RF is only necessary if you have to go through walls or over a long distance. Then yes, it is the best way, because IR won't go through the walls. The RF signal will then be converted back to IR at the base station (sold seperately...) and emitted to the "sensor." This MUST be an IR sensor. You could learn the codes from the 3rd party remote to the URC if it's IR.

Check out URC's MX-900 or MX-950. They do both RF and IR.