Surge Protectors
Florida is well known as the lightning capital of the USA. Some of us Tampa residents might be aware that we are located in an area of Florida called lightning alley, which spans from Tampa to Titusville. We are definitely aware of the spectacular lightning that we have in the summer months and the catastrophic damage it causes.
Purchasing a quality surge protector is difficult with the billboard of information on the packaging. The most important figure to know, is the joule rating. The bigger the better.
Connecting a surge protector to your AV system is not as simple as you might believe. Not only does power need to be passed through the surge protector but ALL connections need to go through it. Including cable / satellite coax, ethernet cable and ALL device that interact with the TV. In addition to the above the proper grounding system of your home is critical to the surge protection process. Contact us to have a technician determine if your AV system is connected to your surge protector correctly!
HDMI Cables Demystified
To the point:
Using a HDMI cable that costs $20 will result in the same picture quality as one costing $100. When purchasing a HDMI cable there are 2 pieces on information you need to know. Do you want high speed (1080p) or standard speed (1080i or lower)? With or with out ethernet? I recommend purchasing a high speed cable with out ethernet. (Ethernet over HDMI is not common).
Notes:
In the field I have seen problems with dirt cheap HDMI cables. I had a customer whose picture would disappear every time she used her central vacuum. After a few minutes of troubleshooting I was able to determine the problem was her HDMI cable. The cable did not have adequate shielding (and/or the differential pairs were not twisted correctly) and the interference the electric motor created disrupted the signal to the TV. I have also seen picture quality problems at higher resolutions, 1080p, as a result of a poor HDMI cable. The problem is obvious. Our experienced technicians at 1st Response Electronics are able to troubleshoot your problem.
