Monster Power HTUPS 500

Meet the Mini Blackout Buster

Several years ago backup power products began to emerge onto the home computing scene as users began to experience the frustrations of losing precious data during power surges and blackouts.

Enter the world of the PC-controlled automated home. As technology becomes more convenient (another word for complicated), many of our daily tasks rely on a continuous power source, which if interrupted, important bits of data and time can be lost.

Backup power supplies are not just important for your desktop computer, but many devices which receive updates and downloads requiring several minutes or even hours of upload time also rely on uninterrupted power—GPS units, Palm PCs, cellular devices, MP3 players, to name a few.

The Monster Power HTUPS 500 is an economical way to insure that your favorite things keep working in the event of a power surge or total loss of power. It’s essentially insurance that your components will maintain functionality, but also that your DLP and other rear-projection displays, will have ample power to initiate the cooling down process to prevent damage to the bulb by utilizing Monster’s CoolDown technology.

I tested the HTUPS 500 on three systems, my main theater, consisting of a 50-inch Fujitsu Plasma and Motorola digital cable receiver/recorder and a smaller 19-inch LCD display using the same digital receiver and finally my Vidikron Vision 400 LCD projector. (Strictly testing the CoolDown feature.)

The HTUPS 500 is compact at approximately 8-inches tall, by 11.25-inches deep and 3.25-inches wide. It also has some heft to it from the massive internal battery. I tested the CoolDown feature by connecting the power of the Vidikron projector into the HTUPS 500 and powering on the HTUPS 500. After about one second of depressing the power button, the HTUPS 500 initiated a self diagnostic test. After the “Clean Power” and “Line Power On” lights illuminated on the front panel, I then depressed both the “TEST” and “LEARN” buttons on the back of the HTUPS 500 for about five seconds until the lights began to blink indicating that it had properly learned the amount of draw the projector used while operating. I then pressed “LEARN” again for about three seconds, aiming the Vidikron remote at the HTUPS 500, and pressing the ON/OFF button until the HTUPS 500 “LEARN” light remained illuminated, indicating it had learned the remote power function of the Vidikron.

Next I tested the ON/OFF functionality of the HTUPS 500 using the Vidikron remote. With everything in proper working order, I powered the Vidikron “ON” and unplugged the HTUPS 500 from the wall to simulate a power outage.

The projector remained on for several minutes and finally initiated the “CoolDown” mode in which the projector turned off and the cooling fan ran for several minutes. Perfect.

Next I connected the 19-inch LCD display and digital cable recorder/receiver to the HTUPS 500 and again, initiated it as instructed. I unplugged the HTUPS from the wall, and the units worked as intended for a little more than 2.5 hours before an audible alarm on the HTUPS 500 sounded, indicating the backup battery was low on power. Within five minutes the unit shut down completely. Pretty impressive really—part of me wished that it was an actual blackout so that I could savor the moment knowing that I still had programming while other poor suckers lit candles and dug around for flashlights.

Another 24-hour charge later, I finally connected my Fujitsu 50-inch plasma and the digital receiver/recorder to the HTUPS 500. After the new components were learned, I again unplugged the HTUPS 500 from the wall. Almost immediately, the alarm sounded and the units shut down—both the receiver/recorder and the plasma.

In the end, I learned that the HTUPS 500 unit is perfect for desktop computers, video projectors and small entertainment systems for the purpose of uninterrupted operation during a power outage. For the purpose of my main theater, I believe that connecting only my digital video recorder was the adequate service of the HTUPS 500 and if I had greater expectations, Monster offers a larger HTUPS 1000.

The HTUPS 500 performed equal to the claims made by Monster Cable. The CoolDown feature of this unit and learning capability make this a cut above the rest and an excellent choice for theater-buffs like myself who are looking to preserve the life of those costly DLP projector bulbs. The HTUPS 500 gets an A+ for working as intended, and an E for “Effort” for trying to keep up with the extra demands I placed on it during the course of this review. —Clint Walker

Monster Power HTUPS 500

$299

Monster Clean Power Stage 1 v.2.0 circuitry filter

600VA/360W rating

2 AC outlets for battery backup and AC surge protection.

UL/cUL safety certification

www.monstercable.com