UPS on A/V equipment

[ozarkham]

I would like to protect my satellite and HDTV equipment from brownouts but have been told not to plug A/V equipment into a UPS designed for computers. In order to get UPS protection on my A/V stuff I will have to spend $500 plus. What's the difference between my $150 APC 1300 I use on my computer and the expensive ones sold specifically for A/V equipment?

[LarryFlowers]

I would like to protect my satellite and HDTV equipment from brownouts but have been told not to plug A/V equipment into a UPS designed for computers. In order to get UPS protection on my A/V stuff I will have to spend $500 plus. What's the difference between my $150 APC 1300 I use on my computer and the expensive ones sold specifically for A/V equipment?

Bull... they work great, ask anyone here who isn't in the home theater business... they make a ton of money on that stuff and they wouldn't want the word to get out.

[RobertE]

I would like to protect my satellite and HDTV equipment from brownouts but have been told not to plug A/V equipment into a UPS designed for computers. In order to get UPS protection on my A/V stuff I will have to spend $500 plus. What's the difference between my $150 APC 1300 I use on my computer and the expensive ones sold specifically for A/V equipment?

$350+

[houskamp]

been running on APC 850s and a 1500 for months (1500 almost 2 years)..

[LarryFlowers]

$350+

Yeah, I guess I missed the obvious...

[AMD_GAMER]

I have some of my TV's and Dish receivers on UPS's without a problem. Just make sure the devices connected to the UPS do not overload the rated watts. Most UPS's have outlets for Battery Backup and just plain surge protection. Only the one's for battery backup need to be counted towards the watts. Hope that helps.

[hdtvfan0001]

You can get a mighty fine UPS that comes with warranties up to $1 Million from APC and others for under $200....I have 3 of them myself.

It would not even enter my mind NOT to have a UPS on my equipment. I saw 9 of my neighbors lose over $100,000 in total replacement cost equipment this past summer during a severe lightening storm. I had no damage whatsoever.

[HIPAR]

The local office supply store had UPS devices on sale so I bought a bigger one for my LCD panel TV and a smaller on for my DSL Modem/Router. The total cost was around $120. A few weeks ago my power went totally bonkers with the lights flashing and flickering for about thirty seconds but the TV and network were not fazed.

I have no idea how well my UPS devices protect against over voltage transients but they passed the dropout test with 'flying colors'. The problem is they beep when the power drops out and, not being controlled through my computer, I cannot silence them.

--- CHAS

[Hansen]

IIRC, it's a technical issue involving the quality of the power output. The computer UPS puts out a different sine wave than the AV UPS and something about how it affects the cuts for amplifiers and sound output. For the audiophile, that might mean something and be worth the money...for the rest of us, a good inexpensive computer UPS does the trick.

[Grentz]

This is a simplified guide that will give you an idea of some of the differences between UPS units.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1052508

[Sharkie_Fan]

You guys are all forgetting one very important difference between an "A/V UPS" and a "Computer UPS".....

... Aesthetics ...

I have an open rack that all my equipment is on in the living room. I don't really have a place - other than that rack - to put a UPS. And, frankly, plain old computer UPS's - while functional - are ugly.

Ones "designed" for a/v equipment can sit on that rack without looking out of place.

[Cmnore]

Interesting. My 1100VA UPS/conditioner sits on the floor 'behind' my entertainment center. Even if it didn't - I wouldn't consider it unattractive. It's a Belkin.

[phrelin]

It may be that my rule about every component being black makes it possible for me to easily have a UPS that blends right in. But there are alot of choices out there.

[Richierich]

HDTVFAN0001, what model APC units do you have???

[rahlquist]

I bought 3 APC BE325R a couple months back when circuit city had them for $15 each. They work just fine, I hear no added noise over my AV receivers. Granted they arent heavy enough to keep my plasma screen up and running but the majority of our outages are of the 3 second lighting hit a pole down the road variety.

