Aptiv Digital Passport DCT User manual

release 2.7
Passport DCT Customer Service Guide
ABC Remote

Passport DCT 2.7: Passport DCT Customer Service Guide (ABC Remote)
Part Number 04-020-01
© 2005 Aptiv Digital, Inc. All rights reserved.
This document, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may
only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of such license. The information in this
document is provided for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and
should not be construed as a commitment by Aptiv Digital, Inc. Aptiv Digital, Inc. assumes
no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this document
or for any omissions. Except as permitted by such license, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, adapted, or translated in any form or
by any means without prior written authorization of Aptiv Digital, Inc.
This product is protected under US Patent #6,400,379.
Trademarks
Aptiv Digital™and the Aptiv Digital logo are trademarks of Aptiv Digital, Inc.
PASSPORT DCT™, the Passport DCT logo, iSubscribe™, QuickInfo™, and
QuickMenu™ are trademarks of Aptiv Digital, Inc. TruSurround® is a registered
trademark of SRS Labs, Inc. All other product names mentioned in this document are
trademarks of their respective owners.
Aptiv Digital, Inc.
2210 W. Olive Avenue
Burbank, CA 91506

Passport DCT Customer Service Guide i
Chapter 1—What’s New in Passport DCT 2.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2—Introducing Passport DCT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
About Passport DCT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chapter 3—Getting Started With Basic Procedures . . . . . . . . 11
Turning On the TV, Set-top Box, and VCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Selecting Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Viewing High Definition Television (HDTV) Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Changing or Muting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Using the Channel Banner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using the QuickInfo™ banner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Browsing Program Information in the Banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
About Passport DCT Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Receiving Messages From Your Cable Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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Chapter 4—Using the Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
About the Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Displaying the Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Exiting the Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Displaying the Program Guide by Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Displaying the Program Guide by Theme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Searching the Program Guide by Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Viewing More Information About a Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Displaying Program Guide Information For Future Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Selecting a Current Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Purchasing PPV Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Setting Program Timers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Resolving Timer Overlaps and Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Modifying or Clearing Timers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Modifying or Canceling PPV Purchases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Passport DCT Customer Service Guide iii
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Chapter 5—Selecting Passport DCT Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Using Passport DCT QuickMenu™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
About the Settings Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Displaying the Settings Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Getting Help For Preferences in the Settings Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Exiting the Settings Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Setting and Using the Sleep Timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Setting and Using the Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Adding and Removing Channels From the Favorite Channels List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Adding and Removing Channels From the Skipped Channels List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Reviewing, Modifying, and Canceling Timers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Retrieving and Managing Your Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Selecting a Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Setting Closed Captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Setting Output Formats and Aspect Ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Setting Settop Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Setting Settop Clock Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Setting Settop AC Outlet Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 6—Using Parental Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
About Parental Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Selecting Parental Control Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Locking Parental Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Unlocking Parental Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Requiring the PIN for Purchasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Changing the PIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

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Chapter 7—Purchasing PPV Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
About PPV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Enabling or Disabling the PIN For Purchasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Purchasing Future PPV Programs From the Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Purchasing Programs From PPV Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Reviewing and Canceling PPV Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Adding a VCR Timer to a Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Chapter 8—Setting Up Your VCR Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Setting Your Guide to work with your VCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .157
Setting VCR Timers. . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .158
Impulse Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . ... . . .159

Passport DCT Customer Service Guide 1
What’s New in Passport DCT 2.7
Welcome to Passport DCT 2.7. This lastest release of our industry leading
interactive navigation platform for Motorola-based digital cable set-tops
features an array of powerful enhancements, including:
•Video Mosaic Channels: Video Mosaic channels enable you to watch
multiple video streams (in scaled video windows) simultaneously on a
single channel and to launch services by highlighting and selecting
channels. For more information about Video Mosaic Channels, see
“About Video Mosaic Channels” on page 179.
•iSubscribe Service: iSubscribe enables you to purchase unsubscribed
premium services (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc.) using your set-top
box's remote control. For more information, see “Purchasing Premium
Services using iSubscribe” on page 157.
•Content Locking: Passport DCT now enables you to lock content
ratings so that household members can only watch programs with
locked content if they know the PIN. You may lock content based on
TV Parental Guideline criteria (Fantasy Violence, Violence, Sexual
Situations, Adult Language, Suggestive Dialog, etc.). For more
information, see “Locking Content” on page 129.
•Automatic Parental Control Channel Locking: Head-end settings to
allow certain channels to be automatically PC-locked as default
configuration on all settop boxes. Users will have the ability to change
these settings.
•Scaled Video option on Different Types of Boxes: Head-end setting
to control scaled video option for 2500/700/1800P3 boxes
independently from the ASTB boxes (5100/6200).
•Front/Rear Panel Baseband Audio/Video Inputs: Enabling the front
and rear panel baseband audio/video inputs on ASTB boxes. These
ports will be treated as independent channels that the user will tune to
in order to view and/or hear the sources plugged into those ports. The
channels assigned to those input ports will be headend configurable (2
individual channels). For example, if channel 0 is assigned to the back

