So I'm looking to get an A/V surge protector to protect a home entertainment system that's in the pipeline (TV in the 40-60" range, sound system/home theatre eventually). How many joules of protection do you guys have? Do I really need 1000+ joules or is something in the mid-100's adequate? Does noise reduction make a noticeable diff? Any recommendations? TIA...

Are you prone to outages (Brownouts) or spikes in your area?
If not and you don't live where there is a lot of lightning, a mid price range device will be for you.
I know when to shut something off most of the time when there's a storm. It's common sense and where you have a problem is the unpredictable, I.e. Car into power pole, terrorism, etc.
If you have really expensive stuff, get a comparable Surge/Battery backup unit.

For the last few years, we get the occassional rolling black/brown-outs here in So. Cal. (intentionally done to relieve stress on the power grid) during the summer time when everyone's got their A/C going full blast. Other than that, lightning storms are not all that common. Your "car into pole" scenario is probably more likely than a lightning strike (*** touch wood ***)...

Hey I've had car into my front yard twice, luckly I don't live there anymore and they never hit the house.

If it were me, I'd opt for the battery backup/surge protection. Your devices won't be on when the power goes out most times, but if it does, you'll have the opportunity turn them off controllably.

I've got all my computer stuff on a UPS... Wasn't sure if I needed to do the same with the TV/stereo. Will definitely consider it though. Either way, I will put the TV/stereo against the wall away from the street... Thx for the 2 cents.

It sounds like you need whole home surge protection. It's called "point of entry surge protection".

Call an electrician and have him install one to the circuit breaker in your home. If you are running a lot of expensive electronic devices like 60" TV's, then it might be a wise investment.

My new place is on a corner too. This is what happened late last year when a drunk idiot put his pickup into the carport.



Luckily when they fixed the wall they also replaced the whole ceiling in the car port, which was starting to flake and get a little old anyway

Some good things come from bad from time to time.

If I were you Roger, I'd figure out a way of getting some big ass boulders installed.

I have a surplused UPS APC 3000 that I plan on running my whole Computer room through. I can't wait for the first night with no power and get to play pinball. Should be cool.

I have a couple more that will be coming up for surplus although not as big, I plan on using one for my entertainment center, etc.

Remember that with TV's and receivers, especially high-end ones, draw power even when they are turned off. Therefore if you have a brownout or power outage there is the change the equipment could be damaged.

I've got a 50" TV, Receiver, Xbox 360; and I run it through a heavy duty surge protector, but a UPS wouldn't work for me because of how much power everything draws. When a storm comes I completely unplug the surge protector so I know no power is connected, it's the only way to be 100% safe.

I bought a battery backup for my system. I have a 52" DLP + home theater system + satellite DVR plugged in to it.

The model I have is a APC Back-UP ES .



Can't remember what I paid for it, but it wasn't too expensive - under 100 dollars anyway. It's already saved me a couple of times when the power has gone out and does offer a level of surge protection too. Gives me plenty of time to shut off the TV and components in the event of an outage.

That's a good idea. Most projection lamps want to cool down (i.e. fans blowing for a few minutes after shut down).