(Sorry for the double post, read this one though, it's more concise & I fixed my apparently bad spelling.) :-)'

NEED HELP.
Is it possible that my body could absorb IR interference & what can I do to filter or shield the interference so I do not have to stand next to my equipment in order for the channel to change properly?

I am having problems with the IR blaster feature of my Sony TiVo SVR 2000. Unless someone, or some"thing" is standing within about 3 feet of the unit, it only works intermittently when TiVo blasts the signal to the Satellite receiver.

It's not a distance problem; I be 20ft away when I send the command to the TiVo, as long as someone else,- even my dog!- is within 3 ft. of the Audio/Video rack. As long as someone's there, it works perfectly every time.

It's not a reflection problem & appears to have nothing to do with the placement of the blaster; Results are the same even when the blaster & the receiver are enclosed in a box shielded from all external outside light sources. It works only if someone is standing near the box. I can even be laying flat on the ground & it will work. (The TiVo sits about 4ft high on the rack, in a non windowed maple cabinet. NOTE: Same TiVo worked fine when it was in a different room in the house, but when in this spot has the same problem both with the cable box & with the Dish network receiver.

Certain there is some type of interference on the IR band due to other tale-tell signs:
When hooking up either of the following IR repeater products:
Recotion DSC-IR 100a, or the
Terk "Leapfrog" Model LF-305 TX,
both receiving units, which display a red light when the units are receiving an IR signal, flicker continuously even when I am not sending a signal.
Whatever the source, it has made both those units (& the TiVo) almost useless in the task of IR repetition, as they mistakenly pick up something perceived to be infrared & are prevented from sending a clean repeated signal.
I suspect there to be some type of filter or shielding that could accomplish the same thing that my body is able to do when standing near the unit (absorbing or shielding) but I have no idea where to look or what to try next.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this problem? (Power lines in the back yard about 40ft away?)
Or more importantly, what can I do to solve it?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

-DFinny

Tivo to sat, and tivo to digital cable boxes have been giving everyone fits for years. DSS w. integrated Tivo was a godsend from this standpoint, but I hear they are discontinuing the Tivo integrated models.

Sounds like maybe the repeater(s) you have chosen to get the IR signal into your cabinet may not work with the carrier freq. of all of your equipment.
Or...
The codes in the Tivo for your sat box are no good.
If there is a serial cable, this may be a better solution.

Someone here will probably pipe in any minute with the exact carrier freq. to prove/disprove this theory.

First, do some troubleshooting to see exactly where the problem is.

Double check the control of each component seperatelty with the original remotes with fresh batteries in them.
Test the remotes directly in front of the equipment with any flourescent lights turned off and all of the shades/drapes closed, or better yet, at night.

If the Tivo operates OK by itself, and the sat box operates OK by itself, but the Tivo doesn't operate the sat, regardless of where the dog is, then the emitters and or internal codes are not working.

If it works then, the equipment is OK, and the repeater products that get the signals into the cabinet are the problem.

Does the person standing next to the equipment block garbage IR coming from that cool industrial grade plasma that you got at a great price because it was not the consumer model?

What happens to the IRs that blink, when someone is near them?

Is your A/V equipment actually grounded? Does anything change if you ground the IR system to the equipment? Are you using any IR direct input jacks, as found on the backs of, say, McIntosh and some Yamaha?

I once mostly "cured" this exact problem, but it was in a room with a plasma, by putting blue painters' tape over the sensor. I was trying to kill the IR going into a Xantech dinky link without having to touch it, which would itself affect the noise, but what I found was that the interference was greatly reduced and IR seemed to go right through two layers of blue tape!

By the way, some small portion of your problem might be a blaster putting out a signal too strong for a sensor.

The problem could be caused by IR reflections. If the blaster is putting out too much infrared light, it could be bouncing off of something (maybe a window on the other side of the room). If both the direct and reflected IR are hitting the same device, the codes be confused.

Sometimes I use a small piece of white electrical tape over the sensor. It cuts down the range somewhat, but is often effective in reducing interference. I have even colored the tape with a black felt pen. The IR will go right through the felt pen's markings in most cases, but with some reduction in intensity level. Give it a try, it's a cheap fix if it works.

If the case appears to be this, I will bet that it is just plain too much IR, rather than a reflection of an IR signal, as you are hinting, I think, that the reflected signal would be later than the straight signal, so the two signals would mix and, having different times of arrival, "the codes (would) be confused."

One degree of phase difference at 40 kHz would result from a path difference of about 68 feet, so if the reflection was 68 feet longer than the direct signal, AND one degree of phase difference between the two signals were enough to confuse the equipment, then this is feasible. But all other points aside, a reflection with a path length of anything at all PLUS 68 feet would be a really puny bit of light, so, no, confusion is not being caused by a reflection.


Exactly. See what I said about too much IR above.


Same comment.

By the way, I once had trouble teaching an older Sony DSS remote to a Lexicon 500t. I had to angle the remote quite far away from the Lexicon; if I did not, the learned code would not work on the DSS unless I backed up about thirty feet!

