Thanks Richard,
No, it's not any IR, it needs to be one of the remote's codes... I'm aware of the Arduino projects for acting as a universal remote... but buying an Arduino especially for this purpose seems a bit overkill... in my searching I also came across methods of using a mobile and an IR led on the headphone socket, and WAV files that send the command... but again, it seems a bit overkill for the job :S
I do like the idea of a chip more advanced than the 555 chip, that I could program with the code... but I have no idea what chip you can program like that, or how to program it :S - nor do I have anything to read the codes sent from remotes... I was thinking that there would be an android app that can read them - since a camera can pick up the IR - I expected to be able to find an app to tell you what the code is... but I haven't been able to find anything. EDIT/UPDATE - having looked at a remote's IR flash through my mobile's camera, I can see why there isn't an app for it - it's far too fast for the camera to capture!
I am very much a beginner... but eager to learn... I don't like the idea of using an Arduino for it, just because it's so overkill for the purpose... not because of the cost, but just because it's overkill... and I'd like to learn how to do it at it's most simple... but having said that, if there's an easier way to accomplish this task (other than simulating the IR), that would be cool too... I'm thinking along the lines of something like a high-pitched tone generator (that humans can't hear), that I could plug inbetween the TV and the soundbar to simulate a constant sound - thus preventing it from going into standby?