[Ziaholic]

We used a small Sony remote that I had not used in a long while (the cable box controls that TV for me).

Ours worked from across the room ... and at nearly every angle to the receiver. There does appear to be a dead spot (or more accurately dead PLANE) at a right-angle to the sensor ... it works from front and rear, but not too good (or at all) from the side.

We're not sure how much of it is reflected, since it was inside the classroom. We're planning an outside remote control tryout to find the one with the longest range, just from the unused remotes that we have around our houses.

and yes, fresh batteries are a must.