Mine broke. I changed batteries and tried plugging the receiver into different ports. I looked on ebay and there are people selling third party x-box remotes for $9. Are they the same as the original MS ones? Do they work?

Can you determine if it is the remote or the DVD dongle (receiver) that is broken? One way you can tell if the remote is emitting an IR signal is by using a web cam or digital camera to view the IR emitter on the top of the remote while pressing a button on the remote--if it lights up then at least the IR LED is working (which probably, although not necessarily, means it is the dongle that is broken).

If it is just the remote, you can use many different universal remotes with the DVD dongle. The original MS remote is just a clone of a RCA DVD player remote and uses the same IR codes/signals. In particular, any of the One-for-All line of universal remotes should work once programmed with the RCA DVD code (115), as should most Radio Shack universal remotes (as they are usually made by the same company that makes OFAs). Other universal remotes will probably work, too. Just look in their manual for the code for RCA DVD players.