If you use a Yamakawa 218 or 238 Model in India, please read and respond....

I bought a Yamakawa DVD-218 and a DVD-238 model in USA and brought them to India as gifts. In India, I am shocked to note that the remotes on BOTH the players do not work from more than about 2 feet away! The same remotes worked fine in USA (from about 6 feet.)

I tried the following:
- Changed batteries on both remotes
- Repositioned the players so I am sitting dead center in front of the sensor
- Recorded the Remote sequences onto a programmable remote. The programmable remote shows the same behavior (works from close only.) This seems to indicate that the problem is with the infrared receiver rather than the remote
- Tried in different rooms where multiple other devices worked fine (including a Philips 625 DVD Player)
- Tried on 220v connection
- Had my friend try the DVD player in his house where he has 110v wired in his house

I wrote to Yamakawa USA and they refuse to believe it has anything to do with the players! I am a software Engineer myself and not entirely new to electronics. But, I am stumped.

If you have used the above players in India, I request you to respond with your experience. Or if you have any suggestions, I am all ears!!

Thanks for reading. More for responding