SA8000HD Stopped responding to remote

[Mrtanner]

I have a SA8000HD cable box/DVR.  Last week it stopped responding to commands from the remote control (both the one from TWC and my programmable Radio Shack model).  I picked up a second box and it worked great so I returned the first, unresponsive one.

Today, the new box has stopped responding to the remote.  Has anyone else had this problem?  I'm guessing if it happened to me twice - there's something going on unless I've lost the ability to operate a remote control.  The box does work if I use the buttons on the front.

(Yes, I changed the batteries.  Yes, I rebooted the box several times.  Yes, I tried two different remotes.  Yes, I called TWC and had them reset the box.)  Any suggestions beyond these or even stories of similar experiences would be appreciated.

[brewtownska]

When you hit the buttons, does the CBL button light up.  Just making sure someone didn't hit the TV button, therefore it's trying to send commands to a different source.

[Mrtanner]

Yes, the cable light on the TWC-supplied remote lights up when buttons are pushed.  Also, my Radio Shack remote continues to work for everything else except the cable box.  

Thanks

[Mark Strube]

Try getting the remote very close to the box, less than a foot away... does it work then?

[Mrtanner]

The remotes work fine now.  I had rebooted.  I had unplugged it for a minute.  But that didn't work.  After leaving it unplugged for 12+ hours, it works now.  (Probably because I picked up a replacement box today.)

[Mrtanner]

Originally posted by UnrealityS
Try getting the remote very close to the box, less than a foot away... does it work then?

It worked for awhile now it only works when the remote is less than a foot away from the box.  (This is the case with four different remotes.)  Any ideas?  It's not the batteries.

[Mark Strube]

Are you running the box in SD mode?

[mhz40]

Sunlight and fluorescent lights can really shorten IR reach...  any of those situations exist in your setup?

[Mrtanner]

Originally posted by mhz40
Sunlight and fluorescent lights can really shorten IR reach...  any of those situations exist in your setup?

Thanks.

There is a fluorescent light in the closet with the box.  Turning that on didn't immediately bring the problem back, but I'll keep watching that for a correlation.

It seems to be more likely to be fussy when I'm recording something and the most severe problems have occurred when recording two shows at once.  (I know I can't watch a third.)

[Mark Strube]

Like I said, are you running the box in SD mode? I had identical problems when I did that. Apparently the box gets very buggy when run in SD for long periods of time.

[Mrtanner]

Originally posted by UnrealityS
Like I said, are you running the box in SD mode? I had identical problems when I did that. Apparently the box gets very buggy when run in SD for long periods of time.

No, it has run exclusively in HD mode since the day I got it.  (I do record a fair amount of SD material, but the box runs HD daily.)