Several years ago, maybe 2007 when I bought the Samsung TV, I bought a General Electric (actually JASCO) universal remote control. I think it was about ten bucks back then. I went through the setup procedure and found the right code to enter to get it to work. I found that I had to get close to the TV to get it to function. I looked at the IR LED and noticed that the chip inside seemed off center to thelens, so I took it back and got my money back.
A few weeks ago, I was in Big Lots and saw the GE 24991 remote control for five dollars so I bought one. I again went through the procedure to find the right code to get it to work with the Samsung TV. I had completely forgotten about the earlier experience with the GE remote. This time it also seemed much less sensitive than the remote that came with the TV, but it wasn’t all that bad.
Then I was in another store recently and saw the GE remote again for five dollars, so I bought another one, figuring that it might be better than the first one. Well, it too, was not very sensitive and had to be aimed carefully at the TV to function.
I got to thinking about this. What are the chances of me buying three seemingly defective remotes over the extended period of time? The probability of that happening is infinitesimally small. So what could the problem be? Maybe the code I chose was one that gave poor performance. So I started going through all the iother codes in the instruction pamphlet one by one until I came across another code that worked.
BINGO! This new code is a hundred times better than the one I had been using. I can kick back and push the remote without really aiming it at the TV and it functions! The TV is much more responsive to the remote commands. And I now have two universal remotes that are nearly as good as the original remote (they don’t have all of the functions, but most of the ones we need). So I’m much happier and wiser. Next time I get a remote that is not doing very well, I’ll be sure to try the other codes and see if it helps.
Back to watching TV…