Creative DXR3 (region code). Thanks to Paul Smith for the board!
RealMagic Hollywood+ (region code and macrovision).
CineMaster Software Engine (region code).
Remote support added for the following players:
Creative PlayCenter (for use with CT7160, DXR2 and DXR3 decoders).
LuxSonor DVD player (for use with LS-220 and CT7160 decoders).
DVD Station (for use with RealMagic Hollywood+ decoder).
CineMaster player.
Remote core rewritten from scratch:
Silitek support improved (thanks to Phil Combs for the remote).
Repeat limitter added, solves problems with Silitek joystick and IRMan autorepeat.
Support added for the following remote devices:
Packard Bell Fast Media (thanks to Aaron Levey for the remote).
InterAct WebRemote SV-2020 (thanks to Stephen Retzlaff for the remote).
Joysticks
Other improvements:
You don't have to add Remote Selector to the startup folder manually anymore if you want to start Remote Selector at Windows startup.
Possible startup delay when Remote Selector is started at Windows startup. This should solve program/remote initialisation problems.
Automatic decoder and player detection can now be enabled/disabled.
Set button removed from remote tabsheet (was useless anyway).
Seperated 'disabling of player region check' (previously region code 0) from the region code of decoder. This was necessary because not all players support this feature. Region code 0 now simply means that the region code of the decoder is not set.
Supported decoders
Creative Encore Dxr2 (CT7120/CT7220), Creative PC-DVD Inlay (CT7160) and TeraMovie DVD Set (only with Win95 drivers)
Region code.
Framerate and color carrier of tv output.
MacroVision.
Creative Encore Dxr3 (CT7240)
Region code.
RealMagic Hollywood+
Region code.
MacroVision.
Other LuxSonor LS-220 and LS-242 based boards (only with Win95 drivers)
(*) The Remote Selector has native support for these remotes.
Installation
Just unzip the file (with a program like WinZip) to any directory you like.
It doesn't matter where you put the Remote Selector, as long as you keep all files together.
To add the program to the Windows desktop, create a shortcut to the 'remselec.exe' file.
How to use the Remote Selector
How to use the keyboard as remote
The keyboard will function as a remote device when:
the 'Enable keyboard commands' option on the Remote tabsheet is enabled and
the selected player is running
When the keyboard is functioning as remote device it doesn't matter which program has the input focus at that moment, all keyboard strokes are redirected to the Remote Selector. This also means that other programs, for instance NotePad, won't receive keyboard input and you can't use them at that moment.
The keyboard will return to function as normal after:
the selected player is closed, or
the Remote Selector is closed, or
the 'Enable keyboard commands' option on the Remote tabsheet is disabled, or
the 'Enable keyboard' option of the menu of the system tray icon is disabled.
How to use an infrared remote control
Remote control with native support:
Connect the infrared receiver to a free serial com port.
Disable or uninstall the software that came with the remote control.
Select the used remote type.
Select the correct serial com port on which the ir receiver is connected.
Other remote controls:
Install hardware and software according to the manual.
Select the used remote type.
Select the name of the device button on the remote to use with the Remote Selector.
The remote functions will only work when you keep the Remote Selector running in the background.
How to change the region code
The region code can be changed at any time and doesn't need the DVD player software to run.
Start the Remote Selector.
Select Region tabsheet.
Select desired region code.
Follow the on screen instructions when necessary.
When no error message appears, the region code is changed.
If you don't have any of the supported decoders, the region tabsheet will be disabled.
Region code 0 means that the region code of the decoder is not set.
This will be the case with a new (uninitialised) mpeg decoder board (like the DXR2) or
when you use the Remote Selector for the first time.
The region code of the decoder can be compared with the region code of the DVD at several places in a DVD system:
DRIVE: When this is the case, Remote Selector can't help you. You need to upgrade the drive with a region free firmware. Contact the manufacurer of the drive.
DECODER: Remote Selector can change the region code of several decoders.
PLAYER: Remote Selector can disable the region checking of some players. In that case, it doesn't matter to which region code the decoder is set.
DVD MENU: DVD's from Universal, Paramount and MGM will check the region code of the decoder when the DVD is started. Disabling the player region check won't help. Set the decoder region equal to the region of the DVD.
How to set the TV video mode
The tv video mode is determined as a combination of framerate and color carrier of the TV.
Disc type is NTSC for 30 frames/sec (60Hz) or PAL for 25 frames/sec (50Hz).
MultiSystem TV type selects the original video mode as it would be without Remote Selector.
7.5 IRE Setup changes the blacklevel and controls the brightness.
When the 'Automatic Refresh' option is enabled, the tv video mode settings will be automatically set when a disc is started or stopped, or a menu is entered or left. This option only works with the Creative player software V3.x and when the Remote Selector is running in the background.
With the 'Refresh' button (or refresh function in the remote part) the TV video mode can be set manually.
If you don't have any of the supported hardware, the video tabsheet will be disabled.
Running the Remote Selector in the background
The Remote Selector must be kept running in the background:
to use the remote functions.
to use the automatic video mode refresh. This is necessary when you use PAL TV mode or want to disable MacroVision.
Minimizing the Remote Selector
The Remote Selector window can be minimized (but this is not necessary) when running in the background.
In that state the Remote Selector can be accessed using the Remote Selector icon in the system tray (in the right lower corner of the screen).
