It's no longer a problem but I thought I though I would pass along this tip. I have a 54" Panasonic Plasma TV with a CHS 335HDC P2 STB. The box was located below and just in front of the TV. I had no trouble with this set up until I calibrated the TV. I soon noticed that the STB no longer responded reliably to the remote. I tried another remote and had the same problem. After going through the STB reinitialization with FiOS tech support and no success I exchanged STBs at a nearby FiOS store. The new box was no better and the FiOS tech support person on the phone was stumped. They scheduled a service call.
Then I noticed that the box responded perfectly when the TV was off. I put a piece of carboard on top of ther box covering the vent holes (preventing light from the TV from shining inside) and STB worked perfectly. For a permanent fix I repositioned the STB so that it wasn't exposed to light from the TV.
This STB seems to have a design defect where it is sensitive to fluctuating light entering through the vent holes on top. When I calibrated the TV the brightness was increased substantially, causing my problem. When the scenes on TV were dark it worked fine but it didn't work at all when scenes were light. Room lighting was not a factor in this.
What you described is a well-known phenomena that impacts many IR systems (not just the Verizon STB brand). It is a physics thing and is interference in the IR band, not visible light, that causes the issues. This problem also occurs with some LCD backlit TVs and does not occur with all Plasma TVs. A web search will produce a wealth of information on this topic.
Yes. I found references to TVs creating IR interference. However the sensitivity of this particular STB to light entering through the top (vs the front) is a clear defect FiOS ought to be aware of.. Two different FiOS tech support people failed to mention this as a possibility.
It's the STB designer who failed to fully appreciated the physics. Even a rudimentary shield over the IR receiver diode would avoid this problem. I wonder how many STBs and remotes are being replaced needlessly.
Our fios STB is beside the plasma Panasonic tv. I moved it over when I read these posts. The remote still isnot working, but light from the tv could still shine on it. This is our second remote, batteries are fine. rarely it works to do dvr or guide or channel changes. It can do volume and off/on. Sometimes the problem is reverse.
You think cardboard or a dark cloth covering the STB would help?
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