It’s not a programming board, just a dev board. And yes, if you want to build a PIC programmer you’ll need a programmed PIC, but it’s easier just to buy one (a $30 PICkit from Microchip or ...
With that chip soldered onto the board he added IR control ... reacting to commands from his remote control. Of course this can be done without the chip swap as the PIC 16F684 that comes with ...