> I think the idea behind the wireless pairing of the remote is so that the TV box can be put in a cupboard
Yeah - I think it's partially about the fact that the box is physically small and potentially easily obscured when it comes to direct line of sights.
But as I understand it, the Virgin V6 box is basically a rebadged Tivo, which was designed at a time when lots of people were trying to break into the games market by offering cheap hardware which could plug into the TV. E.g. Ouya.
So another driver was the fact that you can hold the remote sideways and use it as a game controller. At which point your hand is over the IR transmitter... and that's how we end up saddled with overengineered remote controls with poor ergonomics, a decade or so down the line.
Either way, the fact that an unpaired box will ignore the IR transmissions from a paired remote is a royal PITA. Especially since Virgin don't send out new remotes with replacement boxes.
At the very least, a note in the box to tell you how to reset the pairing would be nice...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
