Do you NEED IR cable to work Talon remote?

No, it's not a universal remote: (www.xbox.com/.../media-remote)

The remote controls TV/receiver power and volume through Kinect, or an IR extender cable (cable not included).

You need Kinect or IR Extenders.

support.xbox.com/.../use-external-ir-with-xbox-one

The IR Blaster is for use with the remote for your cable service. A controller will not work for that.

My remote is an off-brand one with little active support. But the software for the remote lets me program specific IR codes for each button. In looking for a guide somewhere that describes the IR codes needed. For the harmony 360 remote, do you have to program
anything special? Or just set it as a 360 remote and everything worked automatically?

Hi,

Many DISH network boxes allow users to set different IR 'addresses' to send commands to. For XBox One or universal remotes to work, you need to have IR enabled (not RF) and it needs to be set to IR address 1.

Let us know if you need help figuring out how to do this. When I've done it, I had to hit some crazy key combinations on the remote.

My understanding was that the Xbox is just a passthrough for your TV. The guide on your Xbox One will just be a customized version of what you get on your normal cable box. I have Dish Network. Your remotes use IR to control your cable box and the Xbox has
an IR blaster, doesn't this just work as your remote?