I will back the Panamax as well; if you choose against the UPS which I would recommend.
You recommended not to get a UPS?
Panamax makes some great surge protectors. We had a power surge about 3 months ago in the office, which blew out about (40) Panamax surge protectors.
However I was much happer to replace 40 surge protectors which Panamax covered under warranty than have to replace equipment!
The other option would be to look into getting a good battery backup like people use for their computers! In my opinion, battery backups work just as good if not better since it protects agenst when the power goes out for a few seconds which is just enough to reset everything!
I run my entire home theater system on 2 UPS's.. it's nice I could keep my 62" TV, stereo, dish box, xbox, wii, etc.. running for 30-45 minutes without worry..
I got the white version of these from costco.. they were around 120 or so.. so worth it.. I've had lightning strikes not even phase these things (my poor tivo wasn't so lucky, it wasn't even on a power strip oops)..
APC BACK-UPS RS 1300VA LCD 120V
Now I'm looking at this model. Any feedback on this?
Buy.com - PureAV AP30800fc-10-BLK 8-Outlet Home Theater Battery Backup with AVR Technology - AP30800FC10-BLK