Tripp Lite is a world-leading manufacturer
of power protection, power distribution
and connectivity products for applications
ranging from corporate networks to home
electronics. With more than 85 years of
industry experience, Tripp Lite is dedicated
to providing customers around the world
with cutting-edge, cost-effective solutions.
For more than 10 years, Tripp Lite has been
a proud partner with Costco, providing
uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems
for home theaters, computers and other
applications. For more information about
Tripp Lite, go to www.tripplite.com.
Protecting your equipment
Your new HDTV is a complex electronic device, similar to a personal computer in terms of its processing power and internal components. As a result,
it’s a good idea to provide power protection for it and any other components
in your home entertainment system. At the very least, you should have a good
surge protector between the set and the power outlet.
You should also consider getting more extensive protection, such as that
offered by many uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). These can protect
against several problems:
• Power surges and spikes, which can interrupt recording, erase settings
and data, and even damage or ruin hardware and sensitive components
• Power sags or “brownouts,” which are a decrease in voltage, often
experienced during periods of peak demand for power
• Electronic line noise, which is created by household appliances. This
noise in the line can degrade sound and picture quality and interfere
with recordings.
• Blackouts, which are complete losses of power. These are bad news
for projection bulbs, which can burn out if their cooling fans lose power.
And blackouts can erase data and settings throughout the system.
In the event of a power failure, a UPS will keep the HDTV running so that
you can shut it down properly.
Step 3: Completing the system
If you have an HDTV and a source of high-definition content, you’ve got
the basics covered. You will want to consider a few other items, however.
First, you need a place to put the new television. Unfortunately, chances
are good that your new set won’t fit your existing entertainment center, which
was likely designed for a standard TV. As a result, you may want new furniture
for your HDTV, or, if it’s a flat panel, you may want to hang it on the wall.
THIS&THAT
WHAT’S AN UPSCALING DVD PLAYER?
Note that there are “upscaling” DVD players 720p or 1080p. This is the same scaling that
that will take a standard 480p DVD and your HDTV does with any standard-definition
produce an image in high definition: either signal. The upscaling DVD players may have a
higher-quality scaler than the one in your HDTV,
which could result in a better-looking image.
But in either case, the original DVD is standard
definition, and either the player or your HDTV
will “interpret” the missing dots to fill out the
high-definition image. To get high-definition
movies on your HDTV, you will need a Blu-ray
Disc player.
Some DVD players can “upscale”
standard DVDs to HD. The new
Blu-ray players offer true HD.
