Tivo Remote not working in the dark? Check to see if your TV is causing interference!

Recently my 5 year old LCD TV that I “bought” with airline frequent flier miles finally decided to stop displaying a picture. Over the last 12-18 months I’d turn the TV on and the screen would go gray on startup. The audio worked fine, but the picture was all gray, across all inputs. Usually unplugging the TV and letting it restart (as in a computer restart) would fix the problem. A couple weeks ago after returning from a trip even that fix worked.

So, I ordered up a new TV from Amazon (it’s another story to describe the boneheadedness and incompetence of the FedEx driver that left the TV sitting in the lobby to my apartment building instead of calling me via the intercom…like EVERY other UPS, FedEx and USPS delivery carrier know how to do…but I digress).

So I set the TV up and everything’s honky dory during the day. But come nighttime, I turn the TV on, I can click around a few times and boom, remote no worky! What the heck? It clearly worked for a bit, what is going on here?

Is the remote dead? Hrm, change batteries, same problem.

Does it have something to do with using the TV remote to access the sleep timer function? Hrm, don’t use the function from the remote, same problem. Ok, what if I use that function from the TV directly using the built in buttons, same problem. Ok this is annoying.

Wake up in the morning, do I have the same problems? No the TV remote seems to work fine. Ok great.

Next night, same problems. What the heck.

Ok is it the code I’ve used to program the Tivo remote to control the TV? Try switching to the other code in the Tivo. Same problems at night, it works fine in the day.

Next night, try shining a flashlight in the IR sensor and use the remote, ok that sorta works.

Try using my body to block the remote from the TV’s IR sensor, ok that sorta works too.

I have tried Google a couple times already to no avail. And this is really starting to annoy me.

Then I find this:

The TV may have an auto energy saving mode enabled. It would change various things on the TV, depending on the room lighting. Some owners of the TV models I previously mentioned have found that a specific background setting on the TV will cause a certain frequency to be emitted that causes their remote to respond slowly or not at all.

@RoadiJeff/High Def Forum

Ok, what is the TV emitting (versus detecting passively) to do this!?!?! Grr, ok try changing this setting buried deep in the menu items.

Next night, no problems. Well, I guess that worked. Sheesh.