Power conditioner or UPS for home theater?!

[NickS]

Hey everyone. My Dad just bought a new TV and wants to upgrade his aging surge protector for his rather expensive home theater setup. He's really interested in the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Conditioner PF30.. but I think a UPS would be a better option. What would you guys do? His budget is around $100-$150.

Note: he doesnt run a HTPC so, no PC on this unit.

 

[Chernobyl1]

the PF30 manual can be viewed here
http://www.belkin.com/support/download/files/P74593_AP20800-10_Manual.pdf

After a quick read, it seems the main advantage of this is it can isolate some lightning damage from reaching your PC, Phones and Broadband equipment. They also claim it handles mains surges well but a decent UPS will be better and more able to cope with a prolonged problem.
I wouldnt be so sure that a unit that small can isolate lightning damage from a direct hit or major side shoot.

It doesnt include any battery backup so it depends if you need to keep running for a short while after a power cut or if you want better protection from mains glitches.
A good UPS will give better protection against any mains problems.

The Audio filters arent audio filters but high current PSU's capable of high instantaneous currents to match the load from the Amplifiers PSU and filtering mains noise.
By far the major limit on the Power supplied to your Amplifier is its own power stage.
Unless you are running high end Hifi kit, this wont give you any noticeable improvement over an UPS and it may not give any improvement anyway. We need reviews
(for the record: the best method of power supply is a fast responding high current battery+capacitor hooked directly to the Hifi Circuit board, completely bypassing the mains sections)

The Video filter is also a mains filter too.
Its true that mains interference can degrade the output from Video devices but an UPS is good enough for that.

The FP30's points I consider important over an UPS is filtered satellite/cable/phone inputs which will protect against some lightning strikes.
You can get other devices to do this for you, the FP30 solution looks quite good if a bit costly.

A good UPS will provide better mains related protection, with the ability to use your equipment for a short time after a power cut and very good protection against high/low and cycling mains voltages.

Please note, a direct lightning strike is likely to kill any device connected to the mains regardless of protection. It can also kill anyone near an electrical item that is subject to the strike.
Its wise to unplug everything during a lightning storm and if you must leave anything plugged in, keep away from it.

ps
one danger of this type of unit is that a direct lightning strike to any part/cable connected to it is likely to damage everything attached to it!! Make sure the warranty will cover this.

 

[NickS]

Thanks man. As stated before I have no worries about PSU's as there is not going to be a PC on it (no HTPC in the home theater room) but anyway, would this suite it fine?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16842101002

It's going to be protecting DVR/Cable box, DVD Player, 42" Samsung DLP HDTV, and a Yamaha reciever.

Should be enough power right? That one has a coaxal surge protector too.

 

[towert7]

Hey everyone. My Dad just bought a new TV and wants to upgrade his aging surge protector for his rather expensive home theater setup. He's really interested in the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Conditioner PF30.. but I think a UPS would be a better option. What would you guys do? His budget is around $100-$150.

Note: he doesnt run a HTPC so, no PC on this unit.

What would be the purpose of using a UPS for a TV?

I know a few people (myself included) that have enjoyed this little budget power filter:
Monster Power HTS3500MKII
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...7909/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-3521061-4212607?ie=UTF8
Not only does it have analog and digital audio filters, but it also has video filters for coax and what not.

It's being phased out for a new version, so you can get it dirt cheap now.

I've never heard any personal accounts from the Belkin AV series, but it's in the same league (something to think about).

Cheers,
~Towert7

 

[Chernobyl1]

An UPS provides more isolation from mains problems.
Glitches in the mains wont affect your Viewing/Listening experience when using an UPS.
If using a non battery backed solution like a Power Filter, they have a small time window for the mains to return to normal. This can cause Power Filters to cut the mains supply.

An UPS will keep you running for at least a few minutes.