I usually end up sitting in front of my television either banging the control off of the couch or taking the back off of the remote and twisting the batteries around until they start working again. The latter seems to work quite a bit for some reason. Getting off of the couch to fetch some fresh batteries would just not be right. Too much energy. Now it looks like you don't have to anymore. 

I have a wind up radio that would use a pile of power to operate and it lasts for about 10 minutes after winding her a good one. I can't imagine a remote using a ton of power once it gets charged. Changing stations and turning it off. You can read more about the Wind Up Universal TV Remote at the Gizoo Website  and it retails for about £20 or $38.

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