Zgemma H7s Guide

As an example , I set up a new LG TV for someone recently. Its a smaller LCD model for a bedroom but has 802.11AC wifi and a 100mbps network port.

The bedroom was in a wi fi weak zone or dead spot , could only get about 5mbps download from wifi. So couldn't even set up the TV from scratch as it couldn't download the files needed for setup.

I had some homeplugs , D-link , and advertised as gigabit ( using pretty exaggerated mathematics , adding up = down speeds etc. the usual lies ) and with those connected between Gigabit router and the TV I could get 15mbps max. Homeplugs depend heavily on the state of your home electrical wiring for performance so no one will get anywhere near the advertised speeds.

15mbps was just about enough for setup and for netflix/disney + / Apple TV to work at lower resolutions. ( with some buffering )

A single HD channel can be between 10mbps and 20 mbps ….. so you see the problem. Almost certainly the TV is going to have trouble streaming one HD channel.

I have the VU+ boxes with 8 satellite tuners each. Surprisingly to me , the way these get used most often is young uns grabbing the tuners for their personal devices. With a good solid gigabit network ( installed with the help of the Piranha drillbit , goes through stone like it was butter ) this is no issue as 1000/20 means I could distribute up to 50 tuners this way.

Without a good gigabit network this would be difficult.

With homeplugs , totally impossible.

Thanks so much Andy, those two posts of explanations are super helpful.

All I want to do was replicate the sky rf2 system to the kitchen and I have turned it into a big project/deal. I should researched more before getting the client box (and originally getting the wrong one)

A HD rf modulator might have been the better choice. Anyway.

I don't know anything about networking- once you had the gigabit network set up do your family members take a tuner on their device via WiFi?

In terms of drilling - was that to bring ethernet plug in point to various spots around the house?

I drilled to get a category 5e cable into each room.

Your main ISP device ( most call it a modem but really its a combined modem , switch , DHCP server , etc.) is the hub , any cat 5e or better ethernet cable has to run from it to wherever it is you want to go.

A 100 meter roll of Cat5e ( or better ) cable is about 50 euro.

Once that is done and the plugs terminated properly ( T658B ) the number of plug in points can be increased with gigabit switches ( an 8 port gigabit switch can be had for a tenner ) or through an access point if wi fi is weak in that room.

I only have one room , the kitchen , that is a wi fi dead spot , thats because all the wires running to all the sockets basically turns the room into a Faraday cage.

So I bought an access point for the kitchen , thats basically a wi fi extender , you just plug it into the network and now the kitchen has great wi fi.

I did the same thing for the sitting room , but only because LG TVs have weak 100mbps ethernet ports , wi fi is much better , but I didnt want any contention on the link for the main TV so gave it its own access point that only the TV connects too.

The problem with wi fi is it is contended , what works brilliantly when you are alone may not work at all if you have a few guests and their phones log on and contest the bandwidth.

Home networking is not so difficult and relatively cheap , so a better option than RF modulators which are a bit niche and can be costly.

Maybe I'm misreading it but it seems you can choose between a single satellite tuner and an optional 2nd tuner. Would that mean you can only have 2 satellites or 1 satellite and 1 terrestrial?

Yeah - doesnt seem to be any option for 2 x Satellite DVB-S2X and 1 x Terrestrial DVB-T2/C

Long may my HS7 live….

Yes it seems that way given the options , but I was going off the picture on the rear which shows 3 tuners , and assumed one of those could be changed for DVB T.

Seems not though , so its only a replacement for the Zgemma if you are UK based.

Brilliant, thanks for that.

Could I just check this bit with you

"Once that is done and the plugs terminated properly ( T658B ) the number of plug in points can be increased with gigabit switches ( an 8 port gigabit switch can be had for a tenner ) or through an access point if wi fi is weak in that room"

So the gigabit switches gives you ports for wired connections- is that correct?

The WiFi being weak in that room - do you mean the general WiFi coming from your ISP device?

