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We have talked about power conditioners on previous podcasts. Today we review the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Conditioner PF40L. Before we get into the specifics of the PF40L let's quickly review why you want to use a power conditioner.

• Over Voltage Protection for all connected devices including phone lines, coax TV inputs, and LAN connections
• Elimination of AC noise
• Smoothing out of voltage variations
• Some provide insurance for damage to any connected device

Another benefit of using the PureAV PF40L is that it has 12 outlets. As the number of devices we want to connect to our home theaters has grown it become harder to provide outlets to power the system. This device provides more than twice the number of a typical power strip. But unlike the power strip this device is built to handle the load. The PF40 has isolated digital, audio, and video filters with clearly marked receptacle banks for video and audio devices. Set up is as easy as plugging in your components.

So how does it perform? We have to state that our power is not that dirty to begin with so we weren't expecting much of a difference. As far as video goes we were right. There really wasn't any noticeable difference. Where we were pleasantly surprised was in the audio. When watching movies we noticed that the dialog was crisper and richer. The subwoofer was tighter and more booming. On some songs it seemed to be a bit flat but not enough to wipe out the improvements to TV and movie audio. If you have noisy power this device is a must. But you can justify buying it for the 12 outlets and protection from power surges as well. And if that is not enough Belkin provides a  $350,000 connected equipment warranty. The PF40L has a MSRP of $299 but can be found online for $250. Belkin also has additional models with 10 outlets starting at an MSRP of $199.99. 

 

Philips RC9800i

We were split in our opinion of the device. We both feel that Philips probably needs a few more firmware upgrades and this device will really be functional.
We would like to see a customizable screen where the user can define buttons and have the ability to execute multiple commands with the press of one button.

What we liked:

• It can easily control every room
• It's a great form factor, and really cool looking
• Anyone can program it, so it doesn't take $400 worth of custom programming on top of the remote cost to get it usable
  

What we disliked:

• Cost
• It's still pretty rough, we had to upgrade the firmware just to read the display
• IR transmission is slow
• No backlight button
• Nowhere to hold the stylus
• GUI needs some navigation upgrades
• Need the ability to add custom buttons that can execute multiple commands. Tivos require multiple commands to put in standby
• EPG is slow if many channels are included

 "Real High Def" Windows Media Video9 Discs from HDNet
The LinkPlayer 2006 edition model will come with 3 WMV9 HD movies for free to 2006 new owners.

 

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