I have a friend who has a remote that works through walls, etc. It has a small receiver that goes on top of the tv and everything else is in the basement; stereo receiver, cd player, etc. The only thing in the living room is the dvd player because you have to load disks, and the xbox so the controllers will reach the couch. It is pretty slick but pricey; I think he said ~$250. I tried to search yahoo for it but couldn't think of the right words to use. Helpful huh!?! I've seen it advertised in the back of the American Airlines magazine. Let me know and I can email him for the name.