when you're pressing A+B, is it in the contrast menu? you can access the contrast menu by going to the clock and pressing B+C. it's simply to check which firmware version you have. if yumemitchi comes up, it's version 1. if kiraritchi comes up, it's version 2. follow the guides for the respective characters and it should be okay. hopefully this was simple enough to explain. as with the iR beaming, are you using a usb?