Some say it is more likely to give you a black eye than a black screen, but those supporting TV-Turnoff week have been snapping up TV-B-Gone devices in their droves since they were launched in the US last year.
Campaigners can use the device to turn off nearly any television set from a safe distance.
"Of course, there will be some people who will misuse any tool," says its inventor, Mitch Altman. "But there have been no horror stories. When you misuse some tools -- like a gun -- there are horrible consequences. When you turn off a TV, people can just switch it back on."
The system works much like a universal remote control, beaming a series of infrared codes giving the "sleep" command to the target TV set until it finds the one that works. In extreme cases it can take more than one minute for the correct code to be located, but Altman claims 90 percent of sets will be switched off within 17 seconds.
Response to the contraption has varied from the very good to the disastrous. Some TV addicts have reacted vociferously to the possibility of losing valuable TV time.
"In sports bars, there are 12 or 20 screens," Altman says. "If one gets turned off, people just turn their eyeballs to the next screen. Sometimes they even start talking."
Initial interest in the US$17 device was so great that the company Web site crashed. Original stocks sold out within two days, and Altman still struggles to keep up with demand. People are now picking up the gadgets from eBay, where they sometimes sell for more than double the usual retail price. But fans say any price is worth it simply for the look of confusion on the faces of innocent bystanders.
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