Except that the problem is the same whether I am using a blaster plugged into the IR port of the TiVo, or either of the other IR repeaters I have tried: Wav-Com, Recotion, or the Terk "Leapfrog"


I think the codes must be good, because they do work properly sometimes, & all the time if someone is standing near the unit when it blasts the signal.

TiVo unit has a serial out, but the DishNetwork Sat receiver has no serial in.- grrrrr.


All remotes work perfectly from any distance without any special need to monkey around. That's what is so bizarre about this. I can use the original remotes to control anything in the room from 20+feet away. Never have a problem when I'm doing the remote myself
In addition to the IR blaster plugged directly into the TiVo, I have tried 3 different IR blaster plugs, & the already mention IR repeaters. Nothing seems to be 100%.
NOTE: It does appear to be something in this room from the standpoint that I used the exact same equipment in a different room & it worked perfectly everytime.
I have also tried different blaster node distances, but same results.
There is no flourescent lighting in this room. TV is a Sony HD rear projection which is on the same wall as the equipment rack at opposite ends
------------------------------------------------------_______
A/V Rack

Except that the problem is the same whether I am using a blaster plugged into the IR port of the TiVo, or either of the other IR repeaters I have tried: Wav-Com, Recotion, or the Terk "Leapfrog"

I think the codes must be good, because they do work properly sometimes, & all the time if someone is standing near the unit when it blasts the signal.
If there is a serial cable, this may be a better solution.

TiVo unit has a serial out, but the DishNetwork Sat receiver has no serial in.- grrrrr.

All remotes work perfectly from any distance without any special need to monkey around. That's what is so bizarre about this. I can use the original remotes to control anything in the room from 20+feet away. Never have a problem when I'm doing the remote myself
In addition to the IR blaster plugged directly into the TiVo, I have tried 3 different IR blaster plugs, & the already mention IR repeaters. Nothing seems to be 100%.
NOTE: It does appear to be something in this room from the standpoint that I used the exact same equipment in a different room & it worked perfectly everytime.
I have also tried different blaster node distances, but same results.
There is no flourescent lighting in this room. TV is a Sony HD rear projection which is on the same wall as the equipment rack at opposite ends
------------------------------------------------------
A/V Rack |-----------------| BIG SCREEN
FIREPLACE


Both remotes work perfectly on the equipment by themselves. TiVo only properly controls the Sat. when someone is standing within 3 feet of the AV rack OR (NEW INFO) when the doors to the AV RACK are shut. (Non glass doors, completely blocking all light from outside. Weird because the problem is still present even if all lights are off in the room & it's night!!!! That would make me think it's a "distance from the node" problem, but all tests for that have failed.

No. See layout in reply above. TV is a HD Sony 57" KDB57XBR2 rear projection.


They actually do dim a little. In other words, the flickering, though still present, appears not to be as strong.

I'm not an electian or anything, but I am assuming that it's grounded. How would I know this for sure? All the A/V equipment is plugged into a Belkin Surge protector which is plugged into the wall jack with a 3 prong plug. Would that be enough to ensure it's grounded?

The main IR "system" I am trying to use is simply plugging the IR extender unit (just a long wire with a miniplug on one end that plugs directly into the IR Port of the TiVo, and an IR emitter on the other end which you place somewhen near the Sat. Receivers IR detector or whatever it's called.


I have some blue auto detailling tape. I'll give that a try.


Any idea how I could fix that if that is what the problem is?

Just get your girlfriend (hopefully good looking) to stand next to your tv whenever you wanna watch a movie = - ) !
Or go RF and call it a day .

This is very similar to a problem I've had with a Panasonic PV-D4741 DVD/VCR combo unit. It's in a side closet with my receiver and CD jukebox. I have a Radio Shack IR repeater system. The IR repeater receiver is on the mantle under my Dell W4200HD 42" plasma HDTV, and the IR xmitter is in the closet aimed at the three components.

The CD jukebox and receiver are flawlessly controlled by their respective remotes, and by the new Harmony 688 remote I just got.

However, with the Panasonic combo unit, I must stand within 3-4' of the IR repeater receiver for the unit to respond to remote commands. Any further back, no good. The Harmony remote about doubled the effective range, but still not enough to allow remote control from my couch (about 12').

This problem existed when I had a 32" CRT TV there, too, so it's not unique to having the plasma TV there.

In my last house (1-1/2 years ago) the same DVD/VCR unit worked fine (at a somewhat greater distance) when it was colocated with the TV over the fireplace.

IR receiver LED blinks when DVD/VCR remote is used, even if it doesn't work, so a signal is getting to the IR receiver. There are no random, unexplained blinks of the LED when the remotes are not in use, so I don't think there are any outside IR sources interfering. I have no other IR-enabled systems in the house.

The problem has to do with this particular DVD/VCR unit and these specific IR repeaters. Any guesses on how to unravel this mystery? Something unique about the IR frequency for this DVD/VCR unit?

Thanks,

Dish PVR is the only way to go.