Hi guys,

I want to buy a dual DVB-T2 receiver in order to record two DTT frequencies at the same time. I've seen the ZGemma H7C.

Are there more Linux boxes with dual DTT tuners? It is fine if it has also a Sat tuner.

And regarding this ZGemma H7C model, I have a few questions:

- Is the ZGemma H7C capable of doing PiP, picture in picture, of at least of two HD channels, or one plus video playback?

I mean, is it powerful enough for this task? and will it do it by default or will it need a plugin?

- Can this box record and play back 4K channels/videos fluidly? Not sure if it can manage the most demanding streams with

higher bitrates.

- It has an internal 2.5 HDD bay. If a 2.5 5400 RPM HDD mechanical disk is installed, would it be fast enough to record and

read 4K content? I guess that the important factor here would be the reading and writing speed, so any disk capable of

managing at least 50 Megabytes per second steadily should be fine. Is this correct? SSD drives are yet too expensive, and

I want to install a large disk.

Thanks in advance.

Regards.

Quote from Jimdefruit

The Zgemma H7C box is very fast and records/plays UHD 2160P 50 channels perfectly. I don't bother with PIP so not sure what it is like. Recording of multiple channels works fine and I think it is an excellent box for its price. I often record one or more channels whilst watching a recorded movie and it is absolutely fine.

I tend to experiment with images and the four boot segments of the 7C are ideal for that, the boot up speed being much better than my VU Ultimo 4K box.

Thanks for your reply. Glad to hear it is a fast box still these days, being a 3 year old unit.

OK, so since I really like the PiP function, I still need someone to confirm if it works fine too as I want it with 2 HD channels,

and/or one HD channel plus video playback.

Also, if a 5400 RPM HDD would be enough for 4K fluid recording and playback.

Quote from gorski

PiP is fine! Everything about this box is great (maybe C-Band blindscan isn't but overall...)...

SSDs are no longer that expensive, I think...

Do you have this box yourself and use the PiP function? If so, what image and version, and does it come default or you have

to install a PiP plugin?

Regarding HDD behaviour for 4K recording and playback, I've done some test witth 4K channels. On my HTPC, I've checked

the bitrate of a few channels, and it turns out that they actually have a very low bitrate - the maximum peak I got was like

22 Megabits, not MegaBytes as I thought... I was a bit surprised to see this low rates. If I get this right, 22 Megabits is only

about 2,7 MegaBytes which is a very low rate for even a very old 2.5 inch 5400 RPM disk. If in the near future, 4K channels

increase their bitrate, let's think they could reach 100 Megabits or even tops 200 Megabits, this is still a mere 20 MegaByte

bitrate... As far as I know any slow 5400 RPM disk can read fine with no problem these rather small figures, can't they?

Well, this is the theory, but real experience shouldn't differ, I presume. Also, 4K movies' bitrate seem to be rather low,

I don't think they get to 100 Megabits.

So, what do you guys think? Am I correct on these figures? I don't have any 5400 RPM drive to do some test. Is there any

other factor besides the bitrate that may contribute to slow the recording and playback of 4K channels?

Thanks.

I've downloaded a few 4K demo clips from a site, and their maximum peak bitrate is 45 Megabits. Not much more needed

apparently for top quality detail.