On the front of the SLO-1800 is the CONTROL REMOTE/LOCAL switch. It is used to place the machine in one of two modes. LOCAL indicates that all the function buttons are available for this machine and that it is can of pass information to other machines. Setting the switch to REMOTE allows the VCR to be operated by another machine or a wired device. The front panel buttons a disabled in this mode. A number of advanced operations require that the VCR be placed in the remote mode. It depends on the method and the circumstance.