The photodiode in photovoltaic (zero bias) mode will react to the RC modulation envelope if connected directly across the scope input (DC coupled) with no other parts, if the IR illumination is strong enough. It wont be fast enough to resolve the typ. 38KHz carrier. You need to get the remote's IR LED within a couple of cm of the photodiode, and shield the photodiode from direct room lighting - a few cm of black rubber tubing is ideal.
When I used to work in a TV shop, we kept a BNC connector with a photodiode connected as described, permanently on one of our scope channels, only removing it if we needed all channels for a particular job.
To resolve the carrier, you'd need to run the diode in photoconductive (reverse biassed) mode and minimise the effect of the photodiode's junction capacitance, which would probably require a transimpedance amplifier. Due to varying ambient lighting you'll probably need to servo the bias voltage to keep the output between the rails.