Not likely. Apple almost exclusively used the Sony IR codes for their video hardware. Unfortunately if the hardware does not have the functionality built-into the firmware, like random channel access, it cannot be added. Your best bet is to get a universal remote and go through all of the SONY combinations to see if any of them yield additional functionality over the OEM Apple remotes.
Just to be clear, I'm not an expert with respect to how the hardware works. It is possible that the video software interprets the signals from the IR interface and implements the remotes codes, which means you could theoretically modify the video software to implement a code it does not presently utilize.