Originally Posted by mjr:
“There does seem to be a lot of variance in people's experiences - never had a particular issue with mine, and having tried just now I can point it easily 45 degrees out of alignment and it still works.”
It's not just
pointing it out of alignment (though it's far more limited in this respect than other remotes), it's the viewer
being out of alignment

i.e. sitting somewhat to the side. It just doesn't like it.
FWIW it works well enough in our house. Comparing it with other devices it's far far worse (and this is a general opinion of most users - have a google), but it works where I normally sit so that's OK.
Cheers,
David.