FakeTV Burglar Deterrent

Category: Home & Office
Price: $29.95
Total Reviews: 127 customer reviews
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Product Description

Home automation, cameras that let you play with your dog while you're at work, smartphone-controlled burglar alarms...I just want something simple. Something Kevin McCallister would have put to good use in Home Alone.... [Read more]

Top Reviews

Great, but do the necessary adjustments.
by Bruce (5 out of 5 stars)
September 10, 2016

My business has used these devices for years in their vacant properties and they do a good job of making it appear as if someone's watching TV inside. HOWEVER you need to be careful if you have them directly facing the window, even though sheer or semi opaque curtains. Under those conditions the deception can be obvious, or worse--we once had a neighbor call us because she thought there was an electrical short in the building. Having the device face the window often makes the light too harsh. We find we usually get the best effect if we point the device at a nearby wall. And in multi story buildings, they do much better on higher stories, not ground floor. But each placement is different and you have to adjust the device until you get a convincing effect. Don't just set it and forget it. Watch how it looks at night from outside the house.
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Beware- FIRE hazard!!!!
by mom2three (1 out of 5 stars)
May 15, 2016

Love the premise, have used it on several vacations and it worked great. I set it up recently before my last vacation and it began smoking and caught fire. Thank goodness we were home or it may have burned our house down! Would never trust this product again!
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Fake TV Great but Dusk Timer Awful
by N. P. (2 out of 5 stars)
July 11, 2016

If all you are looking for is the TV effect, then it is 5 stars, but if you need the unit to automatically go on at 'dusk' as advertised (which I assume will fit most people), then you will be disappointed and you will need to attach it to your own external light timer. The sensor does not come on at 'dusk', the room has basically got to be completely dark. Fine if you are the type of person to only watch TV in the dark, but for security if you use a light timer in the same room or any light that leaks into the same room, it may make this unit's dusk sensor useless. I have tried to cover the sensor with a semi-opaque cloth and paper and I still cannot get it to come on if my light timers (which are not that bright) are on across the room and in another room. The old problem with using an external timer is if the power goes off for a period of time, then the fake tv may turn on at odd hours and not your normal hours. Too bad because the fake tv part is great and it IS bright - at least as bright as my 48".
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Good, but not great.
by WayneChicago (3 out of 5 stars)
August 19, 2015

Okay, but must be kept very close to your window. Why? The light rectangle is only 4 inches by 3 inches--super small. Casts light through LEDs, but not extremely bright, so just be sure you have a plug close to a window where you are willing to keep the shade open at night, and best to have a wall near the window that this can cast off from.

But, for anyone in the know, this light is not effective (and may tip off the criminals that you are,in fact, gone). How? It runs on a very specific pattern of blinks and pauses. So, if one watches it for 3-4 minutes, the pattern is clear and is not like any TV set would make. Then, it's clear that this is some type of device rather than a TV set. Better would be if this worked with random light pattern.
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Functions as expected
by Paul (5 out of 5 stars)
April 12, 2017

The reviews of this product online are somewhat contradictory. I have not had problems with it so far. It has been in use for over a month. I set it up as directed by the manufacturer, and I plugged it into an electric timer (which turns it on in the early evening and turns it off late at night). It sits in a room where the blinds are closed but not impenetrable to light. From the outside, one cannot see what emits the light, but dim light from this device can be seen, and the lift shifts around. Obviously, by just looking at the device performing its function, there is no way to know whether it would deter a burglar or not. So you should dismiss any review that claims that the device prevented a burglary (as the reviewer has no way of know whether a burglary, which is a low-frequency event, would have happened without the device). Still, assuming that it continues to function as expected, I am comfortable with paying the price of the device and having it there in my empty front room.
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Illuminates entire house
by Ms Char (5 out of 5 stars)
December 11, 2018

