My remote is broken.
I have to use two remotes to watch television: either my digital cable remote or the clicker for the DVD player, depending on what the source of the program is, and my surround sound remote. I used to run everything through the television and then into the surround sound receiver so that the digital cable remote could control the volume as well, but the output connections on the back of my telly are so loose that one of the channels doesn’t work. So no more of that.
About a week ago my surround sound remote started cutting out. New batteries did little. It’ll work sparingly, mostly if I hit it really hard about ten times, but then I only get about five seconds out of it.
But Peter, you say, why don’t you just use a universal remote?
Nice idea, reader, but I my surround sound is a maudlin 1997 Zenith Dolby ProLogic 2 affair, and remotes don’t seem to have frequency codes for this getup, meaning I have no way to get a new remote.
The truth is, for such a cheap and old system, the sound isn’t bad; I had no plans to replace it anytime soon. Now I’m looking at dropping a few hundred on a new system, all because my remote refuses to work. I damn sure ain’t walking over to the receiver everytime I have to change the channel. That’s getting old fast.