From Thursday October 19 to Sunday October 22, 340,000 viewers on Réunion Island, as well as those in Paris, Nantes and Toulouse in mainland France, will be able to follow the race via France Télévisions' event channel Réunion la 1ère Ultra-HD, broadcast on experimental DTT channel 81.
UHD/4K technology offers image definition four times greater than High Definition.
Technical precision and expertise
On Reunion Island, TDF teams broadcast channel 81 from the Saint-Pierre-Hyacinthe and Saint-Denis-La Montagne TDF sites. In mainland France, transmitters in the Paris region (Tour Eiffel, Chaville, Meaux and Chennevières-sur-Marne), Nantes-Haute-Goulaine and Toulouse-Lafilaire are mobilized.
For this trial, TDF is using broadcast and compression standards that are more efficient than current DTT standards (DVB-T2 and HEVC). To benefit from this event channel, users with compatible TV sets will need to perform an automatic or manual channel scan on their TV.
A decisive step towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Broadcasting the ultra-trail in UHD is a further milestone in the modernization of DTT with a view to wider UHD broadcasting from early 2024 and the Paris Olympic Games.
A player in the modernization of DTT, TDF has been preparing for the arrival of UHD for several years. For six years, TDF has been conducting tests from its Eiffel Tower facilities, extended to the Chennevières-sur-Marne, Meaux, Chaville, Nantes and Toulouse areas since 2018. In mainland France, DTT channels 81, 82 and 83 have become reference pilot channels broadcast in UHD quality.
TDF pioneers DTT platform technology for all French citizens
These numerous broadcasts in UHD on TDF's experimental platform have enabled us to offer viewers major events in UHD, and to test and demonstrate the performance of new broadcast formats and technologies (UHD definition, more immersive sound, improved contrast ratio, etc.), both in France and overseas.
DTT has come a long way since its inception. It has reinvented itself to meet French people's expectations in terms of picture quality, sound and services.
Free, anonymous, freely accessible and of the highest quality, the DTT platform is a major means of television reception in France, with coverage of 97% of the population.