What is an IR Repeater?
IR repeaters allow you to pass a remote control signal through a wall, frame, or mirror TV, so you don’t have to drill a hole. USB repeaters are super easy once you know how they work.
Check out this guide to avoid frustration and wasted time trying to figure them out.
IR Repeater Benefits:
It allows you to maintain a line of sight to your TV even when your remote can’t connect with the sensor and allows you to put the sensor anywhere!
For example, if you’re doing a frame mirror TV the IR repeater allows you to reposition the IR sensor anywhere so that you don’t have to have a hole in the frame.
There’s a few different ways to install it.
It could go with the line of sight to your remote control for the best signal.
Or, a lot of people put it on the back side of the frame. And just kind of play around with the remote and make sure it’s still getting a clear signal.
A good trick to use is to point the remote control to an area that does not turn on/off the TV. Then, hold the IR repeater in front of the sensor. If the remote turns the TV on, then it works.
IR Emitter
There’s an adhesive sticker on the infrared emitter which sticks to the IR sensor of the TV.
Be sure to clean the TV sensor before placing the IR repeater on it. This will help with a clear connection, and will help it stick on the adhesion.
The USB plugs into the wall with the included adapter.
The IR receiver typically goes just under the TV.
Using the IR repeater you can hook up multiple devices including cable boxes, DVDs, Blu-ray, and much more.
A lot of people ask if you can plug the IR emitter directly into the television into the powered USB port. Their answer is yes, you can but that does make it more difficult to turn the TV on because the IR repeater does not have power when the TV is off.
To compensate for this you can always turn on the TV by standing close to the TV and simply angling the remote around the frame. Once the TV is on the IR repeater will have power from the TV and there will be no problem when using it.
The advantage to this is that if you don’t want to plug the IR repeater into the wall doing this will create a much easier installation rather than having a couple devices plugged back into the wall. So it’s also a space-saving feature.
99% of the time when someone’s having problems with an IR repeater it means that it’s not receiving power, make sure that the LED is turned on the receiver part. As you can see, there’s a small LED.
To troubleshoot your IR repeater make sure you’re using the remote that came with your television and not a third-party remote.
Of course, make sure that you’ve changed the batteries because often people discover that it’s simply a battery issue.
Questions? Leave me a comment below or shoot over an email!