I have the MCE remote/receiver and blasters which IRSS choose during installation. But I have also noticed that my "keyboard" settings are not enabled. I'll try turning it on.
For the "Microsoft MCE" config there's a "Remote" tab setting called "Disable Automatic Buttons" it was enabled. Turning it off has made the remote work a lot better!
Occasionally I still have to try a button twice so I may look into timing settings.