Sound from DVD stops when fridge turns on

[rangesuper]

Not sure if anyone can help me or not but here goes. I recently had a room addition put on a year ago and I have noticed when watching a dvd or listening to a cd on the same machine in that room that it goes silent periodically for about a second. The picture is fine just the sound. It appears that when my small fridge also in that room or my outside hottub kicks in I lose a second of sound in my dvd player. Is there anyway around this an adapter or power something I can plug my dvd into so that when I have these brief power consumptions from other devices I don't lose my sound. It really interferes with a good movie on the wide screen. I hope this makes sense to someone, thanks.

I do have a protected power strip, and it is not feasable to plug the dvd player to another outlet in the house. (I would have to run a 20 foot long extension cord).

[suemarkp]

Can you temporarily use that extension cord to verify that your power outlet is related to the problem? I'm not sure what would cause this problem, especially one that affects only sound and not picture. Is this fridge in close close proximity to the player? Is the fridge plugged into the same power strip, or a different receptacle on the same circuit? Does your power stip have a noise filter?

[rangesuper]

Sorry it took so long to get back. I did try connecting my DVD player to different outlets. I even ran a 25 foot extension cord and plugged it in the main part of the house. It seems that when an appliance or even the ceiling fan is turned on there is just enough power drain to make the DVD player lose a second of sound. Also while playing a cd in the same machine it will do it also. I'm not sure if the power strip has a noise filer on it, it is an RCA model #PS70102C Transient Voltage Surge Supressor. The DVD player is a "Sony CD/DVD player DVP NC875V. Thanks again.

[suemarkp]

This really is strange. Is it only the appliances in close proximity to that player that cause this (a fan or fridge in that room)? Can you try moving the entire audio system out of the room and see if it still occurs? I'd try using the long extension cord and plug it into its normal power source in the addition first. If moving both the unit and the power plug to the other part of the house fixes it, then determine what exact locations and power sources will work and don't work. There could be some massive interference coming out of something in that addition, but I would not expect that to occur in two different appliances.

The only other thing I can suggest is to take the player to someone else's house and see if it has the same problems (and it would be best to take the whole system -- player and amplifier with the same cables and power strip, you shouldn't need to use your speakers though). If so, your player is defective. If the player is OK, I don't know what kind of system wide power issue you could have that would do this unless there is a massive voltage drop on your service (a poorly connected or fraying wire). But this should be quite noticable when a heavy appliance kicks in because you would notice lights dimming.

[mrikking]

Think about running all electronics on a battery backup. Im not saying that this will fix your issue by anymeans. Some models will tell you if there is a dip/spike in power and provide constant power to your electronics. plus for the cost its a great addition to any entertainmnt center or computer setup. ~$100

[dkerr]

What mrikking is refering to is what is known as a UPS (uninterrupable power supply) it will will supply power even when the power utility blacks out (for a certain length of time) it will also prevent / or filter out power dips / fluctuations or surges from the utility or when appliiances kick in, and this will likely solve your problem.

[Bismarck Jack]

UPS's make an annoying beeping noise when they kick in. :banghead: I guess it is to let you know that you have lost power, but it is still annoying. If you get one, find one that has a silent option...you will be glad you did.;-)

I would agree with suemarkp. Be sure not to just apply a band-aid if you have a gaping wound.

Follow the advice you see here to eliminate a potentially greater electrical issue:eek2:

[pgm554]

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=LE1200

About $59 bucks list

Essentially what is happening is a brownout condition.
If you go UPS,batteries have to be replaced every 2 or 3 years.
In this case ,the most cost effective solution is the line conditioner.
Battery backups are good for extended power fail situations,but for transient spikes and short term under voltages,this is the way to go.