Audiovisual Technical Center

Technological choices at the cutting edge

Contents

TDF experts support customers at the heart of their projects: from the design to the commissioning of headends, or in choosing equipment for broadcasting their signals.

Missions and skills

Headends, TV and radio transmitters....

To structure its audiovisual networks, TDF has set up several platforms covering all areas of the broadcast chain.

This audiovisual center is spread over four sites: Metz, Rennes, Toulouse and the Romainville campus.

Support and assistance with customer decisions

TDF offers its expertise to support customers throughout the deployment process, from design to head-end acceptance.

TDF supports them in their technical choices through demonstration platforms.

These platforms also enable subjective testing to help our customers select the best technological solutions to meet their needs.

Metz site telis_Ingénierie

Study, design, specify and test

laboratoire tdf émetteurs

Continuous training

A platform representative of the network also enables us to carry out a large proportion of our technical training.

In all our laboratories, our engineers provide design and technical support:

  • Feasibility studies, mock-ups.
  • Ongoing exchanges with suppliers (version tracking and equipment improvement loop).
  • Design of each component of the audiovisual network architecture.
  • Specification of engineering rules.
  • Definition and provision of configuration files.
  • Technical expertise on equipment and services.
  • Testing and validation of equipment and systems before deployment on the network.
  • Design and implementation of special solutions.
  • Organization of subjective tests on DTT and radio, on a representative panel (double-blind according to ITU recommendations).

Laboratoires

Concentrated technology for validation and training

To structure its audiovisual networks, TDF has set up several laboratories covering all the fields dealt with in the broadcast chain:

  • Network head.
  • Transmission.
  • Diffusion.
  • Reception.
tdf end-to-end audiovisual reception diagram innovation

Network Head - Production - Coding

This field, mainly supported by the Rennes laboratory, integrates all the hardware and software building blocks present in our various networks: coding, audio & video transcoding, multiplexing, switching and control probes.

The work carried out enables us to offer cutting-edge services using the latest technological developments in DTT, FM and now DAB+.

TDF participates in various standardization bodies to keep abreast of technological and normative developments (DVB, AFNOR, FAVN, RDS Forum, etc.).

expertise tdf tete de reseau
expertise tdf microwave transmission

Transmission

The Network Solution laboratory enables us to validate our ultra-high-speed transport networks, which carry all our customers' data flows.

It enables us to validate the different distribution architectures of the TDF network, and to carry out advanced test campaigns with our customers to validate the behavior of their system.

Microwave links (FH)

The FH laboratory is dedicated to multi-service
backbone microwave transport.


It is used for product validation and validation of new software.

This laboratory is a privileged venue for in-house and customer training , and houses private networks with capacities ranging from 4x2Mbps to 2.5Gbps, with carriers from 6 GHz to 38 GHz.

Broadcasting - Transmitters

The Romainville Campus, housed in the Fort's former powder magazine, is where TDF concentrates most of the broadcasting equipment used on its network, from satellite reception to transmitters for DTT, FM and DAB+ (with power ratings ranging from 5W to 3 kW).

This laboratory provides full validation:

  • Transportation.
  • Broadcasting.
  • Audiovisual monitoring.

Our teams regularly test new infrastructures and equipment, helping to shape the DTT and radio of tomorrow.

The campus is also home to expertise in tunnel coverage (from network head-end to radiating cable) and the DARC network, enabling data to be broadcast on the
RATP network.

audiovisual technical center
diffusion emitter c
expertise tdf sound processing

Sound processing

Based in Toulouse, this laboratory specializes in sound processing, with expertise in :

  • Audio coding.
  • Streaming.
  • Switches, grids, CODEC IP, audio pigs, sound cards...

Before any deployment on our sites, our engineers validate the hard and soft versions of the sound treatments and check that the coloring files are compatible with our equipment and current regulations.

Reception (TV screen images)

Our representative fleet of around one hundred TV sets enables us to validate the compatibility of network upgrades on different brands, as well as ensuring backward compatibility on older TV sets.

tdf laboratory with several different brand televisions

Working with Africa

On the African continent, our TDF experts are helping various broadcasters to roll out their DTT networks.

Recent missions have taken place in Congo, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and currently in Benin, where we are working with ORTB, the Benin Radio and Television Office.

Beninese street dancers in costume
ORTBF and TDF coverage of Kotonou voodoo festival

Networks evolve

Audiovisual experts are involved in innovative projects in areas such as :

TNT :

  • Regionalized Targeted Advertising (DPL).
  • New technologies to prepare the future of DTT (UHD 4K, 8K, HDR, HEVC coding, VVC, AV1, etc.).
  • Native IP over Broadcast, DVB-I, ...

Radio :

  • linear synchronous motorway networks.
  • synchronous FM area networks.
  • DAB+ network heads.
  • RDS / RDS 2.

At the heart of standards

TDF and its partners

The center keeps abreast of technological developments with :

  • Standardization committees (DVB, Afnor, etc.).
  • From ARCOM.

It keeps a close watch on technological developments and develops relationships with manufacturers.

Patents

At the heart of innovation, it steers tomorrow's projects and registers numerous patents.

Active think tanks

The Audiovisual center plays an active role in :

  • To the various DVB modules.
  • To the FAVN group.
  • At the RDS Forum.
  • And AFNOR (MPEG)...