Ordinarily, this post should not be a subject for debate. However, Lemmy Morgan’s followers consist of both the geeks and the newbies. Consequently, I have taken it upon myself to explain this for the benefit of my inexperienced readers(I mean those who have little experience on sat). This topic will center on limiting satellite providers’ decoders. Why do satellite service providers limit the functionalities of their decoders?

Especially relevant: Basic free to air channels and their frequencies 2017

Taking us down memory lane, one may wonder when satellite service providers actually started super-encryption / protection of their decoders. Around 2010/2012, you could load a patch software on certain strong decoders like 4663x and it will accept ds*v smartcard. Then you simply are using ds*tv services by paying ds*v for a subscription without buying their decoder.

Similarly, On mytv Africa, you could simply activate their subscription merely by having their smart card. Last but not least. Before HiTv died, there was the possibility of scanning FTA channels on their earlier decoders. In fact, could scan FTA channels on older DStvv, mytv, and hitv decoders then. Currently, you can fully unlock your Hitv decoder to make it a standalone decoder.

Why the disabling some features on Official decoders?

Firstly, the reason is that satellite providers need security and protection for their investments. Similarly, they do this to optimize their profit. Surprisingly, hackers still find a way to hack through systems in Africa with all the implemented encryption. How much more when there were many apparent loopholes way back?

Secondly, they do these to have control and monitor things more easily. In other to protect their rights, to identify their products more easily, and to distinguish them from counterfeits more easily.

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limiting satellite providers’ decoders

It all follows the same spectrum. What satellite providers restrict on their decoders ranges from internet protocols and ports, to channel modifications, value-added features. We cannot blame them for this as you will soon find out.

FTA Standalone decoders vs official satellite decoders

Within this context, by FTA decoders I mean such decoders that are either pure FTA like strong decoders, open box decoders, dreambox decoders or fta decoder + iks compatibility like Qsat, Gsky, superesat, azfox, skybox, tigersat, tlink, alphabox and so on. On the contrary, by official satellite decoders I mean, satellite company decoders like: DS*v, mytv, bein, canal decoders, multitv, kwese tv decoder, nova, sky decoders, and the like.

• APPROACH: When things are not working according to plan, satellite providers can be very drastic and thorough in their approach. We all remember ds*v decoder pairing, mytv decoder replacement, and so on. As for FTA decoders, if they are found wanting, they can abandon the previous decoder and produce another one for sale. Qsat series, gsky series even strong series follow this line. They will not give the new decoder for free because their profit lies in hardware sales. The major profit of official decoders lies in their bouquet.
• NO MODIFICATION REQUIRED ON THE PART OF THE USER: You can load any external account or load any software onto your official decoder. It is done internally. No support for iks accounts like newcamd, cccam, gshare…

Channels manager and scanning

You cannot use an official satellite decoder to scan for other channels outside the ones supported by the owners of the smart card. However, on the various FTA decoders out there, you can scan any channel on any frequency. Also, you cannot modify the scanned channels on your official decoders. You cannot perform channel modification functions like renaming, moving, deleting, or adding TPs. you may, however, be able to search and group.

• Connectivity/Ports and Internet protocols: Recently, you can find lan ports on modern satellite decoders by official satellite companies. However, you can use the LAN port for internet services limited to the decoder only. You will not find a rs232 port, or a Sim card slot in any modern decoders. All these ports can pose a security threat to decoders so they will be removed by default. Have you wondered why strong 4669x is having rs232 port and such hardware component is missing on mytv strong 4940? On the contrary, a typical free-to-air standalone decoder has lan port, 3g usb port, sim slot wifi slot, and so on.
• PVR & Storage functions: On official satellite decoders, you get onboard storage rather than options to save or transfer files via USB. Even if you have a USB port, there will be limits to what you can send to or from the decoder. On the opposite, FTA decoders open up all of this.
• Mode of operation: Official satellite decoders require a smart card or its equivalent to operate. All their services are tied to the smart card. Fta decoders do not need a smart card before they can open channels. Noteworthy, FTA decoders should only open free-to-air channels(except if they are modified). Official decoders will open both encrypted channels and free ones on a certain frequency. For example, ds*v with a full bouquet will open all channels on 36e both free and paid.
• Customer service and support: Well, we cannot compare a free service to a paid one. FTA decoder companies do not have permanently dedicated support staff. On the opposite, the success of a satellite company relies on how supportive their customer service is. When you talk about software upgrades, FTA companies release infrequent, optional, and limited software compared to their official counterpart.
• Value-added services/features: Let me say, with FTA, you get what you pay for. Any extra service may work fine or otherwise. As for official decoders, what is worth doing is worth doing well. Bein IPTV services are topnotch(even though it is paid), DS8V drifta is working and it is free, sky and ESPN both have free IPTV solutions. Qsat IPTV is not stable and you cannot do anything about it even though it is paid.

CONCLUSION

I am very sure you now know the limitations of official decoders and how FTA decoders compare. No more questions like can I use my dstv to track canalsat or can I load a cccam on a mytv decoder? Also, some questions like can I load strong 4930 software into a mytv strong 4940 is now a no-brainer.