Pete,

You should surge protect your tv. You can get small cube sized surge protectors that plug into the outlet and then plug the tv into it. You can get them just about anywhere. Home Depot and Lowes carry them. As for the battery back up...get a good one to assure minimum interference. If you use one, a surge protector is not needed. Unless you have to reprogram the tv after power loss, the battery backup really isn't needed.

I went to look at surge protectors...that had many varieties in regards to joules....? From $6 to $49 ??? Any cheap one OK?

The higher the joules, the better protection you will get. Joules is a number of electrons passing a given point in a split second of time. The more surged electrons the protector can manage, the better it is.

Unfortunately, a surge protector is one of those things that you can't just look at to appraise its likely performance. That leaves the marketing sharks a wide open hole to sell junk as something that works.

Your best bet is to only buy a well known brand name. The company should be one that has a reputation for quality electrical products, not one that sells all kinds of consumer stuff.

I have purchased and been satisfied with Tripp-Lite, Square-D, and APC surge protectors in lightning prone areas.

Other good units are available from Furman, Panamax, and MonsterCable.

TV sets take electrical jolts from 2 sources: the power outlet, and the antenna/cable TV connection: if you protect one and not the other, then you leave your TV set vulnerable. Nothing will protect 100%, but you can get a good power/antenna suppressor with a guarantee that will repair or replace your equipment if it is subject to an otherwise protected power jolt: that's your best bet.

good advice tigerbangs.