FakeTV Burglar Deterrent

Leave for a holiday dinner after sunset, and an empty living room can stay conspicuously dark all evening. The FakeTV Burglar Deterrent gives it some activity: LEDs shine through a frosted lens, shifting and fading to imitate television scenes and motion. From outside, the intended impression is that someone is settled in watching TV. It’s a clever job for a fairly basic-looking gadget.

The FTV-10 keeps the controls basic, too. There’s one switch, no Wi-Fi connection, and no clock to program. FakeTV provides Dusk +4 and Dusk +7 hour settings; a built-in light sensor starts the nightly cycle as daylight drops. The low-power LEDs let you create that television glow without leaving an actual TV running. It won’t detect an intruder or raise an alarm, though. Its entire security role is to make an empty home appear occupied, so it belongs alongside your other precautions.

For someone living alone who regularly gets home late, that automatic evening routine is the appeal. Set it before heading out, and there’s no app to remember during dinner. I’d consider it a sensible extra for holiday travel, too: an unglamorous way to give a quiet house a more convincing evening presence.