Clean power surge protector - worth the $?

[Big Chupa]

I just purchased a large rear projection TV and am less than happy with the quality of the picture - it's annoyingly fuzzy. Currently, the setup is coax (digital cable) from the wall to a digital cable box, then composite RCA to the TV. I am considering doing component video cable from the box to the TV, but someone suggested I also buy a $100.00-$200.00 surge protector/powerstrip with "Clean Power," which supposedly eliminates background power "fuzz." I wasn't sold; I just can't buy into clean power making that much difference to my picture quality. Am I wrong?
Comments would be extremely appreciated!

[likwid8]

Well a surge protector will protect the hardware from any damages in case of a power out, I never heard of a power surge improving image quality. In fact it doesnt even connect to any video components whatsoever. Buy it if for power failure, dont spend that much money to "think" image will improve.

Now in terms of improving the image, I would suggest replacing the digital cable box, try hooking up a DVD Player and see how it looks, or a Satellite receiver, if image is still fuzzy return it for an exchange. If it all still doesnt change anything then you pretty much bought a low end model projection screen. I suggest the following; return all your equipment and buying a projection screen and go bouts that, best quality wise. Take care

[redwudz]

As far as a surge protector, good idea. A unit for individual outlet should cost less than $20US. Helps during lightning strikes, or when some idiot downs a power pole a few blocks away and drops the 20KV line across the local cable line. Definitely won't clear up video, but might save some of your costly electronic devices.

[lordsmurf]

Clean power is more for prevent power hum issues, and other problems that can fry your equipment. It's not for "image quality" necessarily.

It is a VERY good idea.

[glockjs]

i doubt a surge protector is gonna clean up the picture. you might wanna try to have it hooked up by s-video. but if your cable company is anything like mine, which im sure it is, your not getting a true digital picture. it's just an analog signal being converted into digital. which looks like crap in my home too. my AIW 9800pro does a 10x better job at cleanin up the pic than that stupid digital cable box. and thats where your prob is originating from...the source it self

[piano632]

I have 2 Panamax surge protectors and to my eyes and ears they do make a noticeable improvement to both audio and video. I have all my audio, video and computer equipment plugged into them and I won't go back to using raw AC outlets. I live only 2 miles away from a power plant so surges/power outages are rare for me, but it's the RFI/EMI noise filtering for the AC line that's in a surge protector that makes the difference.

On the other hand, I don't like digital cable either (too many artifacts with movement, fine details like hair/grass look fuzzy). So if that's what you have, I don't think there's any way to fix it.

[linetest]

Good quality protector is a good idea, but not those $200 high profit margin things.
The signal from your cable box, digital as it may be, is going to be a bit fuzzy on your HDTV. Fact. Only when you pump in a HDTV signal will you really see what the TV can do. I bought a 50" Toshiba rear projection a little over two years ago. Disliked the picture quality so much from my DirecTV Tivo, I rolled the set into another room for storage and went back to a regular 32" tube set.
Then I decided to bite the bullet and buy the HDTV Tivo. NOW I see why I bought that TV. Out with the regular set and in with the "old" rear projection. Analog signals will always be a bit darker and fuzzier on a HDTV set. Add in compression from DTV or cable, plus a bigger screen and it can look downright ugly.
We are in a transition. HDTV is fabulous, but the HDTV set doesn't do as well with any other broadcast source. And, the "old" analog TV's look great with those signals but won't take HD. Take your pick, but you have to live with some shortfalls right now.
My advice is a good surge protector (around $40 should do), and use component cables to connect your cable box, as well as your DVD player into the component inputs of your new TV.
If DVDs look real nice on playback, but your cable signal doesn't look too great, the TV is probably acting "normal" for a HD ready TV.
Contact your cable company and ask for a High Definition set top receiver to be installed.

[EvilWizardGlick]

Didn't anyone bother to read his post? COMPOSITE from the box to the tv. Of course it will be fuzzy.
I don't know about anyone else but many of my channels are NOT digital. Many of the digital channels don't look as good through the HD box. The box is set to 1080i. To have a better pq on digital, and those not digital, I have to manually lower the resolution to something more compatable with the signals of my cable co.
Kind of a pain in the ass when flipping channels.
HD looks great.
Non digital locals look crappy. Digital ok, but a tiny bit of blurring.
Some boxes will automatically correct for the proper resolution.

As far as surge suppressors, there are long involved explanations about the HOUSE ground and the speed of a surge. Unless the supressor is fast enough, everything still blows.
One did have a guarantee of something like 100k, if your equipment blew while using their product. Sounds like the one to buy to me.

Either way, run component ( or one of the newer outs if the tv and box support it) from the box to the tv. Make sure that the box is set to the RESOLUTION you want, 1080i 720p so on.
When my cable co first received the HDDVR's they had absolutely no idea how to set them up. The tech could not get a signal through the component. Luckily I went on the net and solved it in a half hour ( and the next day the techs showed up ready to fix it, seems the main office finally sent them an installation MANUAL for the HDDVR's).

