Dirty, Dirty Power

[esc]

I have a huge 'dirty power' problem in my house. It is about 30 years old and the wiring throughout the neighborhood needs to be worked on. I have heard that this can go so far as to affect image quality on projectors. would a UPS solve this issue and keep the power running smoothly to the proj all the time ?
I have also heard that not all UPS's are created equal. what should I be looking for in one? brand name ? specs? etc.
I think I need more than a glorified surge protector.
From the few short tests that I have done with my new projector, I have seen nothing but a striking, crisp, super bright image, but maybe this will change when I get the screen up and watch a full movie.

[Vonner]

I use a Panamax Line Conditioner with all my electronics and haven't got a "dirty" word to say about them.

[Taxi]

Secrets has reviewed several line conditioners over the years. Here is a link to the master index of those reviews.


(It looks like PS Audio may have the best range of products, although it appears that all of these options are rather spendy.)

[Iguana Man]

I've been thinking about this too. My place has some OLD copper wiring with that wilting black coating around it. I've actualy got a breaker box AND old fuses in my semi-basement.

Bottom line, I think I may have an electrician come in and run dedicated lines from my box (with built in surge protectors) to my HT room.

I wonder how much cheaper or more expensive that is to buying a high quality UPS type system is?

I'll try and remember to ask sometime this week.

[plissken99]

Dirty power is a funny thing. In the last house i lived in, my HTPC was running at 60hz. At that refresh rate, you could see noticable lines of noise slowly traveling up the image. That dissapeared at 72hz, really weird. A friend even brought over one of those $150 Monster powerbars that supposedly make the power clean by regulating it better, it in no way effected the image.

In my current house, I get no such interference at any refresh rate. If those UPS things are supposed to do the job, more power to ya, but be sure to keep the receipt if they do nothing. Also, if you live in the kind of place where the power goes out every time the wind blows, a UPS is probably a good idea, projectors do not dig power surges.