Remote Stopped Working
 

Out of the blue, the remote that controls me Panasonic DVD Player/Surround Receiver crapped out. It has brand new batteries and buttons light up when I press them. Might the IR bulb have burnt out? Is it easy to solder in a new one?

never heard of those things burning out before but... i would just buy a new universal remote. If your not feeling too cheap get one of the real fancy ones that can control everything in your house and your neighbors house when your bored. Some of the more expensive remotes have alot of neat features. might be worth checking into.

yeah, if its unit-specific and don't have control codes to sync to different models / devices, i'd just get a sweet-ass universal. perhaps it's under warranty? if not, i doubt its worth your time or $$$ to have it repaired.

Since it's dead anyway you could try to fix it.
Open it up and remove the board. Look under a good light and maybe a magnifying glass for bad solder connections.
Check the largest components very carefully.
Look for hairline cracks where the parts are soldered to the print.
Sometimes slightly moving a componant makes the bad connection obvious.

Mostly I have found the xtal has a bad connection. But this was on remotes 20 years ago :-)

since it's dead, you can call the company and see if its under warranty.

i've had the receiver/remote for over 3 years, so I doubt it's under warranty anymore. A hairline crack is very likely, as my kids drop it on the floor about 20 times a day

a replacement remote from Panasonic is $30 FWIW