How to fix the “loud channel” problem on your DSTV decoder

By virtue of knowing a bit about these kinds of things, I quite frequently get asked about what is perceived to be a very annoying bug on a DSTV decoder: some channels have the volume set really loud when they are changed to, although the rest of the channels are much softer. This is not actually a bug, but a feature called “User Volume Setting”, albeit a somewhat confusing one in that as far as I can tell its existence or operation hasn’t been explained much.

It works by storing the volume for one or more channels, and then restoring it when that channel is visited. What makes it seem like a bug is how it is activated: pressing OK on the remote control while the volume bar is still displayed will store the volume for that channel, with no indication to the user that this has been done. When the channel is visited in the future, the stored volume will be used.

The saved volume for any particular channel can be removed on your DSTV decoder like so:

• Press Menu on the remote control
• Go to Advanced Options
• Go to TV Installation
• Enter the PIN code of 9949 (this number does not change and can be found in your manual)
• Go to User Volume Setting
• Select the bouquet you want to alter (probably the main DSTV bouquet) by scrolling to it with the up or down arrow key and pressing OK on the remote control
• Scroll the arrow key up or down until you highlight the channel you wish to remove the volume setting from, then press the left or right arrow to clear the saved volume (as explained in the help text at the bottom of the screen)

Unfortunately there is no mechanism to turn the feature off completely, or to remove the saved volume from all channels at once, as far as I know.

If such a mechanism is a feature you would like to see, contact Multichoice via their website or otherwise and let them know: they will almost certainly only ask a decoder manufacturer to add new features if they know that a significant number of customers desire the capacity.