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This fits behind a wall mounted TV and provides clean protected power, high quality all the way around.
For someone who is very critical of Monster products in general, I'm impressed with the attention to detail on this one.In summary, this seems to work fine, but unfortunately it isn't very useful for the intended purpose. These types of devices are good for one thing and one thing only.protecting your equipment from power surges. In addition to the Monster Power cord, there will be the power cord for the actual television itself which can be another six feet. Obviously wrapping up an extra 15 feet of power cord behind the television will be difficult if not impossible for televisions on low profile mounts.Second, not only is the cord extremely long, but it is very, very thick as well (more on that later). If you spend any time research such "power conditioners" you will find out that for the most part they are ineffective and unnecessary. However, there are several reasons why this isn't all that practical.First of all, it comes with a cord that is roughly ten feet long. The picture you see showing the four mounting holes looks ideal, but in reality the unit does not have these mounting holes and instead comes with two metal brackets that are supposed to fit over the tabs. First of all it is marketed as a surge protector for flat screen televisions, and even the product material lists the thin profile as making it suitable for installation behind a television which is mounted to a wall.
As with all surge protectors, it is impossible to know if this product does what it claims until you get hit by a surge and/or lightning strike, so I can only really comment on the functionality of the product rather than the effectiveness.First of all I should be clear that just because it says "Monster" on the product does not automatically make it any better than any other surge protector on the market. I can only assume they are now selling a newer revision that doesn't include the holes and in my opinion this is a mistake.Now all of that being said, there are some good features of this PowerCenter.First, as I mentioned earlier the cord itself is very, very thick. This seems fine in theory, but because Monster applied some thick labels near the outlets, the mounting plates don't fit properly. It is clear based upon the weight alone that this is a quality unit and isn't just a cheap plastic shell. This makes hiding the cord much more difficult due to the sheer bulk of it.Third, the end of the cord (the plug) is a low-profile design which is meant to keep the cord from coming directly out of the wall and instead bends at a 90 degree angle so the cord sits flush against the wall. This will be a positive for anyone with a flush mounted receptacle or for someone using this for a television that isn't wall mounted, however for those of us using it to protect a TV mounted on the wall, it simply will not work with a recessed outlet. In fact, having such a name brand typically indicates it is merely overpriced, and anyone who pays the full list price of $199.95 clearly has more money than common sense. Honestly this isn't worth much more than the $40 I paid for it, so don't be fooled into thinking you need to pay full MSRP.Monster has a habit of overcharging for cables ($70 for a 4ft HDMI cable isn't unheard of) but anyone who knows anything about electronics will tell you "Monster Quality" is not worth the price premium.
If Monster would make a few minor changes to this I think it would be worthwhile, but as it sits I couldn't recommend this to anyone with plans to wall mount their TV as it just doesn't function as designed.One final note - anyone who claims the picture of their television has improved after installing this PowerCenter (or any power conditioning equipment for that matter) is being unrealistic. I'd say this is a 10 or 12 gauge cord, so Monster obviously didn't cut corners here. In short, it would have been much easier for them to simply drill holes in the tabs like they show in the image. There are only two outlets which keeps cord clutter to a minimum.Third, the unit is made of metal.not some cheap plastic like so many others. Because of this recess, the Monster cord plug simple isn't compatible and thus requires the outlet to be changed.Fourth, the method for mounting the Monster PowerCenter is questionable.
The PowerCenter is useful for those who have only a TV and one other device, but if you have more than two devices this simply won't suffice since it only includes two outlets.All things considered I feel there are numerous other products out there designed to protect wall mounted flat panel televisions that work better than this one including some other Monster products. The people pushing them are the same type of self-described experts that promote such idiotic concepts as gold plating on optical connecting cables and believe you need to purchase ultra high end USB and HDMI cables that serve no other purpose than to lighten the purchaser's wallet. I wasn't able to utilize it for my wall mount LCD, so I have used it in the living room where the LCD sits on a small stand. You would be well served to buy cables from an outlet such as monoprice where they can be had for less than 1/10th the cost with equal quality, but that is another subject for another day.As to this specific item, there are a few glaring issues with the design. Second, the flat design of the unit makes hiding it behind an entertainment center easy.
The unit comes with Velcro mounting tabs, but if mounted on a wall these wouldn't last long due to the sheer weight of the device. For installations where the power outlet is actually behind the television as it should be, this leaves the user with about nine extra feet of cable to try and wrap up and contain. You see, most outlets used behind televisions are recessed to allow room for the plug.
This mounted perfectly behind our 52" flatscreen and has gives us peace of mind since it is a power surge protector.
It's flatter, and smaller than others. When I ordered my 52inch LCD, I had no clue I needed a surger protector. Also the amount of Joules it takes is great.it provides me peace of mind that my TV is safe.and of course the price on Amazon.no one could beat. It is perfectly mounted on my wall directly behind my TV, you cannot see it at all unless you are looking behind the TV. After speaking with a few of my engineer co-workers.they all said Monster was overpriced and I could find better, more inexpensive products. After a lot of research.no one else makes one like this.
The optional (but included) wall mounting brackets are actually necessary to keep the item up.Solidly recommended This item works well and gives me good peace of mind with respect to power surges and unfiltered AC power affecting my plasma display. Installation is simple and using it is trivial, truly plug and play.The only glitch is that the adhesive for the velcro patches that secure the item to the wall are not strong enough.
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