If you bought a Porsche 911, you wouldn't fill it with 86-octane fuel from Joe's Gas O'Rama. Why is that? Obviously, you'd want to squeeze every drop of performance out of your investment and protect it from harm. In the case of the Porsche, that equates to quality gasoline, quality oil, a knowledgeable mechanic and a garage to keep the elements at bay. Home theater equipment is no different.

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• Read more AC power product reviews from HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Look for an AV receiver to plug in.

When you purchase a big screen television or projector, you connect high-grade video cables and you hire a professional calibrator to get your picture just right. Whether it's a Porsche or a projector, the point is that you need to examine your entire system to make sure you've eliminated the weakest link(s) in the chain. Only then can you optimize your A/V performance. When it comes to home theatre equipment, one link that's often overlooked is power. Polluted AC power can have a variety of negative effects on the performance of your gear. These effects can include picture streaking, decreased or uneven brightness, audible hums, and all manner of distracting visual artifacts. Monster Power's HTS 5100 is the perfect solution to these problems, providing a lot more than mere surge protection.

Unique Features - Part of Monster's Reference Home Theater Power line of power conditioners, the PowerCenterTM HTS 5100 has been designed from the ground up with A/V enthusiasts like you and me in mind. For starters, its surge absorption is rated at an impressive 3145 Joules and Monster offers a $500,000 connected equipment warranty. In addition, the HTS 5100 provides clean, filtered power to ten connected components and also allows for delayed turn on/off with various delay settings. You can also connect one component using the Remote On/Off jack to instruct the HTS 5100 when to come alive and when to power down. I connected my Yamaha RX-V1500 receiver to this connection. Now, whenever I turn the receiver on, the HTS 5100 knows it's time to work and switched outlets spring to life. Like I said, this is a lot more than surge protection.

Installation/Setup/Ease of Use - Unpacking the HTS 5100, it became clear that this unit is built like a tank. Considering its svelte four-inch height, the unit weighs a surprisingly hefty twelve pounds. The PowerCenterTM features a long, heavy gauge power cord, which makes connection easy if you're using the unit in a shelf system or A/V rack. Trim covers are included in case you wish to rackmount your HTS 5100.

Although far from being its most important feature, the looks on the HTS 5100 are first rate. Between its black case, brushed aluminum faceplate and dimmable LED, the HTS 5100 makes a killer first impression. The LED can be completely darkened if you don't enjoy monitoring voltage and total current draw. (But why wouldn't you?)

Before I plugged in my bevy of AC power cords, I took advantage of the unit's auxiliary protection for my phone line and coaxial/satellite cable. The phone protection is welcome, since DVRs such as my Samsung DirecTiVo require a phone connection for receiving program guide updates during the wee hours. The coaxial protection is of particular interest to me, since eight months ago a lightning strike to my satellite dish toasted my previous DirecTiVo. It was clear that the damage was a direct result of the coaxial connection between the dish and the box. As Doc Brown might say, the trouble with lightning is that you never know where or when it's going to strike. As a result, I can't really test the protection provided by the HTS 5100, but it's nice to know it's there. According to the user manual, Monster's connected equipment warranty does extend to lightning-based surges.

Read more about the TS 5100 on Page 2.