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What’s New in Passport DCT 2.7
panel port, a DVD player that is connected to the back panel can be viewed on channel 0.
Non-ASTB boxes will not display these channels in their lineup.
•Force Purchase PIN: Head-end configuration to enable the purchase PIN option on all
boxes ( to force purchase pin entry for all purchasing transactions - iSubscribe, iPPV and
VOD).
•Quick Cold Start: Head-end configuration to allow viewers the ability to channel surf
without the channel lineup

Passport DCT Customer Service Guide 3
Introducing Passport DCT
This chapter gives an overview of Passport DCT and describes the contents
and purpose of this guide. You will find the following sections:
• About Passport DCT, page 3
• About This Guide, page 8
About Passport DCT
Passport DCT is a system that provides subscribers with an easy, interactive
way to watch television. Passport DCT gives subscribers the following
features to tailor their televisions to their needs:
•Channel banner
This graphic displays in the lower third of your television screen and
provides program information for the currently selected program. You
can browse using the channel banner to display program information
for programs and channels other than the one you selected.
•Program guide
The program guide shows what is on television. You can also use it to
select programs, to set timers, and to purchase Pay-Per-View (PPV)
programs.
•Settings menu
The Settings menu allows you to set many Passport DCT preferences,
such as parental control preferences, cable set-top box preferences,
favorite channels, and skipped channels.
•Parental control
Parental control allows you to restrict what channels, ratings, titles and
time periods your household members can watch.
•PPV and VOD purchasing
Pay-Per-View (PPV) purchasing allows you to purchase and watch
PPV programs. Additionally, if available from your cable company,
you can purchase Video-On-Demand (VOD) offerings. You can also

4Passport DCT Customer Service Guide
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Introducing Passport DCT
restrict purchasing with a PIN.
•VCR control
You can control your VCR from your set-top box so you can record programs either
impulsively or using a timer. Note that this requires special hardware and setup.
•Single or recurring event and VCR timers
With one timer, you can set your set-top box to alert you or record a single instance or
multiple instances.
•HDTV Support
Some set-top boxes (models 2000 with HDD200, 5100, and 6200) support HDTV and
Digital Closed Caption.
•Receive messages from your cable company
You can now receive messages sent directly to you from your cable company. A display
tells you when a message is received and a message icon displays on the channel banner to
remind you a message has been received.
To use Passport DCT, subscribers need the following equipment
• DCT 2000-compatible or DCT 2500-compatible set-top box
• DCT 2000-compatible or DCT 2500-compatible remote control
• NTSC TV
• Cable connection with Passport DCT service
• VCR Controller (optional). Required if you are setting up the VCR controls through the
set-top box
About the Set-top Box
The set-top box provides the operating system for Passport DCT, and stores the Passport DCT
settings that subscribers set up. Subscribers navigate through Passport DCT with the remote
control; the set-top box picks up the remote control signals and passes them to Passport DCT.
For more information about the set-top box, refer to the set-top box documentation.
About the Remote Control
Subscribers use the remote control to control the VCR, the TV, the set-top box, and
Passport DCT. To be able to use the remote control, it must be programmed for the specific
model of TV or VCR that the subscriber has. For information about remote control
programming, refer to the remote control documentation.

About Passport DCT
Passport DCT Customer Service Guide 5
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......
.
Turn the TV on or off
Display channel banner, program
guide additional information;
Settings menu help
Browse up
Browse right
Change channels
Exit channel banner, program
guide, the Settings menu, help
Go up several lines in the program
guide or Settings menu
View next favorite channel or
show program guide information
for next favorite channel
Enter channel numbers to select
channels; enter PIN
Return to the channel last
selected
Show program guide
information for the next day
Increase or decrease volume
Mute volume
Display or hide the Settings
menu
Browse down
Show program guide
Turn VCR on or off
Show or hide help screens
Browse left
Bypass settop
Make decisions in Passport DCT
Rewind, play, forward, record,
stop, or pause the VCR tape if
you pressed the VCR button firs
or the VOD movie if you presse
d
the VOD SHIFT button first
Select highlighted item; make
decisions in Passport DCT
Turn the cable settop on or
off
Lock or unlock parental control
Go down several lines in the
program guide or Settings menu
Returns program guide information to
the previous day if DAY+ button has
been pressed first
Activate the REW, PLAY,
FFWD, REC, STOP, and
PAUSE buttons for VOD
movies
Activate the TV/VCR switch

