"All it would take..."

User interface design is HARD, and it's not just the user interface of the pre/pro, but needing to control everything else in the chain. Not saying it can't be done - in fact, you can front end a system today task-oriented remotes (from a $400 Philips Pronto to a $40,000 Crestron system). But it requires a lot of custom programming - for better or for worse. Putting that kind of interface on a product and still having it easy to use is not trivial.

To a certain extent, Sunfire's pre/pro let you push play on your DVD player and takes it from there in terms of turning itself on, selecting the right input/output and sound mode. But it won't also select the correct input on your display.

Now, if Outlaw wants to make a home theater control center with built in pre/pro functionality, that would certainly be an interesting product (at any price). But I wouldn't volunteer to be the project manager in charge of getting it designed and built.

-avi