Some education please!

[evlgamer]

Greetings to all,

I have been unsuccessfully crawling around Google looking for a solid introduction to alot of the audio/video concepts that I am sure most of you could recite in your sleep. I am a lifelong computer geek, but am very new to home theater. Is there a good website that someone could point me to that would explain things a bit? It is tough for me to read about products and read reviews when I don't understand why a given number or technology is good or bad.

Basically I am trying to create a solid home theater for my house, I have a Sony KDL-46XBR5 LCD tv, and a Sony surround sound system, hooked in are a PS3, a 360, a Wii, and about half a dozen of the older generation game consoles. So my main concerns are power conditioning/protection, a concept i know next to nothing about. There have been posts on this forum that have been very helpful, but I just would like to learn more about things, rather then the specific answers I have gotten so far, that while great are still a bit over my head.

I am considering an APC J15 at the moment, if that is a subject anyone wants to comment on as well.

Thanks!

 

[MDS]

If I'm not mistaken the Jxx models from APC include battery backup, like a UPS. That is not an important concern fort HT except for certain conditions, although others will certainly disagree.

The way you learn about this stuff is to ask questions and then follow up with your own resarch. There is no one website that I know of that can definitively answer every question that you might have.

Power ]'conditioning' will do nothing for you unless you have power problems that need to be addressed in the first place. I have an APC H10 and it does nothing as far as improving audio or video processing but it it serves its purpose as a surge suppressor and a convenient place to plug in all of your power cords. A UPS is only necessary if you need to have time to shutdown things in an orderly manner in the event of a power outage. That is a requirement for computer systems but not so much for a HT system.

 

[evlgamer]

I'm not concerned with the controversy over if conditioning improves audio or video quality, what I am concerned with and frankly a bit scared of, is having power issues damage anything. Simply put, I cannot afford to replace thousands of dollars worth of HT hardware because some electrical problem got through, as I am sure you can understand.

The reason I look at the J15 is the issue of voltage regulation. A good surge protector will do its job of stopping to much juice, but from what I have been reading (and I admit that maybe its just propoganda) there is also strain placed on hardware when the juice dips to low. Is there truth to that? Or am i just believing their marketing?

Also the house I live in is old, not turn of the century or anything but I do not have a ton of confidence in its wiring, so my instinct is to get the highest end power hardware within my budget (in this case the J15 is as much as I can afford) to keep things in good shape.

Thoughts?

Thanks for your reply btw.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm not concerned with the controversy over if conditioning improves audio or video quality, what I am concerned with and frankly a bit scared of, is having power issues damage anything. Simply put, I cannot afford to replace thousands of dollars worth of HT hardware because some electrical problem got through, as I am sure you can understand.

The reason I look at the J15 is the issue of voltage regulation. A good surge protector will do its job of stopping to much juice, but from what I have been reading (and I admit that maybe its just propoganda) there is also strain placed on hardware when the juice dips to low. Is there truth to that? Or am i just believing their marketing?

Also the house I live in is old, not turn of the century or anything but I do not have a ton of confidence in its wiring, so my instinct is to get the highest end power hardware within my budget (in this case the J15 is as much as I can afford) to keep things in good shape.

Thoughts?

Thanks for your reply btw.

I had significant power problems here this winter. My main system was covered with smart a UPS system. The low voltage situations took down my HD DVR and the LLB unit it phantom powered in my downstairs system. It did this twice before I realized it was the winter demands on the power system causing the problem. It now has a smart UPS as well. I believe with this modern micro processor laden electronics, a UPS is the way to go. It does everything a power conditioner does and a lot more. That will always be my strong recommendation.