6Passport DCT Customer Service Guide
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Introducing Passport DCT
The table below gives a detailed description of the remote control buttons.
Press this button To
Turns the VCR on and off
Turns the cable settop on and off
Turns the TV on and off
Turn the volume off or on
Adjust the volume; press the top button to increase the volume level;
press the bottom button to decrease the volume level
Return to the channel you last selected
View the next favorite channel or highlight the next favorite channel in
the program guide
Exit the current Passport DCT item (channel banner, program guide,
Settings menu, help)
Show or hide the channel banner; in the program guide, show more
information about programs; in the Settings menu, show help
Change the channel; press the top button to channel up; press the
bottom button to channel down
Jumps several lines in the program guide and the Settings menu
Move the highlight down
Move the highlight up
Move the highlight to the right
Move the highlight to the left

About Passport DCT
Passport DCT Customer Service Guide 7
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Select the highlighted item (your remote may say OK)
Show or hide the program guide
Show or hide the Settings menu
Lock or unlock parental control
Browse time, theme, and title views in the program guide
Or
Perform the action that the Passport DCT screen indicates
Makes the PLAY, PAUSE, STOP, FFWD, REW, and REC buttons
work with a VOD movie
Rewind VCR tape if you press the VCR button first
Play VCR tape if you press the VCR button first
Fast forward VCR tape if you press the VCR button first
Stop VCR tape if you press the VCR button first; end recording timer
Pause VCR tape if you press the VCR button first
Record current program on VCR tape if you press the VCR button first
Display a help screen
Bypass cable settop to select channels directly on the TV
View program guide information one day ahead
Press this button To

8Passport DCT Customer Service Guide
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Introducing Passport DCT
About This Guide
The Passport DCT Customer Service Guide helps those who answer support calls for
subscribers using Passport DCT. The table below describes each chapter and its contents.
Activates the VCR’s TV/VCR switch (which toggles the TV between
the TV or VCR tuner)
This chapter Does the following
Chapeter 1, What’s New in Passport
DCT 2.7
Provides an overview of the new features and
functionality in this lastest release of our industry
leading interactive navigation platform for
Motorola-based digital cable set-tops
Chapter 3, Getting Started With
Basic Procedures
Helps you with basic procedures, such as turning
on the TV, VCR, and set-top box, selecting
channels, and using the channel banner
Chapter 4, Using the Program Guide Helps you use the program guide, including
displaying it, navigating in it, arranging program
information by theme and title, and setting timers
Chapter 5, Specifying Passport DCT
Settings
Helps you specify parental control preferences,
set-top box preferences, and review and cancel
timers and purchases
Chapter 6, Using Parental Control Helps you set up parental control, including
specifying which channels, ratings, titles and
time period you want locked, locking parental
control, changing the PIN
Chapter 7, Purchasing PPV
Programs
Helps you purchase PPV programs, cancel
purchases, and set up purchasing to require a PIN
before a purchase can be made
Press this button To

About This Guide
Passport DCT Customer Service Guide 9
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......
Note: In this guide, you may notice slight audience shifts between the intended audience (the
customer service representative) and the subscriber. For example, when “you” is used
in procedures, the audience is the subscriber instead of the customer service
representative. Procedures in this guide are intended as scripts that you, the customer
service representative, can read aloud when you are instructing subscribers over the
phone. In that situation it would be tedious to have to convert subscriber into “you” for
every step.
Chapter 8, Purchasing Premium
Services Using iSubscribe
Helps you purchase unsubscribed premium
services (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc.) using
the new iSubscribe application
Chapter 9, Setting Up Your VCR
Controls
Helps you set up the VCR for impulse and
automatic recording
Chapter 10, About Video Mosaic
Channels
Helps you use the new Video Mosaic channels,
which enable you to watch multiple video
streams (in scaled video windows)
simultaneously on a single channel and to launch
services by highlighting and selecting channels
This chapter Does the following

