@bazinshine: I think I just figured out why they don't use that database anymore ...
See, these boxes use MTD devices to store their data. Now, MTD (aka flash) devices have limited lifespans. You may alter any of their (32K) blocks about 10-20.000 times, and then the block becomes unreliable or even unusable. Also keep in mind that MTA devices need to do a full erase of at least one 32K block whenever a single bit is changed.
Then consider the way a database (like sqlite3) operates: it cares about its data and consequently writes the data to permanent storage ASAP, even minor changes. Also, it typically uses a limited range of disk-blocks, it is quite good at re-using existing blocks.
Now, I guess that the guys at DGstation started off storing the EPG database on their flash drives, hence the stub we still find in /var.
Then they switched on their prototype and EPG data poured in: blocks and blocks of data, changeing very frequently, and the receiver stashes these changes away in the sqlite3 database, which dutyfully re-uses the same blocks over and over again, which in turn results in massive erase/rewrites to the very same blocks on the MTD..
Now, let's see: 10.000 writes, that sounds like an awful lot, but in fact is not that much and so their boxes died after a few weeks..