system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is actually happening when a tv remote’s batteries start to die? Why is it you have to start pointing it at the box and pressing buttons longer? Why does it still work for a while in this way?
gpt
Your remote is essentially an IR blaster (that's really what they're called). When you hit a button it sends an infrared signal that the TV receives. If the battery is dying it reaches a point where it still works but with less strength. The signal emitted is narrower, and weaker as it dies. So you do have to literally aim at the receiver to hit it, and sometimes you need to hold the button down to send the signal a few times to be received.