 years rode the PTO technicians every day of the sixth television channel broadcast live." "The night you spend here could," he says, pointing to an apartment on the sixth floor, which is: The higher the Paris "life", it's a cot, a bathroom and kitchen package contains.