TV's and Power Conditioners

[Jungle Squirrel]

I will be hanging my TV on the wall. I always run a separate receptacle for the TV. I've been reading that power conditioners can help a TV's performance. is this true? If so, how can I plug into a power conditioner while keeping wiring in the wall while following codes?

 

[highfigh]

I will be hanging my TV on the wall. I always run a separate receptacle for the TV. I've been reading that power conditioners can help a TV's performance. is this true? If so, how can I plug into a power conditioner while keeping wiring in the wall while following codes?

You can buy outlets with a filter built in, or you can buy a small filter and mount it on the back of the TV. If you have room and were thinking of using a Roku or AppleTV, look into an enclosure that fits in the stud cavity. It might even have enough room for a cable box if you won't be using an AVR for all of the video switching.

 

[Speedskater]

It's not true!
It's just another audiophile myth/misunderstanding that drifted over to video.

 

[Jungle Squirrel]

It's not true!
It's just another audiophile myth/misunderstanding that drifted over to video.

I figured as much but never hurts to ask. Thanks!

 

[highfigh]

It's not true!
It's just another audiophile myth/misunderstanding that drifted over to video.

Might not, but it can save the TV from surges.

 

[Leemix]

It's not true!
It's just another audiophile myth/misunderstanding that drifted over to video.

While it wont help everyone or every kind of audio(or video) equipment making a blanket statement like that just isnt correct. The OP will never know if it will help in his house/apartment unless he tries. Its unlikly to be worth it for a tv unless his power is a big mess and if so something is probably not as it should be and should have been fixed/removed from the grid.
I use power conditioning on my system not to make it better then ever but to avoid the bad periods.


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[Speedskater]

Might not, but it can save the TV from surges.

Any modern TV has it's own surge built-in protection circuit and it's power supply is designed to operate on a wide range of line voltages (like anything from 100V to almost 300V).
Just get a whole home surge protection unit near the main breaker box.

 

[highfigh]

Any modern TV has it's own surge built-in protection circuit and it's power supply is designed to operate on a wide range of line voltages (like anything from 100V to almost 300V).
Just get a whole home surge protection unit near the main breaker box.

That's best (whole house), but it doesn't help with surges from electric motors, like the fridge, HVAC, well pumps, etc.

WRT the power supplies in TVs- I just googled 'tv power supply problems' and got 132 million hits. I also know people who repair TVs and power supplies are near the top of the list for those, second to the LDC panel.

 

[Speedskater]

That's best (whole house),but it doesn't help with surges from electric motors, like the fridge, HVAC, well pumps, etc.

Those are just fears amplified by the people that want to sell aftermarket power conditioners.

 

[highfigh]

Those are just fears amplified by the people that want to sell aftermarket power conditioners.

Ever seen your lights flicker when the fridge goes on or off? Your AV equipment sees the same surges.

I know people with scopes, man! I know people with scopes!

 

[lovinthehd]

Ever seen your lights flicker when the fridge goes on or off? Your AV equipment sees the same surges.

I know people with scopes, man! I know people with scopes!

Or your AV equipment when turning on can cause those surges. Never would buy a power conditioner just for this "symptom" myself....

 

[HTfreak2004]

Best solution is usually dedicated lines for each amp. If using a power conditioner make sure it has a dedicated plug as well. In a perfect setup the power conditioning happens before the panel. Whole house power conditioning. Same principle as a whole house Reverse Osmosis system. Then use dedicated plugs for everything in the entire house. If I build my next home the house is getting full power conditioning! Anyway a man can dream and that’s a precursor to doing the necessary to fulfill the dream


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[photographer86]

I run a panamax mr1500 unit for my avr, apple tv, and my dvd player along with a few other things plugged into it. Then for the tv I have the panamax power 360 which plugs into the outlet and makes it 6 outlets. It will auto shut off on both models if voltage goes to high or to low. The best way to protect from surges black outs from what I have learned is have battery backup and some protection like what panamax offers. If you get hit with strike chances are its gonna cook anyways. Having battery back up though lets say when power goes off and on off and on could be if its a hard electrical off on do some damage. So it's nice having a buffer there.

