You are far better off to buy an integrated IR receiver selected or the burst frequency (eg 38kHz ) of your chosen system compatability or interference from other remotes.
Vishay/sharp make the best and they are cheap.
You just need a good cap close to the part with 3 leads. The advantage is daylight filter (dark lens), AGC, and builtin bandpass filter. Good for 5 to 20m depending on emitter current from 50 to 150mA and single double or triple IR LEDs in series ~1.3 to 1.6 V per LED. Then compute series drop resistor from 3V, 5V etc low supply using Ohm's Law and allow at least 0.5 for a good switch, not a Darlington... <5 Ohm Mosfet preferred or low Vce sat transistor.
Eg. One of hundreds avail at Mouser. **broken link removed**
Sharp also make the best matching IR emitters, and cheap, but you may consider a programmable universal remote.