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Introducing Passport DCT

Passport DCT Customer Service Guide 11
Getting Started With Basic Procedures
This chapter describes how you get started using basic procedures for
Passport DCT, such as turning the TV, VCR, and set-top box on and off, and
how to change channels and adjust the volume. Other items discussed are
the channel banner and Passport DCT symbols. This chapter includes the
following sections:
• Turning On the TV, Set-top Box, and VCR, page 11
• Selecting Channels, page 13
• Changing or Muting the Volume, page 18
• Using the Channel Banner, page 20
• About Passport DCT Symbols, page 26
Turning On the TV, Set-top Box, and VCR
To turn on the TV
Note: If the TV does not turn on, check if it is plugged into a working
electrical socket. If you are using the remote, it could be that the
remote needs new batteries, or that the remote is not programmed for
the correct TV model. For more information, refer to the remote
control documentation.
• Press the TV button on the remote
control.
Or
• Press the power button on the TV itself.
The TV turns on.

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Getting Started With Basic Procedures
To turn on the set-top box
Note: If the set-top box does not turn on, check if it is plugged into a working electrical socket.
If you are using the remote, it could be that the remote needs new batteries, or that the
remote is not programmed correctly to communicate with the set-top box.
To turn on the VCR
Note: If the VCR does not turn on, check if it is plugged into a working electrical socket. If you
are using the remote, it could be that the remote needs new batteries, or that the remote
is not programmed for the correct VCR model. For more information, refer to the
remote control documentation.
• Press the CABLE button on the remote control.
Or
• Press the power button on the set-top box itself.
The set-top box turns on.
• Press the VCR button on the remote
control.
Or
• Press the power button on the VCR itself.
The VCR turns on.

Selecting Channels
Passport DCT Customer Service Guide 13
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Selecting Channels
This section describes the methods that Passport DCT provides for you to select channels for
viewing.
To select channels
• Press the numbered buttons on the remote to select a specific channel number
• Press the CH buttons to select the next channel up or down from the current channel
• Press the LAST button to select the channel you last viewed
• Press the FAV button to select the next favorite channel (unless you are in the program
guide)
• In the program guide, press the SELECT button to view the highlighted program
• In the channel banner, press the SELECT button to select the channel indicated
Entering a Specific Channel Number
If you know the number of the channel you want to view, use the procedure below to select that
channel. You can enter up to four numbers for a channel. When you enter four numbers, the
set-top box immediately displays the channel. If your cable system is set up for three-digit
channel numbers only, then entering three digits selects the channel immediately. When you
enter the channel number, the channel banner shows the number of digits you can enter by
dashes. For example, if you enter 51, the channel banner may show -51 or --51.
To enter a specific channel number
On the remote, press the one, two, three, or four digits of the channel number you want to view.
For example, to select channel 7, enter 7, 07, 007, or 0007.
Depending on your cable system, the number of digits you enter, and what number you enter,
the set-top box may delay a few seconds before displaying the channel. To avoid this delay,
press the SELECT button immediately after you enter the channel number.
Note: If you enter a channel number that does not exist, the channel banner flashes ??? for a
few seconds.

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Getting Started With Basic Procedures
Using the CH Buttons
• Press the CH+ button to select the channel one up from the current channel. For example,
if the current channel is channel 5, pressing the CH+ button causes the set-top box to
display channel 6.
• Press the CH- button to select the channel one down from the current channel. For
example, if the current channel is channel 5, pressing the CH- button causes the set-top
box to display channel 4.
• Press and hold the CH button to scroll through the channels.
Selecting the Channel You Were Viewing Previously
Passport DCT lets you quickly return to the channel you were watching last by pressing the
LAST button on the remote. The set-top box then displays the last “anchored” channel. An
anchored channel is a channel that was selected:
• For at least one minute
• With the numbered buttons on the remote
• With the FAV button
• From the program guide
• From a channel banner browse
• From an alert for a timer
For example, you have been watching channel 7 for the last half hour. Now there is a
commercial break and you want to browse to see what else is showing. You channel up and
down with the CH buttons, but find nothing interesting and want to return to channel 7. At this
point, channel 7 is still the anchored channel, and you can return to it by pressing the LAST
button.
Viewing Favorite Channels
Passport DCT lets you specify favorite channels. You can do this in the Settings menu with the
Favorite Channels preference. Once you specify favorite channels, you can cycle through them
easily at the touch of one remote button. The procedure below describes how you do this. For
information about specifying favorite channels, refer to Adding and Removing Channels From
the Favorite Channels List on page 74.