Provides up to 40min of battery backup during power outage
8 surge protected outlets
Automatic voltage regulation
3 Year connected equipment warranty
CONS
Only available in Silver
No RS-232 port
Many people do not consider purchasing a power
center when setting up their home theater system. It is often a
neglected piece of equipment, yet one of the most important. Much like
an extended warranty, a power center is a low-cost product that will
protect your investment and provide peace of mind. The major
difference between a power center and an uninterruptible power center
is the inclusion of a battery. The battery allows you to continue to
operate your home theater during momentary power outages without any
requirements to restart your components. Aside from the obvious point
listed above, there are at least seven other identifiable power
problems that UPS units will correct. They are, in no order of
importance:
1. Frequency Variation. Frequency variation is a
change from the nominal frequency of more than 3 Hz from the normally
stable utility frequency of 60 Hertz. Frequency variation will cause
the motors in your electrical products to increase or decrease in
speed.
2. Harmonic Distortion. Harmonic Distortion is
defined as an alteration in the waveform of the supply voltage from
the ideal (or nominal) waveform. It causes excess heating of the
wiring, transformers and capacitors of your home theater equipment.
3. Line Noise. Line noise is interference commonly
generated by transmitters or lightning. Excessive line noise causes
electromagnetic interference, which can completely disable your
electronic equipment.
4. Over-Voltage. Over-Voltage is an elevation of
the standard voltage for an increased period of time. It is caused by
a rapid reduction in power loads, such as heavy equipment being shut
down, or utility switching. This can cause unexpected equipment
shutoff.
5. Under-Voltage. Under-Voltage is the opposite of
over-voltage (Like you didn't figure that one out already). It is
caused by heavy power loads, or by the hydro company who will apply
voltage reduction to conserve power. They do this because they are
unable to meet the demand for power. This can lead to premature
failure of your home theater equipment.
6. Voltage Sag. A Voltage Sag, or Power Sag, is
caused by the startup of heavy power consumption products. Printers or
Air Conditioners are common products that contribute to a Voltage Sag.
Voltage Sags cause excessive wear or damage to occur in electrical
products.
7. Voltage Surge. A Voltage Surge, or Power Surge
as it is more commonly known, is commonly caused by lightning strikes.
A power spike almost always results in severe, unrepairable damage to
your electronic equipment, and is by far the leading cause of sudden
failure in home electronic equipment.
We often receive many questions about what the
different stages mean for power centers. For example, if a product
offers Stage or Level 3 protection vs. Stage or Level 5 protection.
There is no real standard set by the manufacturers to accurately
answer this question, unfortunately. The manufacturers use this term
to define which of the problems listed above their products will
protect. Stage 5 means that the product will prevent occurrences of
five of the above listed problems. Stage 3 means that the product will
prevent occurrences of three of the above listed problems.
However, each manufacturer has its own idea of
which of the problems that their products will prevent. In light of
that, you can rest assured that all of the products will prevent the
most common problem, which is a voltage surge. The higher end
products, and the products that have a battery, also provide voltage
regulation. These are the products that we endorse on our websites or
over the telephone. As recently as a few years ago, these products
used to be prohibitively expensive, and they were designed exclusively
for Information Technology. Nowadays, affordable units are beginning
to populate the market, and these are designed exclusively for the
home theater environment. One such product is the Belkin PureAV
AP30800-10 8-Outlet Home Theater Power Conditioner with Battery
Backup.
The Belkin PureAV AP30800-10 has a 1200VA/600W
battery that will provide up to 40 minutes of battery backup power
during power outages. It offers voltage stabilization via Belkin's
proprietary Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) Technology, which
stabilizes power fluctuations and maintains constant voltage to your
home theater system. The PureAV AP30800-10 has eight surge-protected
outlets on it, six of which are protected by battery backup. While
this will be more than sufficient for most home theaters, this unit is
both stackable and rack-mountable if you require more than one unit to
accommodate all of the plug-ins that you may have. In addition, this
product offers protection for coaxial-cable line connections, DSL and
telephone lines, as well as broadband Ethernet protection to protect
digital media receivers and other networked devices.
High end home theater connoisseurs will appreciate
the fact that Belkin is putting their money where their mouth is by
offering a three-year warranty with this product, as well as up to
$500,000 USD Connected Equipment Warranty. Short of not offering an
RS-232 control port, it is difficult to point out any mechanical
shortcomings with this unit (RS-232 would allow for controlled
shutdown of your home theater in the event of battery failure). In
addition, this unit is only available in silver color. It would have
been nice to have an option for a black unit, or an available
interchangeable black faceplate.
Given the price point and the extensive amount of
features that this unit provides, the Belkin AP30800-10 is a
recommended purchase for any end-user who values both stability and
protection for their home theater system. Besides, when the rest of
the street has no power, it’s pretty cool to be able to finish your
movie or crank up the tunes to bewilder your neighbors before
retiring for the evening.
