Re: Wot not FreeSat tuner?
It's not that the DVB-S/S2 is different, it's the EPG data that's the problem. In most countries, where satellite has simply been a matter of pointing your dish at the sky and tuning in, EPG data is something that's picked up from the tables on each transponder, and you don't have things like specific channel numbers.
In the UK, other than for enthusiasts, satellite has always been sold as a package, with an operator (like Sky or Freesat) bundling up channels, providing platform services like an EPG, and subscription management.
That requires specific things to be done, especially if the operator wants to have 'advanced' functions like series link. As a consequence, the software for a platform-based receiver is a lot more complex than for a more open one. Perhaps if things like Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland spread their iron tentacles across the continent, and open satellite becomes less common, we'll see satellite sets with modular software that can be adapted to lots of platforms easily, but at the moment, I expect the makers simple don't see much return for the effort of creating special software for one country.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
