It is possible that a particular Remote may or may not have a brighter output IR LED. The only way to tell would be to obtain some visible IR material. Radio shack used to sell a card that you could point any remote at and it would glow depending on the output of the remote in question. One of those would allow you to determine brightness. Some old camcorders or digital cameras or night vision equipment should also allow you to look at the output of your remotes to determine the brightest one. I would also take up Hugo's offer for some IR material, as that would certainly help as well.

12Gb MKII 080000516 Blue
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12Gb MKII 080000516 Blue 20Gb MKII 010101303 Green 20Gb MKII 090001020 Green 30Gb MKII 10101980 Blue