Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 HDTV setup January 13, 2007
Mark Conge (Rochester, NY)
35 out of 36 found this review helpful
Works perfectly! I'm sure I'll start seeing savings right away since I have plethora of equipment. Setup is simple, just plug the TV i it into the controlling outlet and then the DVD player, xbox, etc... into the switching outlets. Now when I power off/on the TV everything shuts off/on with it. The nice thing about the power strip is that it has a couple of always-on outlets for recording devices - so they don't lose the date and time. This is a well thought out and simple product.
Nice, Easy Way to Save A Bit of Energy December 28, 2007
M. Rung (MO, USA)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
Hey, saving every bit of energy helps, right? The Smart Strip is one tool to help your household become more energy efficient! I purchased mine for my computer after reading about it in Money Magazine. Set up is easy, basically just plug your computer into the control plug and then plug any peripherals into the auto-switching plugs. Doing this allows you to use your computer to control power on/off of all devices. Very nice, simple and convenient. Cost is about $30 and, from what I've read in various media, it should pay for itself in a year. Not a bad investment to help save the environment.
I should mention that we thought the strip wasn't working when we first set it up. Do note that there is a sensitivity adjustment dial on the strip. You have to fiddle with that to ensure that all of the devices power on/off with your main device. Thing to do is just turn off the main device and then turn the dial until all other devices shut off.
Now, I will say that my boyfriend refuses to use one of these on his home theater system. It has to do with the memory functions on his receiver and the fact that he uses his Playstation 3 to add processing power to the cancer research effort (Folding @ Home). So, that may be something to think about. If you're going to lose all of your presets when you turn off your TV, using this device may not be worth the frustration.
Works Great! January 12, 2006
J. Crosby (San Francisco, California USA)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
Put my G5 iMac to sleep and it shuts off selected peripherals (speakers, printer, other wall warts)! Awsome!
A REAL Simple Energy Saving Tool April 2, 2008
R. Gressick (San Leandro, CA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you want something to help you save a few buck on your energy bill while also prolonging the life of Equipment, this is the tool for you.
I had an idea what this SmartStrip could do but i really wanted to see it for myself. This guy is as simple as it sounds and just as convient.
You have 1 outlet that you plug your switching device in. The switching device is the device that when you turn on or off turns everything else on or off. You also have 2 Always ON outlets (for DVR boxes or Broadband Modem, etc). And 4 "Controlled" outlets, 1 of which is an extra wide one. Now, the 1 outlet for the switching device is an Always ON outlet.
There is a little knob on the side for helping you tweek the switching setting that power off everything else when you put the main device into a low power state or off. Because some things draw power even when turned off so you may need to tweek it.
I bought this to try it out at work. If you want something to definitely help at home or at the office, this is perfect. At work, i had my Laptop at the switching port. I plugged the Monitor, the Speakers, the Desk Lamp, my cell chargers, any and all accessories into the controlled ports. I tweeked the knob on the side so that when I put my laptop into Standby, that it will also shut off everything else as well. To tweek it, you must put the computer into Standby mode and adjusted the knob until all the devices turn off.
This is great because the moment i shutdown the computer at night, it turns everything off and i don't have to forget about turning anything off. All that littles of electricity its saving is great.
You could easily use it at home. You can have it setup where your TV is the switch, your DVR is in the Always ON, your DVD, VCR, Game Consoles, Stereo, Home Theater, etc are all plugged into the Controlled Ports, So that the moment you turn the TV off, everything else turns off. No more nagging the kids to make sure they turned everything else, no need to round through remotes to make sure everything else is off.
The price is right as well, you are going to pay about the same price for something that also does about the same amount of Surge Protection, so why not get something that will save you in long running cost as well. It could pay for itself in the first year alone.
 mine was defective-replaced by company January 2, 2007
M. Dembski (Washington, DC USA)
4 out of 20 found this review helpful
Update-the one I had was defective and was replaced by the company. Unit works great and I highly recommend. Unable to updates stars but would give both the unit and the company 5 stars.
Maybe the one I got is defective, but even after adjusting control, the power strip is not working. Not turning off any equipment.
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