Best UPS for Home Theater?

upstatemike

upstatemike

Senior Member
Just wondering what most people do for a Home Theater UPS to keep the DVR, Cable Box and TV running through a power failure? Looking at the Belkin PureAV but I can't tell from the specs if it provides a nice waveform and is quiet enough for Home Theater use (Don't want a loud fan kicking in whenever the batteries are charging up). I like the silver AV component style case but are they any good? Is there a better option?

I also assume most folks have surge protection separate from the AV UPS? Seems like you would need a good surge protector first, then split off the high current stuff (like the arc welder size power amps) and then go to the the UPS which finally feeds the delicate tv/dvr/etc. Is this the common configuration?
 
I currently have an APC BP1000 on the TV and HT equipment. It's an older model but works well. Most higher VA UPS's have fans in them due to the heat generated.

I have a Ditek whole house kit installed at the panel. I use DTK-8FF outlet strips on key equipment.
 
gatchel said:
I currently have an APC BP1000 on the TV and HT equipment. It's an older model but works well. Most higher VA UPS's have fans in them due to the heat generated.

I have a Ditek whole house kit installed at the panel. I use DTK-8FF outlet strips on key equipment.
Click to expand...

The reason I was interested in the Belkin PureAV stuff is because it looks like audio gear so it blends in well. My AV gear is all silver finish so I want something that will not look out of place on the AV shelf.

(On the other hand I hear that Belkin UPS stuff is likely to self-destruct eventually and sometimes dramatically.)
 
I have been an APC fan for years as they have never caused me grief like others have (Belkin and TrippLite). They are making more types of gear and their rackmount stuff is fashionable though not quite like a stand-alone AV component. For me, I don't care about asthetics on a UPS as they are easily hidden from view in most installations - I care about specs, warranty, capabilities, and reliability. And that spells APC for me.

APC's Home AV Systems Line: http://www.apcc.com/products/category.cfm?...amp;segmentID=1
 
huggy59 said:
I have been an APC fan for years as they have never caused me grief like others have (Belkin and TrippLite). They are making more types of gear and their rackmount stuff is fashionable though not quite like a stand-alone AV component. For me, I don't care about asthetics on a UPS as they are easily hidden from view in most installations - I care about specs, warranty, capabilities, and reliability. And that spells APC for me.

APC's Home AV Systems Line: http://www.apcc.com/products/category.cfm?...amp;segmentID=1
Click to expand...

I like the APC S10 but I'm not sure I can justify $1,300 vs $150 for the Belkin.
 
I am a true believer in " you get what you pay for" but for $150 it's worth a try. The belkin unit has AVR which is a plus. I couldn't find anything regarding the output waveform. That worries me. A stepped sine wave might as well be a square wave as far as I'm concerned. See if you can find out the output type, maybe a call to belkin is at hand. Good Luck.
 
Be very careful of the output wave form. If it is not a full wave it could cause your tv to go bad quicker than expected and your sound to have a loss in fidelity. After trying a few I gave up and just went with a psaudio powerplant.
 
programmergeek said:
Be very careful of the output wave form. If it is not a full wave it could cause your tv to go bad quicker than expected and your sound to have a loss in fidelity. After trying a few I gave up and just went with a psaudio powerplant.
Click to expand...

Good advice. I also read some reviews that said the Belkin units are noisy with some kind of AC hum when idle on AC power. Not a good feature for a Home Theater product. I'll take a look at the psaudio product.
 
A little off topic, but I saw this thing on the psaudio site and while I would tend to doubt it, I wonder if this could potentially work to eliminate some noise issues related to HA?
 
Steve said:
A little off topic, but I saw this thing on the psaudio site and while I would tend to doubt it, I wonder if this could potentially work to eliminate some noise issues related to HA?
Click to expand...

I was going to get one but then I discovered the AC prongs were not made of oxygen-free copper so I decided to wait for a more expensive model to be released.
 
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the 2 big names in Home Theater power conditioning, i.e.; Panamax and Fuhrman. Their products are at EHX and CEDIA and in all the big exhibits.

While it is true that they are expensive solutions, how much is your HT equipment worth, $150 or several thousand? As was mentions above, you get what you pay for.
 
lpott6 said:
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the 2 big names in Home Theater power conditioning, i.e.; Panamax and Fuhrman. Their products are at EHX and CEDIA and in all the big exhibits.

While it is true that they are expensive solutions, how much is your HT equipment worth, $150 or several thousand? As was mentions above, you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

I was not really looking for Power conditioning. I just want a cheap, silent, UPS system that will run my entire home theater for hours and hours during a power failure.
 
upstatemike said:
lpott6 said:
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the 2 big names in Home Theater power conditioning, i.e.; Panamax and Fuhrman. Their products are at EHX and CEDIA and in all the big exhibits.

While it is true that they are expensive solutions, how much is your HT equipment worth, $150 or several thousand? As was mentions above, you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

I was not really looking for Power conditioning. I just want a cheap, silent, UPS system that will run my entire home theater for hours and hours during a power failure.
Click to expand...


I'm looking too and I am still researching it - I found UPSforLESS they have some very good pricing. I have almost decided to go UPS/generator but not quite there yet.

Dave
 
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