Proper installation will clear up the signal.
You may want to buy some nice cables as well. I use these
http://www.digitalconnection.com/products/Cables/IXOS_component.asp
You can probably buy them somewhere else cheaper, or you can go with the overhyped Monster brand.
I did notice that the cables that came with box left a line on the screen, that was gone with the IXOS.

[Big Chupa]

I love this site. Every one of these suggestions is a good thought, although some contradict each other. I've talked to some friends and they seem to agree with linetest and Evil Wizard. I'm having the cable company come out to hook me up with an HD box, then I'll run component from that and from the DVD player and let y'all know how much it increases the picture quality.
Thanks everyone.

[EvilWizardGlick]

I love this site. Every one of these suggestions is a good thought, although some contradict each other. I've talked to some friends and they seem to agree with linetest and Evil Wizard. I'm having the cable company come out to hook me up with an HD box, then I'll run component from that and from the DVD player and let y'all know how much it increases the picture quality.
Thanks everyone.

You may want to calibrate the tv with either AVIA or VIDEO ESSENTIALS. The settings for the dvd player will be a bit different than the cable box. But some jiggering will get them close enough.
Or spend the big bucks for ISF calibration. The results are rumored to be awesome.
Dig through the AVS forum as well,
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php

[linetest]

Before I knew better, I called for ISF calibration after I bought my set because the picture was not great. Paid almost $500. The calibration tech was excited about the results, but I ended up staring at the same crappy picture from DirecTV. The improvement in DVD quality was marginal at best in my eyes. You have to pay extra for other inputs also. Can add up in a hurry. If you are a true video enthuiast, you may appreciate ISF calibration. For "just a TV viewer" like myslef, save the money.

I do also recommend an Avia or similar calibration DVD for basic fine tuning you can do yourself.

[linetest]

Before I knew better, I called for ISF calibration after I bought my set because the picture was not great. Paid almost $500. The calibration tech was excited about the results, but I ended up staring at the same crappy picture from DirecTV. The improvement in DVD quality was marginal at best in my eyes. You have to pay extra for other inputs also. Can add up in a hurry. If you are a true video enthuiast, you may appreciate ISF calibration. For "just a TV viewer" like myslef, save the money.

I do also recommend an Avia or similar calibration DVD for basic fine tuning you can do yourself.

[Big Chupa]

Just to let everyone know how this turned out, I had HD digital cable installed and am using component video from my DVD player/PS2 and from the digital cable box, both to the receiver and to the TV. The results are great; I'm happy with the picture from the DVD player/PS2 and the HD channels look awesome. Regular TV stations are still a little on the fuzzy side, but I think that's just the way it goes with this particular TV.
And I'm going to pass on the clean power strip.
Thanks for all the input everyone!

[redwudz]

Great, sounds like you have a good setup. I agree on passing on the 'clean power' device, but with all that money invested in video equipment, I hope you at least got a inexpensive surge protector. If not you are much more trusting of your power company than me. It's cheap insurance.

[Krispy Kritter]

The "Clean Power" suppressor serves 2 purposes. First, it acts as a typical surge suppressor to protect against lightning strikes and such. Secondly, it filters the power to supply steady and consistent clean power to all the devices that are attached.

An example of this would be how the lights in most houses dim when the AC or furnass turns on or the static sometimes seen on the TV caused by a vacuum cleaner. Even though such occurances are not always "seen" on the TV or heard through your receiver, that equipment is still affected by those power fluctuations. In the case of rear projection TV's, any power fluctuations affect the focus/aim of the crt guns.

[EvilWizardGlick]

Just to let everyone know how this turned out, I had HD digital cable installed and am using component video from my DVD player/PS2 and from the digital cable box, both to the receiver and to the TV. The results are great; I'm happy with the picture from the DVD player/PS2 and the HD channels look awesome. Regular TV stations are still a little on the fuzzy side, but I think that's just the way it goes with this particular TV.
And I'm going to pass on the clean power strip.
Thanks for all the input everyone!

Depending on your box, if you adjust the out put resolution it may clear up the locals. Some boxes automatically adjust down from Hd (720p or 1080i) to the digital (480p 480i). Some, SA 8000 you have to manually adjust.
Even though there will be differences, try adjusting the DVD player settings with either Avia or Video Essentials. Then apply those settings to the other inputs. Adjust those as needed. Each device will have different adjustments, but the dvd player gives you a baseline to start with.

[EvilWizardGlick]

The "Clean Power" suppressor serves 2 purposes. First, it acts as a typical surge suppressor to protect against lightning strikes and such. Secondly, it filters the power to supply steady and consistent clean power to all the devices that are attached.

