Are there 3rd party remotes for these TVs? Or is the problem that there is not even a general "pause" command now?
I got an old TCL(don't get me started) and when the original remote died I got a noname IR thing that is even capable of switching to a custom channel.
Third party remotes do work on most TVs, I use a Nvidia Shield Remote on my TCL over bluetooth for example.
I cannot however turn the TV on using that remote. Having a dedicated Play/Pause Button is still worth it however.
I got an old TCL(don't get me started) and when the original remote died I got a noname IR thing that is even capable of switching to a custom channel.