Clicking the icon with the left mouse button restores the Remote Selector window.
Clicking the icon with the right mouse button brings up a menu, which lets you control the 'Enable keyboard' option.
When the 'Start minimized' option on the Remote tabsheet is enabled, the Remote Selector will not display the window on startup, but only adds the Remote Selector icon to the system tray.
This is useful when you want to include the Remote Selector in your Windows startup.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Remote Selector keeps crashing
If the Remote Selector crashes at startup or when you select the About tabsheet,
your computer has been infected with a virus, most likely Win32.CIH.SpaceFiller.
This is a new virus, so download the latest virus data files for your virus scanner!
You can also use this little program to detect and remove this virus.
Why does the screen sometimes flicker in PAL TV mode?
When the player starts or stops playing, or enters or leaves a menu, one of the video registers will be changed by the player.
This causes the flickering on top of the screen.
To solve this problem just select the Video Mode tabsheet and press the Refresh button. You can also enable the 'Automatic refresh' option.
Another possibility is to assign a key or remote key to the Refresh function on the Remote tabsheet and use that key to refresh the videomode setting.
Revision history
Version 1.5 (February 19, 1999)
Framerate control for the Dxr2 decoder card (CT7120).
This means that it is now possible to convert NTSC 60Hz to PAL 50Hz and PAL 50Hz to NTSC 60Hz!
This option only works with the Creative DVD player V3.0 or higher.
Thanks to Fred for the missing piece!
Several small improvements:
Speeded up the initialisation of the LuxSonor support, it's 3 times faster on my P90 now.
Changed the initialisation of the IRMan remote, it should work better now.
Preferences are now also saved on shutdown.
Version 1.41 (October 12, 1998)
Fixed a small bug in the commandline handling routine, which caused the Remote Selector not to startup when its directory path contained spaces.
Fixed a similar problem in the Animax remote support, although this was mainly because of the Animax software which can not handle spaces itself.
Version 1.4 (October 9, 1998)
Support for the Creative CT7160 board, aka the PC-DVD inlay board:
Change region code without increasing the install counter.
Tweak tv-output and disable MacroVision.
No remote support yet!
Region code probably also works on other DVD board based on the LuxSonor LS-220.
Implemented a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), to make it easier to add future support for other hardware.
Automatic detecting of installed hardware.
Support added for the IRMan, universal remote receiver.
Finally a real icon for the Remote Selector, drawn by bfactor.
Support for Encore software V3.5:
Region 0 support added, thanks to Peter Kooiman.
Automatic restart of player after region code change.
Remote support for Next Audio and Next Caption functions.
Program and DLL even smaller! Don't be mislead by the small size, many many hours of hard work have gone into making this release.
Version 1.31 (August 31, 1998)
Fixed a small bug in the Silitek remote routine, it should work ok again (as it was in V1.2).
Put back the DLL. Although the construction without DLL worked good on most computers, on some the program crashed at startup. I hope this problem is solved now.
Changed the support for WinAmp a little bit:
The program can startup now without the presence of the Creative DVD.
Added the functions 10 tracks forward and 10 tracks backward.
Added support for the Silitek SM-1000 remote.
Version 1.12 (July 18, 1998)
Completely rewritten the remote part, it should work much better now.
The following problems with the support for the Miro MediaRemote are solved now:
On start up of the program the serial port was initialized with the wrong values.
Most of the times it received only the first keys correctly.
The Miro support also picked up some signals of other remotes.
Added remote support for WinAmp.
Finally made some documentation (this file), which is also included in the zipfile.
Version 1.11 (June 29, 1998)
Fixed a bug that could block access to the DVD drive after several hours when the Remote Selector is run in the background.
Removed the DLL.
Version 1.1 (June 9, 1998)
Videomode is now determined by a combination of disctype and tv-type.
Added support for PAL-M (Brazil) and PAL-Nc (Argentina).
Automatic videomode refreshing with V3.0 of the Creative DVD software.
Added support for Miro MediaRemote.
Can minimize on startup.
Added remote support for eject, mute, vol up, vol down, FF and rewind.
Multispeed support for slowmotion, fast forward and rewind.
Remote control keynames are displayed now (instead of numbers).
Several small bugfixes.
Version 1.0 (initial release)
The Remote Selector is a combination of the Region Selector by me (Erwin van den Berg) and EncoreRC by Peter Kooiman.
Predecessor history
In january 1998 I made a small utility that could change the region code of the Creative DVD Encore Dxr2.
This program was called the Creative DVD Region Selector (REGION.EXE).
Later, when the program also could change the color carrier of the tv output and disable MacroVision, the name was changed in Creative DVD Selector (SELECTOR.EXE).
The Remote Selector is written by Erwin van den Berg.
Original Tekram remote support and user interface by Peter Kooiman.
Hollywood+ patch strings by the Zone Selector team.
Registration
This program is shareware and can be evaluated for a period of 14 days.
If you want to continue using this program after this period, please register it for $10.
You can do this secure online using your creditcard on my homepage.
If you don't have a creditcard and want to register, please contact me.
As registered user you will be informed about new releases of the Remote Selector
and you are entitled to support by email.
This program is fully functional, and it won't stop working after the 14 days period.
With the registration code you will be able to disable the splash screen.