Battery Back up for DLP TV's

[itschris]

I was just about to buy that Newport unit in the DEALS section, but then thought about the need for battery backup for the DLP TV I have. SAMs Club of all places has a pretty good deal on a small battery backp/surge protection unit for about $90 or so. I'm thinking that may be a better solution. It should certainly have enough juice to last a minute or two to cool the TV down and should be just as adequate as any other non-super expensive surge supression. Thoughts?

 

[10010011]

As long as you are not anal about it being a precise sine wave and are not expecting it to lift a thousand vales in your audio and make your DLP's picture become more 3D and make the blacker than blacks even more blacker than black.

Cheaper UPS's often called "line interactive" just let the line voltage pass through them under normal conditions. Most do provide a level of surge protection on par with better rated surge suppressors.

Really as long as it is rated a high enough output power it should be fine for short term outages and cool down.

 

[jostenmeat]

Im using a Belkin for my PJ. Shortly after the purchase, there was a thread here talking about UPS's. TLS guy had a lot to say (he was in charge of his hospital, I think). Anyways, I believe it was an Audioholics mod, but there was a recommendation on APC as refurbished for about $70, IIRC.

If I did it all over again, I would've done that instead, saving close to $100. The Belkin looks nicer, perhaps, but its in a place where this does not matter much to me.

 

[mr-ben]

be careful

Two thoughts:

A $90 UPS probably outputs a square-wave, not a sine wave. This may or may not severely damage your TV. You should check what it outputs, and if it's a square wave check with the TV manufacturer to find if it's safe.

Make sure the UPS can sustain the power draw of the TV. A TV that uses 300 watts probably should have a UPS rated for 600VA or more. An undersized UPS is as useful as a power strip.

 

[MDS]

UPS runtime ratings are for half-load. So if it says 600 VA with a runtime of 10 minutes on battery, you will only get 10 minutes if all the connected equipment is drawing 300 VA or less.

 

[itschris]

I guess nothings ever easy... Here is the one I was looking at. I don't see anything about square or sine waves though.

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=383091

It looks to be 750VA. I'm only looking for this thing to last long enought to turn my TV off which is about 1 minutes. I'm assuming I'll be around if the power goes out since the TV is never on unless someone's watching it.

 

[MDS]

From the listed specs: Voltage On Battery: 115 Vrms + 8% (step-approximated sine wave).

Any UPS that does not say 'online' or 'line interactive' uses a stepped aprroximation of a sine wave. It's not a perfectly smooth sine wave nor is it exactly a square wave. It won't hurt your TV.

A perfect sine wave output is only necessary if your TV is sensitive to poor power and you are a videophile that insists on watching your favorite movie despite the power being out.

 

[itschris]

From the listed specs: Voltage On Battery: 115 Vrms + 8% (step-approximated sine wave).

Any UPS that does not say 'online' or 'line interactive' uses a stepped aprroximation of a sine wave. It's not a perfectly smooth sine wave nor is it exactly a square wave. It won't hurt your TV.

A perfect sine wave output is only necessary if your TV is sensitive to poor power and you are a videophile that insists on watching your favorite movie despite the power being out.

So I take it that while it's not a perfect solution, it's suitable in that it will help protect the system from surges and allow for some cool down time if the power cuts out.