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    Samsung UA55C7000 3D LCD TV

    The hottest new home entertainment technology to appear since the introduction of Blu-ray has got to be 3D. Most of the major brands have their own systems on the verge of launch, but Samsung was the first to make it into Australian retail electronics stores.

Home Theatre

Strike force: protecting your devices from power surge

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Lightning never strikes the same spot twice, and with the right protection there?s no need to worry in the first place, writes Nathan Taylor.

So you?ve got a sweet home theatre rig. Big plasma screen, powerful amplifier, expensive DVD, speakers that shake the house ? the works. Then you get a power surge. Perhaps lightning strikes a power pole near you, there?s some variation in the voltage from your electricity provider, or one of your other home appliances goes on the fritz. The transformers and computer chips in your equipment fry as a result of the excessive power. You find that your contents insurance doesn?t cover power problems, and you?re out thousands of dollars.

As it turns out, spectacular lightning strikes and massive power surges are the least of your worries. They?re quite rare, and your home fuse-box should have the necessary protection to stop a strike. The real problem is more insidious. Even if you don?t get spectacular insta-destruction of your appliances, poor power regulation in your home can significantly decrease the life span of your appliances as electronic circuits overheat and eventually burn out ? rather like the filaments of a light bulb.

The variation in voltage (especially voltage spikes) will wear down the electronics in any equipment, reducing the effective lifespan of your home entertainment pride and joy and putting pretty much everything you plug into a wall outlet at risk. On top of that, in some AV equipment, a ?dirty? power supply can also affect visual and audio quality, as variations in power affect the consistency of sound and video transmission.

Pretty much everything you plug into a wall outlet is at risk, although according to Belkin Product Manager Aaron Shooter, audio equipment is the most sensitive and most often requires repair. ?Set-top boxes and anything with a hard drive is also particularly vulnerable,? he said.

APC?s SurgeArrest 6 surge board accommodates six components and provides protection for connected phones and TV/cable antennas.

Page 1 of 4  Next - The danger signs  

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