This product is very bright and lights up all the open spaces in my unoccupied rental property. I can see it from several different windows around the property and it really looks like someone is watching TV. One con that doesn't affect my rating: after leaving it running constantly it appears to get stuck on the "blue screen" you'd typically see when broadcasting is interrupted on an actual TV (old school comment because I don't stations actually stop broadcasting late at night anymore). To correct this issue I just unplug and plug it up again and it cycles through the colors and frequencies again as expected. The reason I didn't drop the rating for this issue is because I'm not sure if its recommended to leave it running continuously for days in the first place.
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Cool device, just make to to test and adjust before leaving home.
by Pinnipal (4 out of 5 stars)
February 15, 2019

Really like this little device, and works quite well. The different timing options are nice to have. We've used it a number of times when leaving on vacation. Of course, there's no telling if this alone prevented any burglaries, but I can see how it could. But just don't set it up in the middle of the room and leave it. You need to try different positions and then look at it from outside to see how effective it is. We ended up up placing it about 2 feet from and pointed at the wall with the windows, and then had the blinds shut. That seemed to offer the most realistic television glow look. The wrong placement will make it look too bright or too dim, and could even just make it look like you have Christmas lights on inside!
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Excellent layer of security
by Been There Done That, Got The T-Shirt (5 out of 5 stars)
November 28, 2016

I have several of these and highly recommend them to someone who is looking to add more to deterring burgers than just leaving a radio on when not home. Make sure you have blinds of curtains that allow some light to pass through them as these will not work with blackout curtains that fully block light. The FTV-10 works very well and spreads the light out across the room and walls. Mimics just enough light to say there is a TV on in this room. You do not want someone to be able to look in your window and see that it is not a real TV and give away the illusion, so be practical with how you choose to place it and have your curtains set up to add to the illusion.
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My neighbors all think I watch TV now
by Capital (5 out of 5 stars)
February 3, 2015

This unit is so convincing, I have actually pulled into my own driveway thinking, "oh, someone is home watching tv..." Of course, I quickly remember that it's FakeTV, but it is amazingly realistic. I scoured the reviews before buying this and waited over a month to review it myself. Here is what I have gathered after experimenting with several locations in my house and viewing it from outside.
1 - Needs to be on an upper floor and not in a window someone can look into directly, for obvious reasons
2 - Works well with thin blinds/roman shades, or white curtains, but I have no issues using it without any window coverings
3 - You'll probably want to shine the light at an angle to the window so you get an ambient glow that looks like a TV. Mine is set about 1' below the base of the window, centered underneath the middle and pointing towards the corner of the room next to the edge of the window. I also put it in a very large room set about 8' away from the side wall and 5' away from the wall with the windows.
4 - Settings include a dusk+4 hours, a dusk+7 hours and an "always on" setting. I prefer using the dusk+4 hour setting since it stays on through prime time when most people have their TV on. I've found it reliably comes on, but the times are approximate so it isn't *too* predictable.
5 - Be prepared for the neighbors to ask you about your favorite shows... if you're like me and don't really watch TV, you might struggle with answering that one! :)

I noticed a reviewer complained that it was too rhythmic to be confused with a real TV, but this wasn't the case at all in my experience. I could not discern any pattern as it appears to change from screen to screen... maybe at some point it looks like flipping channels, but that is to be expected if someone is at home watching TV and changing channels during a commercial break and I think it just adds to the realism.

Bottom line: it is definitely worth the money, does exactly what it claims to do, and is really easy to use. The unit itself seems fairly basic (it is made in China if that matters to you), but it does not seem flimsy. I would absolutely make this purchase again.
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Pretty Cool Gadget
by R. Lahrman (5 out of 5 stars)
April 15, 2019

This "gadget" is pretty awesome and totally gives the effect of a TV playing at night. I have it sitting on a table (on top of a few books to give it some height), pointed directly at the window. Through the white curtains and open mini blinds, the light blinks and flickers emulating a television. In fact, my sister told me it makes her a little uneasy when she drives by may parent's empty home, as it looks so real and it makes you think someone is in the home watching TV. Excellent item. I have it on a cheap timer to make it come on at certain times of the evening and early morning.

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