The EyeTV product must be in clear sight, i.e. not plugged into the back of your Mac. You may also use the USB extension cable.
The IR receiver is a small, black window on the top of the unit (for EyeTV Hybrid, EyeTV for DTT stick, EyeTV DTT Deluxe, and EyeTV Diversity. EyeTV HD, EyeTV 250 Plus, EyeTV Sat, and EyeTV Sat Free have IR receivers in various places) close to the front edge near the USB plug. It is often mistaken for an LED, it, however, only receives infrared signals from the remote control.
The remote control “talks” to EyeTV using the small EyeTV Helper application, which is running on your Mac.
Find the EyeTV Helper (located on your hard drive/Library/Application Support/EyeTV folder). Then, start the Activity Monitor (located in Applications/Utilities), and find EyeTV Helper. Quit it. Then, erase EyeTV Helper from your hard drive. Start EyeTV and it will be reinstalled.
If these steps don’t help, then please open a ticket at http://support.elgato.com to have it replaced. Please include your shipping address and phone number.