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It would seem that, yes, the sky remote will turn the tv on and off, and work the volume. I can get the source up from the top of the tv, but it doesn't help in finding the menu to retune.
I've pretty much tried everything else, yes the batteries are in the right way round, they are brand new. in fact i've tried two sets of brand new ones!!
At the moment it's just an annoyance as we rarely watch anything other than bbc channels upstairs. when the grand kids come to stay they watch other stuff now and again, but this isn't going to be an issue for some time to come, things being as they are.
I believe I once did have a remote that was supposed to work any tv, and it did, but yes, finding the right way into the retune menu can be challenging at the best of times, but when the instruction manual refers to the specific remote, it's less than helpful.
We definitely need a new sky remote anyway, so at the very least we can use the old one to change the volume, although it can be done from the buttons on the tv. Unlike many tv's these days, it also has an on/off button so don't actually need a remote for that.