Thanks for the suggestion but my problem is I have my box in a media cabinet so the IR wont reach it and an app will not have the ability to power it on & off.
I had the same "problem" which was solved by spending £15 on Amazon to get an IR extender box that sends any IR signals that point vaguely near a small receiver discreetly positioned on the outside of a media cabinet to the 5-6 devices that are hidden out of sight inside it. This works without fault and supports any IR devices and requires zero networking or configuration. Sometimes low-tech solutions are best.