I do agree that it is interesting and fun to read about bleeding edge technology and seeing various setups does give people ideas and goals to shoot for.
My main point was when the magazines talk about high end, or bleeding edge and then as I mentioned say what a bargain it is as if everyone can scrounge around pocket change and come up with $10 or $20 grand.
I understand that these magazines aren't going to be reviewing Durabrand HTIB systems, nor would I want them to. They do however give the impression that Home Theater, especially when projectors are involved are a luxury for the rich, and even their common/budget setups are not realistic for the average person looking to set something up. By average, I don't mean those that have a $49 DVD player and a $100 Sherwood receiver, I'm talking about people like us and many that do read their magazines.
I also like cars and do love to read about the newest Porsche or Ferrari, but in reality my last sports car was a Trans Am. It was fun to read and dream but when it actually came to buying a 'toy' those magazines were useless in my decision making. Same goes for reviews on projectors or other ultra high end gear that are really only targeted for commercial or the indepenantly wealthy.
Now I must say the HDTV reviews I have seen were all very informative and did include the very sets that most consumers were interested in. I have no problem with articles on high end gear, it just came across the wrong way (to me at least) when they were refering to them as bargains. Sure they may be a bargain to some people (those that read the car magazines for Porsche and Ferrari with the intent of
actually buying one

) but I really think for most people it's just an interesting read and something they would love to have, but then go to Best Buy to look at HDTV's and players.
Also as I mentioned I've seen HT rooms listed as bargin DIY setups that many on this site would have some trouble raising the funds to do without taking out a second mortgage.
So I am saying to me in some ways they are out of touch and think it would be better to just say "this is an example of the best of the best, but for most people this is probably more realistic..." Of course that wouldn't bode well with some advertisers
For example I know many people with projector setups. It is very realistic to be able to add a projector and screen for around $2K to $3K (depending on the price of the projector of course) and that includes the screen, cabling, mounts... that's a huge difference than $50K for a 'bargin' system. Many people convert their basements or a spare room, yet when I see a basement conversion, it's usually a 'bat cave' (I saw one that literally looked like Batman's Batcave) or as Sonnie mentioned, the article says DIY but they actually had contractors do most of the work. Wouldn't it be nice to see some realistic 'bargain' systems that real people have done but also look incredible? Our own
Home Theater Gallery and the thread in the
Screen forum showcases many fantastic Home Theater setups, ranging from very economical, to the same cost as the magazine featured theaters. The main difference is as I just mentioned, only some of the systems and setups were $50K 'budget/bargain' systems. Many are extremely attainable but a lot of people that read the mags but don't scour forums probably dismiss that type of setup as a fantasy, just like I thought when I saw a $20K CD/DVD player
