Philips and Vestel remote controls share codes, probably due to historical collaboration. You can use most Vestel remotes with most Philips TVs (the exception would be some of the newer Philips sets that are made by TCL or UMC.)
There is probably no chance you can reprogram the remote, it will be flashed at the factory as a one-time programmable MCU. Maybe it is a flash MCU but even so, you would not be able to get a copy of the firmware. I doubt it has a built in programming mode, no need to do so.
You can also buy a ~10EUR universal remote and try the various codes with those, I've usually had reasonable success there.
Thanks. I guess that answers my question. It was a long shot but I thought I ask.
Some years ago I decoded a remote control for a satellite receiver and found the commands had 10 bits which were invariant, so I assumed they identify the device, and another 12 bits which identified the command key being pressed (plus some other various bits).
I suppose Philips and other vendors use different codes in each model so that they do not interfere with each other if the devices are in the same room. I thought there might be a way to reprogram them to other devices of the same brand.
Yes, I am aware of the universal, programmable remotes but I am trying to avoid that for several reasons. One is that I am having too much stuff lost in the mail and I am trying to save myself the aggravation. Another is that I's rather have a purpose-built remote for that model, rather than a programmable one. My experience with programmables is that sometimes they are a pain to program and sometimes they lack keys I need. And sometimes both. And the price is just more than it is worth to me. My target is a $5 used remote for that model, not a $20 new super-duper programmable. I guess I'll just have to wait.