Calling all home theater experts . . .

[Don Vito Corleone]

I just bought a Samsung HL-R5067W DLP television. I will be using it with a home theater audio system.

Is there any need to use a power conditioner with this TV? I will be plugging it, minimally, into a surge protector, but (not surprisingly) the salesman says I should also consider a power conditioner.

Is this anything to seriously consider?

 

[nsafreak]

Unless you have poor wiring in your household or electricity problems I would say that you don't need one. Power conditioners are an item that I would only vaguely consider if I was going for a home theater setup that was around a few hundred thousand. Otherwise they are typically an item that is not needed.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Probably not needed unless you get a lot of brownouts, then you might be better off just using a $100 Belkin or APC UPS.

For the lamp, at least the -8 series Samsungs have a capacitor to keep the lamp fan spinning for a little while after a power drop, so don't buy into the "protect the lamp" sales pitch.

And congrats, I'm still trying to decide between the 46" -7 series and the 50" -7 or -8 series.

My brother says he hasn't been bothered by the audio lag, but if you are you can get a digital delay box for $220 if your receiver doesn't have a delay setting.

 

[Apex]

As said above, only if the power in your house is extremely poor.

BTW, don't use a cheap computer UPS. That may be even worse than straight into the wall.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
And congrats, I'm still trying to decide between the 46" -7 series and the 50" -7 or -8 series.

I wish I could find the Samsung 46" - 7 series for $1799 with stand.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I got it at a Customer Appreciation sale at Ultimate Electronics for $2,199. I know I could have beaten the price by buying online, but I strongly prefer buying locally for such a physically large, heavy, expensive item. I also bought the only extended warranty I have ever bought, because it included up to 2 replacement bulbs in 3 years.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
And congrats, I'm still trying to decide between the 46" -7 series and the 50" -7 or -8 series.

I wish I could find the Samsung 46" - 7 series for $1799 with stand.

These DLPs are really light for the size (under 70 pounds for the 46", vs. 115 for my 32" tube TV) so if you have an existing stand that's at least 40" wide you can use that.

Pricegrabber has some pretty low prices on the 46" from Abe's, etc. -- I really should try haggling if I decide to buy locally from Magnolia HiFi

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I also bought the only extended warranty I have ever bought, because it included up to 2 replacement bulbs in 3 years.

What did that cost? That sounds like a good idea if it isn't too outrageous.

 

[conjur]

All of my major electronic equipment runs thru APC UPS devices.

 

[mrrman]

I was told that you dont want a UPS on the DLP...I have a projector and use on a belkin line surge protector. I was under the impression that a UPS could actually damage the DLP in the event of a power failure. Correct me if I am wrong. I thought it was a projector NOT television. In that case a UPS is okay to use on it, my friend has one on his TV. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: mrrman
I was told that you dont want a UPS on the DLP...I have a projector and use on a belkin line surge protector. I was under the impression that a UPS could actually damage the DLP in the event of a power failure. Correct me if I am wrong.

That's incorrect. The fact that a UPS is used is not a problem. The problem is the output of the cheaper UPS models.

Better UPS's, like the 750VA and above APC SmartUPS models put out a pure sine wave. That's what most electronics are designed for. The vast majority of UPS models put out what is called a square wave, or approximated sine wave. This is a very ugly square waveform. The switching power supplies in computers are equipped to handle this, but in general, electronics are not. Feeding them this kind of power a good way to shorten the lifespan of your electronics.

When we're talking about power amps (and even some receivers), that's a completely different issue. Powerful amplifiers can suck in incredible amounts of juice with transient manuvers. For instance, at 4 ohm, my Adcom GFA-7807 can output a maximum of roughly 600 watts per channel into all 7 channels. That's a total of 4200 watts. If you take a 15% line loss (very conservative), we're at 4830 watts. In short bursts, it can almost double that. There's no UPS my wallet can handle that can supply that kind of juice.

 

[Rubycon]

Mister Liebert can handle this but he will strain your wallet.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

Originally posted by: DonVito
I also bought the only extended warranty I have ever bought, because it included up to 2 replacement bulbs in 3 years.

What did that cost? That sounds like a good idea if it isn't too outrageous.

It was $279 for three years.

 

[ViciouS]

Droooooooooooool ((((((DLP)))))))