I do it to make myself feel more comfortable. Transformers them self in amps, and sub are pretty big and can handle hits to an extent. They're big coils. But processors and other little components are what you want to try to protect.

 

[Priece Rich]

I will be hanging my TV on the wall. I always run a separate receptacle for the TV. I've been reading that power conditioners can help a TV's performance. is this true? If so, how can I plug into a power conditioner while keeping wiring in the wall while following codes?

*** I protect "all" of my A/V equipment with APC Battery Backup UPS units. I live in an area prone infrequent power outages and heavy storms at times. Before I started using battery backup UPSs I lost two TVs and one A/V receiver. Since then, not a single piece of equipment has been damaged.

 

[HTfreak2004]

Keep in mind power conditioning and power stabilization are different animals. Conditioners are used to separate devices sharing the same circuit into a portion of the conditioner that deals with say digital devices and the potion dealing with analog.

The AC line coming into the conditioner separates to provide filtering to a specific device type.

Power stabilization is about maintaining “optimal” power to any device connected to that outlet.

Stabilizing the incoming power is something that needs to be addressed prior to the filters for digital or analog separation.

I personally prefer to use a conditioner but don’t recommend having a high powered sub and high power multi channel amp both connected to it if they can exceed the total load capacity of the conditioner for obvious sense!

My conditioner is rated for 15a and is connected to a dedicated 20a circuit. My sub ended up compressed when plugged into it at the same time as my 5 channel amp and other gear!

Keeping HD TVs connected to a dedicated circuit is a good practice. My projector has a dedicated circuit without a conditioner.

I did notice an audio improvement and video improvement using my conditioner when source components were connected to it.

Cleaning up the power to a Bluray or DVD player is a first line defence that usually is enough for the down the line components.

If an amp has a dedicated circuit that is usually enough to eliminate sound compression that may occur when the current draw could potentially exceed the Amperage of the rated line!

 

[Speedskater]

Keep in mind power conditioning and power stabilization are different animals. Conditioners are used to separate devices sharing the same circuit into a portion of the conditioner that deals with say digital devices and the potion dealing with analog.

No 'power conditioner' is an undefined term. It could mean almost any combination of the following.

a) Noise filter - a low-pass EMI/RFI filter.
b) Surge protector - although it's better to have surge protection at the home's service entrance.
c) UPS - note that many UPS's are not really UPS's!
d) Line voltage adjuster.
e) Balanced power transformer.
f) Isolated power transformer.
g) DC blockers.
h) Regenerators (PSAudio)
i) Power Factor Correction
j) I forget? But I think that there are more.

 

[HTfreak2004]

What do you mean by “undefined term”
Clarification would be appreciated!

My conditioner has separated outlets for specific device types. The display provides the incoming voltage and the unit is responsible for maintaining “optimal” delivery to each outlet based on specification.

Optimal should not be confused with maximum even though that may sound optimal rather it should be associated with “minimum” necessary for the connected devices power supply to maintain its internal functioning for our enjoyment.

 

[Speedskater]

What do you mean by “undefined term”
Clarification would be appreciated!

I just did!
It can mean whatever the marketing department chooses it to mean. It has no engineering definition.

 

[highfigh]

Or your AV equipment when turning on can cause those surges. Never would buy a power conditioner just for this "symptom" myself....

I would like to see a study of the effects from the normal inrush current in AVRs vs the effects of surges that occur outside of the AVRs- it's possible that the inrush is softened in the power supply during startup, but I have never seen or heard anyone talk about it. I have discussed surges with friends who are electrical engineers and they agree that stable power is good power.

 

[highfigh]

No 'power conditioner' is an undefined term. It could mean almost any combination of the following.

a) Noise filter - a low-pass EMI/RFI filter.
b) Surge protector - although it's better to have surge protection at the home's service entrance.
c) UPS - note that many UPS's are not really UPS's!
d) Line voltage adjuster.
e) Balanced power transformer.
f) Isolated power transformer.
g) DC blockers.
h) Regenerators (PSAudio)
i) Power Factor Correction
j) I forget? But I think that there are more.

UPS is used when referring to something that deals with surges far too often and I really would like people to learn what 'UPS' stands for.