Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

I'm getting a new Plasma TV and receiver/speakers. In the past I used a cheap surge/power strip. But spending all this money has me wondering about whether I need better protection.

Should I get one made for home theater equipment like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MP-AV-...dp/B00003CWDH/

Do the filters and noise reduction features on more expensive models have any worthwhile impact? Should I be looking at the $60-$100 models?

Or am I just as well off with a cheap $20 strip like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-BE11223...dp/B000J2EN4S/

Anyone have some recommendations or input?

Thanks.

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

If your power is ok, then all the filtering is more or less pointless. Power supplies in electronics are already designed to convert the power to what they need, and reject fluctuations in the power. If your power is not ok, it makes more sense to worry about that, since it will potentially damage everything in your house, not just a TV. This can be a long road, as that usually means there is something wrong outside in the neighborhood, and good luck getting speedy response from the utility company.

I treat surge protectors as an extra warranty. If a spike comes, maybe it will be fried, and not the more expensive equipment. And some of them even have a warranty if damaged. I do use a 12 outlet Monster protector in my HT, MSRP $200 (paid a lot less). Once it was damaged by some event (can't remember exactly what) and they replaced it for nothing, plus some money for a device that was damaged, even though there was some question as to whether that event damaged the attached device. So I would recommend shopping based on the company's reputation for how they actually pay when something happens. Monster is not the only one with a good warranty.

This is one area I've actually been happy with Monster. Usually they are considered an overpriced, over-marketed brand. But they do respond about their warranty on power products. I don't think the warranty is as good as it was 10 years ago. Back then it was lifetime, now I think it's only 5 years or something. APC is another brand that seems to back their warranties.

Oh, in terms of all those filtering buzzwords and features they tout, the one that probably means something is the joule rating. At least, if it is an actual UL rating and not just numbers on the box. A bolt of lightning hitting nearby is going to be far higher than any strip can protect (making sure your house is grounded properly is more important for that), but spikes from brownouts or blackouts can be stopped more readily by a unit with a higher joule rating. Panamax is another famous brand, they used to have videos of their devices frying themselves instead of letting such a spike through, maybe those are still out there. So, if you let yourself be swayed by any marketing, this is the rating that might actually be worth something.

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

I would suggest the APC line for home theatres. They rule the roost at this stuff.

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

Thanks for the info.

Would this APC model be good for a home theater? It's got all the outlets I need and a higher joule rating than the Monster strip.

http://www.amazon.com/APC-11-Outlet-...dp/B0012YFXSW/

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

Looks good to me. You probably don't need ethernet protection (unless it runs outside), so:
http://www.amazon.com/APC-Performanc.../ref=pd_cp_e_0

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

The pro AV guys I work with have always recommended ISOBAR or TRIPPLITE surge protectors. They are well made and pretty much last forever.

I have used them for many years - love them !!

Tripp Lite ISOBAR8ULTRA 8-Outlet ISOBAR Surge Protector (3840 Joules) ($50)- made of metal case, life time warranty, damage coverage. last forever

Tripp Lite HT10DBS 10-Outlet Home Theater Surge Protector (3570 Joules, Tel/Ethernet/Coax) ($79) - good for hometheater - reasonably priced, If you need cable/satellite/phone/ etc jacks this is a good one

(Of course they do not offer power back up - not an issue unless you are using computer, since most todays AV have some 'memory' for clock and timer etc)

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

Several years ago, I did some field rep work for APC. I know they were very serious about their warranty and had one of the better ones at the time. The company recommended getting a battery backup rather than a surge protector if you really want to make sure nothing happens to your stuff. They said the backups were much more effective at protecting against any electrical events but that most people choose to go with the surge protectors because they're cheaper. FWIW, I only own surge protectors. :lol:

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

My recommendation is to spend a little more than the bare minimum and go for a surge protector that at least includes insurance for connected equipment. The aforementioned Tripp Lite HT10DBS 10-Outlet Home Theater Surge Protector is one of many such options.

If you're at above average risk for a lightning strike, I'd recommend spending a few hundred dollars to have a whole-house surge protector installed.

Also, I agree with Spiky that most equipment handles "dirty" power in their own power supply so filtering isn't particularly necessary. Some are even designed to handle voltage spikes relatively well. Case in point - a couple of year ago we moved into a new house and I plugged our TV directly into an outlet in the wall. There was a loud pop and the TV was dead. It turns out that the outlet was wired for 220V but not properly indicated. I did some quick googling, spent less than $10 and replaced a fuse in the TV and it was like new (also, we had that outlet rewired). Kudos to Toshiba for designing that TV well.

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

Wow! That is quite the code violation.

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

Yeah, pretty messed up. Our inspector was reasonably thorough so I'm surprised he didn't discover it. I wasn't there for the inspection though. Based on some brick repair on the outside of the house near that outlet, it seems likely that a previous owner had an A/C unit or other HVAC appliance installed that needed 220V. The owner we bought from was an investor that just rehabbed the house and never lived in it, so I'm sure they just slapped a regular outlet in there and moved on.

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

Well if you want only surge protection it will be fine.

I was suggesting something more along the lines of the APC H15 for a home theatre.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...ments/link.gif

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

That's what I did. I wanted a UPS anyway so that if there was just a "flicker" that if I was in the middle of recording something, with my satellite receiver and DVD recorder on the 'backed-up' outlets, I'd not have unrecorded sections of programming (unless the power remained off for a half hour or more).

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

Does anyone know if this is wall mountable?

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

I just received the APC P11VT3 from Amazon. It's the model that Spiky linked to (see below). It's the same as the P11VNT3, but lacking an ethernet plug.

It's got wall mount holes on the back. Even lists it as one of the features on the packaging.

Thanks Spiky. Got it today, looks good.

Re: Surge Protector for Home Theater?
 

That's what I have on all our our TVs as well. Even if not recording at the time, it's a pain for the satellite receiver to re-start after a power flicker.