Hi everyone, I need your opinion on this: When I bougnt my plasma tv, the salesman strongly suggested to use a line conditioner (ex.monsterpower hts1600) to prevent any noise going into the plasma tv. Anyone was suggested or is using the same thing.

Such Mon$ter products are often pushed by sales people (same for HDMI cables) because they are extremely high margin for the store. Most newer homes don't have issues with power, but please see the following thread if you wish to purchase such an item.

I usually recommend a UPS instead since it'll provide a small amount of surge protection / insurance, and battery backup for some items as well, but the decision is yours.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=56058

I usually steer clear of monster products, but I noticed the hts1600 is on sale at FS, is it a good buy at $100 off or are there still better products at that price point?

Usually the power supply in the TV will filter out any noise. Unless you have a specific line noise issue there's no need for "line conditioning". A surge protector is always a good idea.

There are many type of people in this world, some say no, some say yes. Some will recommend a UPS to provide a small amount of surge protection! Just so funny. Can we say to the surge that you are not welcome any more.

I will say yes to line conditioner. Get the good one, not the Monster and not the $79 cheapo either.

Can we say to the surge that you are not welcome any more.No, but you can "insure" yourself against it with a variety of devices - even if it's only the insurance that will pay out and the device gets fried.

No consumer device will protect you from a nearby lightning strike type of surge - only unplugging will do that, while almost any device will protect the "usual" line surge you're likely to encounter in most communities.

As you say, there are a number of options and the more money you spend, the better unit you'll get, provided you stay away from Mon$ter.

I agree to YES for line conditioning. It's true that most home electronics will filter out the worst of it, but heavy appliances (especially older ones), plus things like vaccums and power tools can all put a fair bit of junk into the power grid.

Why risk thousands of dollars of electronics over a couple hundred bucks in protection? Not to mention the added surge protecteion benefit that a line conditioner adds. And a UPS is always a good idea too.
In fact, a good UPS will provide the benefit of all of the above.

I use older UPS' in my setup. I got them reconditioned and cheap, and they may not provide a lot of runtime, but that's not the point.
The provide line/surge supression, and enough runtime to shut my system down properly.

Check out my setup:
http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=528955&postcount=59

In 30 years of home electronics (TVs, stereos, computers, etc) I've never had equipment fail because of bad power. If you do have bad power it's usually a sign of bad wiring and you have bigger problems.

Second, most UPSes are a pass-through design -- you get line power unitl it fails and a few milliseconds later the battery connects. There's no line conditioning; just some surge protection. Fully isolated UPSes are special purpose and expensive.

The UPS that I bought last week has decent surge suppression plus EMI and RFI noise filtering. Good bang for the buck.

Our refrigerator emits a lot of line noise after it's defrost cycle. Landlord won't replace the fridge so all of our gear is on filtering power bars, etc.

There are several things required to protect equipment and reduce line noise:
1. Run a separate electrical circuit from the main power panel to the home theater equipment. This will protect the equipment from same circuit surges, spikes and noise. It will also provide proper grounding and improve voltage regulation.
2. Install a GFI receptacle or circuit breaker. This will break the circuit in the event of an equipment ground fault or local surge to ground, protecting equipment.
3. Get a good quality HT surge protector or HT UPS with lots of receptacles and plug every piece of HT equipment into it. Note: Quality and price are not synonymous. There are both expensive junk and cheap, good quality HT power devices available.
4. Make sure that every outside service (like satellite, cable and telephone) is properly grounded to a cold water pipe. Most electrical damage is from these sources, not the power system.

Any suggestions on a not too expensive line conditioner...Something under $200.00.......Thanks

If you live close to a branch of "Factory Direct" store, you could pick up a Belkin Pure AV power conditioner for less than $200.00 You might want to visit there website first to see what is available. I bought my Pure AV PF31 Power Console there for $149.00 There seems to be a split as to whether a power or line conditioner is needed or not. The way I see it, its like insurance, chances are you may not need one for years,(or perhaps never), but it sure is comforting to know that you have one when an accident happens.

Hi, can you PM me where you bought your Pure AV PF31 for $149 from? I'm not quite getting who the "factory direct" store is. Thx.

Google...

http://www.factorydirect.ca/cgi-bin/general/locations.pl

LOL. Oh Factory direct. The quotations threw me off, as I thought the poster didn't want to name the store.

Regardless, I checked factory direct's site and didn't find the power conditioner. Maybe it was on clearance or something.

So Futureshop has the Monster Power Centre (HTS1600) on sale today. Is it worth jumping or am I wasting my $

Thanks

My APC UPS reports in the last 24 weeks

Blackouts 18 times 28 minutes
Under voltage 2 times
Over voltage 1 time
Electrical noise 22 times

That's on the 1 on the computer.

I have UPS's on all TV's and Sat receivers (1 for each combo)

BC Hydro...the latest in 1940's electrical service!


I pay about $50 for the UPS's.

About 10 years ago in Calgary AB I sat there at 3:00 AM watching the Lightening show....Flash! Wham! (Telephone Kiosk in the back lane I assume) click click VCR winding up for no reason click click. It wasn't protected and was toast. The PC was protected and was fine except for the modem which was toasted thru the telephone line. It happens!