Umm, actually that is exactly what is going on here.

Guy has a bunch of individual rooms with cable boxes and TV onboard streaming media as the only sources. Each one has its own crestron processor, gateway and remote (I did not design nor install this system).

There are "cable power" buttons on the remotes as well as clear labels on the boxes themselves instructing how to power and/or reset the boxes as needed.

This is too much for him and especially too much for his (sometimes elderly) guests.

I saw the power save settings in the box were set to off. I did not see a power on timer (I have used this trick before as well).

The cable box power situation is something that my few cable clients understand and are willing to live with. I typically steer people towards Directv mostly for this reason so I don't have to contend with this all that often.

Honestly it has been so long since I have dealt with this, my question was if the old school solutions (light and video sensors) were still viable, especially with OLED displays and newer cable boxes. My biggest error was that I didn't get the model number of the cable boxes while I was on site (I was kinda rushed).

FWIW, satellite is not an option due to the way the building is configured. That and I have had issues with Directv boxes and vacation homes, they tend to get stuck on stupid when they sit for several months without use. Luckily most of the houses I have out there like that I have remote power management in place.

I am also seriously considering asking my programmer if he can just set up remote access and the client can text me, I will turn on the offending cable boxes as needed (for a monthly fee).