I'm using a Xantech IR system to take remote commands from my main room to the closet where all the AV source equipment is located. Since switching to a plasma TV my non-plasma proof sensor is being swamped with either electrical or optical interference and operation is unreliable.

Here in the UK Xantech's own plasma proof IR sensors cost a king's ransom and I'm wondering if other makers' (Channel Vision and Audioplex for example) three-wire sensors are compatible, signal and voltage wise, with Xantech's connecting blocks, PSU's and emitters?

Many thanks - GeoffT.

I'm using a Xantech IR system to take remote commands from my main room to the closet where all the AV source equipment is located. Since switching to a plasma TV my non-plasma proof sensor is being swamped with either electrical or optical interference and operation is unreliable.

Here in the UK Xantech's own plasma proof IR sensors cost a king's ransom and I'm wondering if other makers' (Channel Vision and Audioplex for example) three-wire sensors are compatible, signal and voltage wise, with Xantech's connecting blocks, PSU's and emitters?

Many thanks - GeoffT.

The plasma is like a big heat lamp that produces IR as well as the normal frequency light stuff you want to see.

You may very well be able to get your current Xantech stuff to work just fine by re-locating the Xantech receiver so that it doesn't see so much IR output from the plasma. Place the receiver so that there is some sort of screening on the direct line between it and the plasma and so that there is no reflective surface close to the receiver that might be reflecting the IR from the plasma back into it.

One easy way to do this is to put a bright scene on the plasma, turn off the other lights in the room, and put the Xantech receiver someplace where it is clearly in shadow. Typically placing it set back a bit on a shelf with another opaque shelf above it will do the trick.

It may also help if you calibrate the output levels from your plasma properly, since the factory default levels almost invariably are set too bright for proper viewing. The brighter the plasma, the more IR it emits as well.
--Bob

Bob:

Thanks for your reply. The screen and IR sensor are in my kitchen which is full of stainless steel, glass and many other reflective surfaces. I have done a lot of tests with a second, powered up Xantech IR on a long trailing cord and can't find anywhere where the plasma radiation is minimised. I guess I could site it around a corner or something but when using remotes the instinct is always to point them at the screen.

I tried adding filters (optical kind) to the Xantech but they attenuate the wanted IR as much as the background noise. And with current prices I could just about buy a 32" LCD HD TV for the cost of the Xantech plasma-proof sensor!

GeoffT.