Hi, I hope this is an appropriate place to ask this. I can't find anyone who has had a similar problem.

I have a new HDTV setup, a Vizio E370VP (link), which is great on its own. But right next to it I decided to keep my older, small 4:3 television for use with old gaming consoles. It is a 20" LG 20LC1RB-MG.

The problem is that both television just happen to have the exact same remote control signal/code. Either the new or old tv's remote will power both televisions on and off, change the volumes, etc. My universal cable box remote, which is programmed to the old tv's signal, also changes both tvs now, confirming that it's the same signal.

Some people would probably love such luck, but alas, it's not what I'm going for in my situation. Is there anything I can do short of covering up the older tv's infrared lens and powering it on and off by hand?

Thanks for your help with this silly situation.

an RF universal remote with an IR addressable basestation would be the way to fix this problem.  but it will probably cost more than replacing the old tv with a different brand.   

Welcome to the site. It's not a silly question at all, and you are one of the rare people whose first post is a reasonable, well-thought-out question not just tacked onto the end of a three-year old discussion of slightly other things.

You've correctly evaluated the situation. There are some rare and probably high-priced TVs for which there are more than one set of IR codes -- you select one, then use it, and it comes out of the box set to the default -- but I don't know what they are.

You did not mention model brands or numbers, which will help. Please do so.

Meanwhile, a really hokey but probably workable solution (also of the right budget) is to do something totally DIY: make a couple of IR shields. I'd check out where the IR sensors are on the two TVs, then on each mount a piece of cardboard sticking out about three inches from the front of the TV. On the left TV, this goes to the right of the sensor. On the right TV, this goes to the left of the sensor.

Then learn just how far left of the left TV you can aim the remote and still get reliable results on the left TV. This will tend to lessen the amount of times that IR hits the right TV, and the cardboard on the right TV ought to do the rest. Then work out the same thing for the right TV.

There are really great solutions that involve programmable remotes, RF transmission, IR routing and covering the IR sensor of each TV. But start with this one.

You could also check craigslist for older 4:3 TVs of different brands. Try Goodwill and the Salvation Army stores, too.

Ignore this, beaten to the gun by Ernie who covered the points i was going to make.

A solution similar to Ernie's is to take a retractable ball point pen, take it apart and take the bottom half (the side that is closest to the paper when you are writing) and cut off an inch of the larger side of the tube. Take that piece of the tube and silicone it to the end of the remote control so the IR is forced down the tube. That way you narrow the beam and have to point it exactly at which component you wish to operate.

It will be easier if the remote is the old type where you can see the round emitter on the front of the remote but I have done it on older remotes by pulling off the lens of the remote and placing the pen tube over the IR emitter on the remote.

Thanks everyone for the first round of suggestions, and thanks to Ernie for the warm welcome.

I edited my post with the television models, which are as follows:

New HDTV: Vizio E370VP
Slightly older LCD: LG 20LC1RB-MG (manufactured January 2007)

I tried to find the actual remote codes online for both televisions, but couldn't find either. I did, however, find this discussion (link) where someone has the same Vizio and found that some LG remote code worked, which correlates to my situation.

I think I made my 4:3 tv sound worse/older than it really is; yes, it's only standard-def and a mere 20 inches, but it's got a nice picture on it and is only 5 years old. So you can see why I don't really want to replace it.

Thanks for the other suggestions as well; I will have to look into the programmable remote/IR routing concept, as off hand I'm not sure what that involves.

Thanks also to Ernie and William David Designs, both ideas sound very practical, fast and easy. I'll probably start with one of those ideas and try to make it look as "nice" as possible. Interestingly (now that I think about it), if the IR shielding idea does work well, it would actually be very convenient to be able to control both televisions with the same remote.... as long as they can be controlled separately :)

So one last time, thanks for the input; hopefully others can contribute to or learn from this thread as well!

Good luck on your project. If my instructions are ambiguous feel free to send me a message on the Remote Central mail system and I will explain further on email or I will send my cell number.