I really like this idea. It would allow for major energy savings by turning off lights after, say, midnight, without having to retrofit to LED. It would also prolong the life of existing HID lights.
For that purpose are already long time on the market photocells with timers. The clock is synchronized onto a daylight cycle, so after two or three nights it follows the programmed pattern.
Compare to that, the remote control need an extra server to command them (if they really run on the remote control and not autonomously).
From this perspective there is no difference between LED vs HID, both need some such control device, either autonomous, or remote controlled. On the contrary, when you want to light the lamps only few hours at the evening and then at the morning, the HID will suffer accelerated wear (two starts per day), while LED's do not mind such regime at all...