So if yes, you add an access point to where the ethernet cable is coming into that room and that gives you a strong WiFi network in that room?

When your family are grabbing tuners on their own devices - do they need a wired connection ? Or is the general wifi/WiFi from access point strong enough.

Thanks again and sorry for all questions - I rushed into client box and don't want to make errors a 2nd time.

Would you vote against the tf modulator? They seem expensive- this one is €166.

https://www.freetv.ie/hd-modulator/

Yes , Gigabit switches give you extra ports , the most sold unit I think is 8 port , but you can get switches with as many ports as you want. Gigabit switches are for wired connections , so for example , laptops , PCs , TVs or anything else with an ethernet port. If you can go wired , that is the fastest most stable connection.

The better half works from home , and always on a wired connection , as you dont want your "teams" meetings interrupted due to a dip in wi fi signal.

With any ISP multifunction device/modem , there is nearly always an area that it cannot reach over wi-fi , or the signal is very poor , usually the kitchen due to issues described before. In which case you add an access point , which plugs into one of your wired ports. Then you have great wi fi.

When others are grabbing tuners , it could be on anything , phones , ipads , PCs , Macs, etc. Some are wired , some are not. I like to cater for all options.

Personally , I wouldnt go near rf modulators , too many compromises. A good network and its cables can be used for many many things , including TV , whereas an rf modulator is a one trick pony.

sorry didnt get the context but wondering why a 100mbs lan port would be useless on a sat receiver? I cant think of a scenario where you'd need more tbh so just curious.

Was thinking that. Which really makes no sense, a single FHD (1080p) stream should need about 5mbs. 100mbs is 20 times that, 1Gbs is 200 times that. Bit of overkill.

Bitrates here for most HD channels , Max bitrate for BBC1 London HD for example is 15 mbps ( no point looking at averages , the max is the figure you plan by )

That would be just payload data for the channel , there are network overheads to take into account as well.

So for example , I have a VU+ Duo 4K SE , and it has 8 sat tuners , if the ethernet port was limited to 100 mbps I wouldnt be able to share all the tuners. Not in any kind of stable way. If all channels hit max at some point , then someone or maybe even everyone is getting kicked off the box. ( my experience of E2 is if it hits a problem it crashes , I doubt any of them are smart enough to adjust user count on the fly )

https://www.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?mux=10818&liste=1&live=69&lang=en

At this point in time , anything with a 100mbps port is hobbled , no justification for it , its just penny pinching gone mad. Gigabit should be a minimum on any new device.

Your missing the point , I was correcting your misinformation , I quoted you , HD channels are 15 mbps not 5 mbps , and should you start sharing tuners , and given that a lot of HD channels are on the same transponder , you can , even on a two tuner box , run into issues due to bandwidth.

You need a lot more headroom than you made out. There is nothing overkill about gigabit these days , its a necessity , not a luxury.

The Kodi E2 plugin for example , even on a two tuner box , you could end up getting asked for more than 7 feeds off the box easily, ( world cup group stages final matches say on BBC and ITV and RTE ) and any more than 7 exceeds 100 mbps and will most likely crash the box.

Zgemma has gigabit , but its no longer made and we were discussing alternatives. No gigabit , no good in my opinion.

It might be what comes on that skin to add or remove.

I would not want a weather icon or time clock on screen

I dont think OpenVix does them

You install the so-called 'picons'. '/Setup/Software Management/Manage-Plugins/Picon Packages', but I'm on openatv could be slightly different menu/wording on vix.

I installed for example 'snp-full.100x60-86x46.dark.on.transparent'.

Maybe a weird question…

Do you find that the VU+ needs a reboot periodically?
I'm finding the H7s does get it's knickers in a twist every few weeks which leads to missed timers etc.

I'm assuming I can probably set a cronjob to reboot once a week or something but havent gotten around to it yet.

This could be extra justification to switch to VU+ and upgrade the LNB….