Oh, for the good old days, when we had to get up from our chairs to change TV channels. When we could choose from only three TV networks. When we had to wait for the rerun if we missed our favorite show. When playing our favorite music meant placing a record on a turntable, and getting up every 20 minutes to change sides.

I suppose there might be a few Unabomber types who see virtue in such inconvenience, but I’m pretty sure none of them are reading this magazine. For the rest of us—those who stockpile TV shows on digital video recorders, who keep their CD collections on music servers, and who treasure the powerful sound and expansive picture of a top-notch home theater system—life is both more pleasant and more complicated.

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The back panel of the S15 provides 12 AC outlets;  connections for RF, phone line, and Ethernet lines; and a jack that allows connection of external batteries for added run time. The batteries match the look and footprint of the S15. (Click image to enlarge)

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When you think about the hundreds of adjustments your installer makes in the course of setting up your system, and the amount of media you now have stored on hard drives, you realize that you have a lot of information to lose. Corporations face the same problem with their computer systems, and they solve it in part by using uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). A UPS uses a large, rechargeable battery to pick up the slack when the power fails, so your entertainment never ends and your data is safe.

The leading maker of UPS devices for corporate use is American Power Conversion, and the company has now turned its attention to the home theater market. Its new S15 power conditioner includes battery backup, so it can keep your audio/video system running in the event of a power outage. Unlike a UPS designed for corporate use, the S15 includes extensive power filtering to ensure the best performance from your audio/video components. It provides voltage regulation circuitry, which eases the stress on your components’ power supplies caused by voltage fluctuations. And as you would expect, it also suppresses voltage surges, so spikes caused by lightning and home appliances do not damage your home entertainment system.

The real advantage of battery backup is that it helps extend the life of your hard drives and video projector bulb. Sudden loss of power is one of the main reasons for hard drive crashes and premature failure of projector bulbs. Given that most projector bulbs cost $300 to $500 to replace, the S15 could pay for itself merely by extending your bulb life.The first thing you notice about the S15 is its sheer mass. While APC sized the S15 to fit in standard 19-inch-wide equipment racks, the device weighs 62 pounds and measures 19 inches deep—too deep to fit into some racks. Much of the unit’s size is necessitated by the battery, which takes up about a third of the space in the chassis.

Perhaps the nicest thing about the S15’s industrial design is that the battery is easily swapped. Tug on the faceplate and it comes off to reveal the battery compartment. A single cable connects the battery to the S15’s electronics.

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The S15’s front-panel display provides access to various adjustment parameters, and also shows important operational information such as remaining battery run time and battery charge level. (Click image to enlarge)

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Replace the faceplate and you see an alphanumeric display, a large power button, and four smaller buttons. These buttons take you through the S15’s setup options, and flip through various bits of information: the voltage entering and exiting the S15, the power consumed by the gear plugged into the S15, the approximate run time of the unit if a power outage occurs, the amount of charge in the battery, and more.

The back panel hosts 12 AC outlets: six for source devices (like a DVD player, a DVR, or a satellite receiver), two with video filtration for your video monitor and VCR, two with filtering of radio frequencies for your A/V receiver or surround processor and a radio tuner, and two more for an amplifier and a subwoofer.

Those last two outlets feature adjustable turn-on delay; your installer can set them so they become active a few seconds after the others. Many components deliver a short burst of voltage through their outputs when you turn them on, producing a “thump” in your speakers. With turn-on delay, the amp is turned off while the other components power up, thus eliminating the thump. The tuner outlet also offers delayed turn-on, which is separately adjustable.I plug the S15 into the wall a day in advance to allow its battery to charge. The next day, I connect all of the components currently in my system: a surround-sound processor, a DVD player, a CD changer, a digital TV tuner, a seven-channel amplifier with 200 watts per channel, a subwoofer with a built-in 1,250-watt amp, and an LCD projector. With the Team America: World Police DVD playing at a fairly high volume, the S15 tells me its estimated run time on battery is 28 minutes. I yank the S15’s plug out of the wall, and almost miraculously, my system keeps running for 27 minutes. Of course, this time will vary depending on the equipment you use.

I recently spoke with one custom installer who will not warranty his systems unless the customer agrees to purchase an S15. That’s both a wise move and a ringing endorsement of this beautifully engineered product’s capabilities.

DESCRIPTION
Power conditioner with battery backup. Provides uninterruptible power, AC filtration, automatic voltage regulation, and surge suppression for as many as 12 A/V components, plus surge suppression for phone line, Ethernet, and antenna/cable/satellite connections. Optional external batteries available for additional run time during power failures

CONNECTIONS
12 AC outlets (two with video filtering, one with adjustable delay setting 1, two with adjustable delay setting 2), three RF inputs, four RF outputs, RJ-45 input and output for Ethernet connection, RJ-11 input and two outputs for phone line connection, 3.5mm jacks for DC trigger input and output, USB data port, and connector for extra battery packs

DIMENSIONS/RESOLUTION
5.3 x 17 x 19 inches (hwd)

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: $1,499
CONTACT: 888.88APCAV, www.apcav.com