P.S. not trying to start a flame war. But there are audio/video experts who will tell you that the only truly good home AV system is a hand crank driven record player with a vacuum tube amplifier all hooked up using only the finest monster cable money can buy. They may be right that system may remove the .0001% THD that some folks claim to be able to hear. Myself, when watching a movie, if I dont hear the tinkle of one pice of glass when a car crashes into a wall, I figure I will live.

[rudeney]

I bought 3 APC BE325R a couple months back when circuit city had them for $15 each. They work just fine, I hear no added noise over my AV receivers. Granted they arent heavy enough to keep my plasma screen up and running but the majority of our outages are of the 3 second lighting hit a pole down the road variety.

I had issues with the BE325. it worked for about a year, but the battery got just weak enough that it started “whining” about the load of nothing but an HR20. I replaced it with a 350 and it works just fine. By the way, my local Costco has APC 550’s for $39.

[bobnielsen]

I had issues with the BE325. it worked for about a year, but the battery got just weak enough that it started “whining” about the load of nothing but an HR20. I replaced it with a 350 and it works just fine. By the way, my local Costco has APC 550’s for $39.

My Costco had those but when I went back to get a couple, they were gone. Hopefully they will restock them. They still had the 1 kVA Tripplites for $99.95. I have a couple of the older models of these, but need something smaller for the DVR in my bedroom.

[rahlquist]

I had issues with the BE325. it worked for about a year, but the battery got just weak enough that it started “whining” about the load of nothing but an HR20. I replaced it with a 350 and it works just fine. By the way, my local Costco has APC 550’s for $39.

I would have gone larger but for 2 I had space issues. The UPS's are behind dressers so I needed something slim. I wish there was an easy cost effective way to do whole home UPS. Something for say $600 that would cover brownout and power bounce due to momentary dips.

[Richierich]

I have the APC S15 & J15 Battery Backup/Power Conditioner and yes they are expensive but designed for A/V equipment and they work like a charm.

[rahlquist]

I have the APC S15 & J15 Battery Backup/Power Conditioner and yes they are expensive but designed for A/V equipment and they work like a charm.

From the looks of your sig you need a garage sale :)

[phrelin]

I would have gone larger but for 2 I had space issues. The UPS's are behind dressers so I needed something slim. I wish there was an easy cost effective way to do whole home UPS. Something for say $600 that would cover brownout and power bounce due to momentary dips.There are systems that can handle whole house demands, but you're short a zero or two on your pricing.

I use APC BR1500LCD UPS units on the DVR's and our home office computers with some older units protecting the rest of the theater equipment and home network modem and routers. (The latter is for protection mostly as in a power outage Comcast's system goes down - no internet.)

Unfortunately, we have extended power outages on average three or four times a year, particularly depending on the Winter weather. So we have a small generator fueled by our home propane system and, through a manual isolation switch, to our furnace circuit and three outlets. If I think it's going to be a long outage, I turn the generator on and run extension cords to a refrigerator and the UPS feeding the DVR's. If we want to watch TV during an extended outage, I can disconnect the refrigerator and feed the UPS protecting the rest of the "home theater."

This is the best I could do with a 35-year-old house and a modest budget. If I had unlimited funds, I'd have the whole house rewired, a whole house generator with automatic switching, and carefully designed power filtration with a backup battery system to handle the transition to and from the generator. I'd also have a full-time staff for home maintenance and food service.:sure:

[compac]

Anyone w/ comments on this ups??
To back up a home comp w/22" monitor , lcd 32" tv and D* hr22
Minuteman Model: PRO700E How much is it worth?
http://www.powersystemsdirect.com/Minuteman/700VA_490W_Line_Interactive_UPS_PRO700E_475.php

490 Watts/700VA, which is a home or office computer.
It has 6 plugs on the back of the unit, 4 for surge suppression and battery backup, and 2 for surge suppression only. [eek2]