[lukan]

I suppose this also depends on the types of remote controls? There are some where I can see red and some where I cannot.

[MisterTea]

The faint red glow is actual red light as many IR LED's (esp the ones used in cameras for night illumination) are close to the visible spectrum and have some visible light emission.

[formerly_proven]

850nm is easily visible, but most remotes are 940nm, which is also visible as a faint purple glow but the source needs to be really bright.