I've used APC for years on computer equipment. The installers of equipment at work used both APC and CyberPower. I inherited three APCs and one CyberPower from there when the business shut down. All brands need battery replacements as they age. They're sealed lead-acid batteries so bad/replaced batteries require proper disposal. The inverter (which charges the battery) can also fail, which may present as an aged battery but the replacement then also won't maintain charge.

I've had a Panamax power conditioner on my A/V equipment for upwards of 20 years. It doesn't function as a battery backup but interrupts power to the connected equipment on voltage surges and dips, has several seconds protective delay on a power restore.

I've had an APC UPS on my cable box and DVR, not the TV, for years. Power outages here are very infrequent and I'm only interested in keeping the DVR recording shows without a hiccup. Has worked great. Yes, every few years the battery needs to be replaced, but the UPS tells you so I just order a generic replacement when needed.

Dadoes, you bring up another point I failed to mention - a UPS which also conditions the power.

I have 2 APC Pro 1500S. I get frequent 3+/year outages, some last 2-3 hrs, some last days.

The UPS does not keep my Satellite running for more than an hour or two, the other UPS is able to keep my wireless running. for 2-3 hrs. 900 Watts of power. Must be minites pf watts, a 750 watt electric heater ran for about 10 minutes. The UPS has a time remaining display. I keep the phone plugged in, unplug everything else. I let the TV run dry…I have direct satellite.

I think they were the large size on Amazon, cost about $200 each.

A 7kw generac is $16k installed, but there are supply and labor availibity issues.

It seems like needless cost and effort for me, if all you're concerned with is a minute or two of devices rebooting after a short outage.

The APC I have has two columns of outlets: Surge and Surge/Battery.

Most UPS units of more than lower-end function have two banks of outlets, one for only surge protection and the other for surge with power backup. Non-crucial devices such as speakers and printers don't need power backup, which extends the battery time for the devices that do need it. Devices of high power draw that are are more amperage/wattage than the battery may be able to supply shouldn't be connected to power backup outlets. The UPS can also be connected to the computer via USB so either the operating system or an available/included UPS utility monitors the battery level during an outage and shuts down the computer gracefully before the battery abruptly goes dead.

Dadoes: You say printers don't need a backup. My Canon doesn't like losing power - if I use it after a power dip, it complains that it wasn't properly shut down, so I have to shut it down and restart it which takes a couple of minutes.

A Mat: I think the APC Pro 1500S looks good.