Power filter / line conditioner / "clean power" suggestions?

[Ed Oscuro]

I recently popped into my local hardware store to see if they had any USB 3 compact flash cards in stock...no dice, they didn't even have USB2. In a bargain bin there was something that reminded me of an ongoing project I've been interested in - a power filter for components.

That particular filter was a Monster brand, and although it's not Furman or Tripplite it does look like another brand to consider. But it's advertised as being "optimized for flatscreen TVs" (I forget the actual model name, sorry!) - does this mean anything or is it just lower wattage?

For a good price (hopefully below $100) is there anything out there that you swear by for driving a CRT television or monitor and a system? Ballpark estimate would be 300 watts or less (max wattage of the 27" Trinitron is 180W; I don't have any pro monitor yet but I assume it won't be all that much more; any complete computer system using the power conditioner would be less as well).

Alternatively, should I forget that and instead get an online UPS? I don't believe the power conditioners correct for longer-duration undervoltages.

[brokenhalo]

as an electrician i would say don't bother. a decent surge protector is more than enough to protect residential grade electronics. you really aren't ever going to see more than +/- 10 volts in your panel over the course of a day unless there's an accident, and a whole house surge protector will cover you there. the utility monitors this 24/7 to ensure that they stay in that range.

if you want to, take a reading at your main panel. you should average about 120 volts on each leg. this can dip as low as 110, to as high as 130. your reading will depend on how far you are from the nearest transformer. if you aren't in that range call your utility, but i'm betting you will be.

[brokenhalo]

But it's advertised as being "optimized for flatscreen TVs" (I forget the actual model name, sorry!) - does this mean anything or is it just lower wattage?

also, lol. it's the same smoke and mirrors bullshit that they use to sell $100 6' hdmi cables to people who don't know any better.

[Ed Oscuro]

I thought that was more or less the answer I was going to get Thanks for your thoughts. I will probably do just that.

[RGB32E]

It's not so much a matter of AC voltage regulation as it is removing the noise on the AC line. There is a reason for adding an EMI AC line filter before a power supply for instance.

[Ed Oscuro]

Many pretty standard UPSes already have EMI filtering, even offline ones advertise it often.

Main thing (which I would find hard to test without an oscilloscope) is the quality of the AC waveform provided by the UPS.

I will give these serious considerations but I'm not going to go too crazy buying things just on the hope that they will help prolong the life of a device!