Thanks for the advice, I used a keyboard/mouse to verify that the 1960 box usb ports work, which they do.
I used the remote and usb dongle in my pc, at first it didn't work. (device manager) wasn't recognizing that I inserted dongle into the port. so I began to move the dongle around (upwards and downwards. after a few attempts I heard the pc make noise. sure enough the remote was working but I had to hold the usb dongle upwards for it to actually work. once I let go the usb dongle wasn't recognized and the remote stopped working untill I held it upwards again..
so I believe there is a design flaw in the positioning of the usb contacts for it work work properly.
is there another remote that is compatible with the atv1960 that I could purchase?