Belkin PureAV AP30800-10 Power Conditioner w/Battery
Backup Review

By Samantha Claire, HDTV.ca

PROS

• 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 theatre 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 theatre 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 theatre 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 theatre 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 web sites 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 theatre environment. One such product is the Belkin PureAV AP30800-10 8-Outlet Home Theatre 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 theatre 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 theatres, 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 theatre 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 theatre 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 theatre 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 neighbours before retiring for the evening.

FEATURES - Belkin Pureav AP3080010 8-Outlet Home Theatre Power Conditioner with Battery Backup:

• Delivers clean power through 8 surge-protected outlets, 6 with battery backup
• AVR technology stabilizes power fluctuation and maintains constant voltage to your home theatre system
• 5500 joules of surge protection
• Uses a 1200V/640W battery to provide up to 40 minutes of battery backup power to ensure that memory, settings, or recordings are not lost during power outages
• Protects coaxial-cable and broadband Ethernet line disturbances
• $500,000 connected equipment warranty

This article was written on May 11th, 2007