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Tech Central » Remote Controls » Using the 4-in-1 Remote

Using the 4-in-1 Remote

Your remote is actually four different remotes. It operates your Star Choice receiver plus your TV, VCR and another auxiliary item like a DVD player.

The function of many buttons change depending on what mode it is in. It’s important to remember this as you operate the remote. If it’s not doing what you’re expecting it to, check the mode.

What the buttons do

4-in-1 Remote

Your remote is designed to be easy to operate. Its menus and navigation are logical. The key to smooth remote operation is to understand what the buttons do.

So, we’ll tell you, from top to bottom.

Power: This is the button with the star. It turns the component on or off. Not working? Check the mode. It must be in TV mode for it to work the TV.

Mode buttons
These are the four triangular buttons on top. Your remote is actually four different remotes. The function of many buttons change depending on what mode it is in. Remember, it’s not doing what you’re expecting it to, check the mode

SAT: Sets the remote to control the Star Choice receiver.
TV: Sets the remote to control the TV.
VCR: Sets the remote to control the VCR.
AUX: Sets the remote to control whatever auxiliary component you have added to the system, possibly a DVD.

Source: This controls where the image is coming from. Chances are, you won’t use it, because you’ll always want your TV image to come from the Star Choice receiver.

Some people may need it if they hook an old-fashioned rabbit-ear antenna or maybe a PlayStation or Nintendo game to an older-model TV set.

Getting a snowy screen? It could be that you hit the Source button by mistake.

PPV: This allows you to access the Pay Per View screens. Press this button to bring up a list of what is or will be playing on each Pay Per View channel. To purchase a movie or event, use the arrow keys to highlight a program in yellow. Hit Enter, and your system, which is hooked to a phone line, will call Star Choice to make the purchase. This can happen only after your account has be activated for Instant Pay Per View.

Arrow Keys: Use these keys like you would cursor keys on your computer to highlight selections from menu screens. You’ll also find them useful for navigating through the Interactive Program Guide.

Enter: There are two enter keys. The big round one inside the arrows and the smaller one under the No. 9. You’ll use them to jump through menus. Press Enter to select the option you’ve highlighted and you’ll go there.

Exit: This gets you out of where ever you are. If you’re watching a show and you turn on the guide, press exit to return to the show. If you’re in the guide, click on a show to see it. Then, press exit to return to the guide.

Satellite-specific buttons

This is the group of six buttons located under the arrow keys. You use them to navigate through the Interactive Program Guide and the satellite specific menus that allow you to use the many high-tech features of your receiver like the parental controls and timers.

Guide: Launches the Interactive Program Guide. It shows you the program on all of the Star Choice Channels. Press it again to return to programming. Or use the Exit key.
Interests: Displays the Interests menu of the Interactive Program Guide. This means you can see all of one type of program, Sports, or movies, for example. Highlight what you’d like to see and press enter. Press Interests again, or Exit, to return to your show.
Options: This gets you to the very important Options menu. Here you find controls for many of the technical and diagnostic features of the receiver. You’ll find menu items that allow you to change or determine Installation Settings, Signal Strength, Timers and Parental Locks. Read your owner’s manual to learn about using these features.
Info: Use this when you’re in the Interactive Program Guide. Highlight a show and press this to access detailed information on the show. For movies, you’ll often learn about the stars, the story line and the content rating.
Browse: This displays entries from the Interactive Program Guide in an easy-to-read format that takes up only one quarter of your screen. This means you can continue watching a show, while scanning to see what else is on, or what is coming up.
Use the up and down arrow keys to move channels and the side-to-side arrow keys to change the time on the grid. If you want to go to a show on another channel, highlight the show and press enter. Press Browse or Exit to remove the browse listings.
Future: This links to the Interactive Program Guide and tells you what’s coming on that channel after your current show is over. Press it twice to bring up a seven-day calendar. You’ll find information for the following three days.

Vol + and -: This adjusts the volume on your TV. Remember, if you want to control the TV volume, you’ll have to program to the remote to do this.

Mute: Turns the sound off on the TV. Once again, it must be programmed to do this with your TV or stereo.

Channel + and -: Depending on the mode you’re in, this will change the channel on the receiver, TV or VCR. You can also use this button to scroll through entire screens of data in the Interactive Program Guide.

Last Channel: This returns to the last channel watched. With up to 470 channels available, this may become your favourite button.

Number Keys: Use these buttons to enter passwords, channel numbers and select items from various menus. For example, instead of scrolling down to the No. 4 option with the arrow keys, you can jump there by pressing 4.

Help: We’ve built some useful information into the help screens. You can go here to see a directory of icons and what they mean. As well, you’ll find some basic information about your system. Press it again, or press Exit, to turn off the help screens and return to your program or menu.

VCR or DVD keys: These are common buttons for controlling the VCR or DVD operations. You’ll find rewind, play, fast forward, stop and pause.