An example of this would be how the lights in most houses dim when the AC or furnass turns on or the static sometimes seen on the TV caused by a vacuum cleaner. Even though such occurances are not always "seen" on the TV or heard through your receiver, that equipment is still affected by those power fluctuations. In the case of rear projection TV's, any power fluctuations affect the focus/aim of the crt guns.

Except, if the surge is FASTER than the supressor it will still blow the tv. If the ground is further than the supressor, it will blow the tv.
Yes a supressor is worthwhile to have. But it will NOT solve every surge problem.
In theory you should start with the house ground, make sure that is the best possible and work from there to the supressor.
Something like this,
http://www.ideamaster.com/budget/surge.htm
" * UL 1449; 330 volt rating
* ANSI C62.41 categories A & B
* 8 outlets - 3 spaced for AC Adapters
* 20 to 1 EMI/RFI noise reduction Shielded for 3 Coax Cables IN and OUT
* 1755 joule rating
* Audible and visual alarm system
* Recessed power switch
* Telephone Line Protection 1 IN 2 OUT
* Cable TV protection
* Direct broadcast satellite protection
* LNB satellite system connections
* Right angle plug
* $100,000 Lightning Insurance
* Lifetime Warranty!"

this
http://www.portlandgeneral.com/home/products/surge/surge_protector.asp?bhcp=1
"Minimum specifications
Four key features to look for in a surge suppressor:

1. UL 1449 listed
* Conforms to Underwriter Laboratory’s standard UL 1449 for transient voltage surge suppressors.
* UL 1449 listing is required for safety. UL listing as a “power tap” is not sufficient.

2. Peak surge current
* Also referred to as maximum transient current or maximum surge
* If you have surge suppression at your meter or circuit panel, 36,000 amperes is sufficient.
* Without surge suppression at your meter or circuit panel, look for 54,000 amperes or higher.

3. UL 1449 suppressed voltage rating
* Also referred to as clamping voltage
* 330 volts gives the best protection; higher voltage ratings give less protection.

4. Energy rating (joules)
* 700 joules or more; the higher the joules, the better
* Since testing methods for energy rating are not standardized, don’t base your choice on a joules energy rating alone.

Other important features
Depending on your electronics and appliances, you might consider the benefits of using a surge suppressor with these other optional features.

1. Phone and cable TV protection
* To protect a TV, VCR, telephone, fax or computer, buy a surge suppressor with TV cable connectors and/or phone jacks


2. Extra surge suppressor connectors and outlets
* Several outlets for each piece of equipment
* Room for AC adapters (transformers)

3. Indicators
* Status or warning lights to indicate that the device is working (not just that the power is on)

4. Electrical noise protection
* For electromagnetic interference (EMI)
* For radio-frequency interference (RFI)

5. Warranty and insurance
* Warranty on surge suppressor of at least five years
* Warranty on connected equipment of $10,000 to $25,000 or more"

or this
http://www.homeautomationnet.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=117&cat=Surge+Suppressors%0D%0A
"# Handles current surges up to 2,775 joules
# Clean Power™ Stage 3 application-specific filtering for the highest quality
# Optimized digital filter for minimum jitter and precise imaging
# High sensitivity volt meter system status display
# 12-volt trigger input for remote turn-on of switched outlets
# 3 coax, 1 phone for protection of DSS, DVD and cable TV connections
# $100,000 connected equipment warranty
# Lifetime product warranty"

Those have substantial warranties for failure.

[Quantum]

I'm a driver in a racing series broadcast on SpeedTV. I tape my races and pass them out to close friends on occasion. I've compared taping the local digital cable provider versus DirectTV and satellite beats the picture quality hands down. In fact, I can't tell much difference at all between the digital cable and analog cable recordings of SpeedTV.

I use my Sony Digital8 camcorder to record the broadcasts. S-video connections between the camcorder and digital cable box or satellite receiver. My comparisons are then on the same TV with the tapes played out via S-Video. I can also send the raw video/data to the PC via firewire later if I want to make a DVD for archival purposes.

As far as line quality. Network guys use battery back up systems (UPS) that are line interactive with full time inverters producing true sine-wav output operating similar to this model:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=77&pcount=&...oduct_Id=21054

They are half as expensive as the $1000+ models I've see touted on the audio/video sites.

[Nelson37]

I live in Southwest Florida, the lightning strike capital of the world. Very highly recommend APC surge protectors / battery backup units, they gaurantee your equipment and pay off even in the event of a direct lightning hit. Not sure of the improvement in PQ but well worth it as insurance. Read those statements carefully, most surge protectors insurance is invalid in the event of a direct hit or near miss.

Thought I'd pass along a tip a customer got from an electrician, who told her she didn't need a surge protector as long as she put a knot in the power cord! That one still cracks me up.