Feature creep and the "swiss army knife" approach to feature sets really are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, marketing pressure and consumer demands create some very real, legitimate reasons for companies to build products with the sorts of never-ending feature lists that you see from something like the upcoming Onkyo receivers and processors. On the other hand, consumer education and consumer comfort with this sort of sophistication can be a real issue when it comes time to use these products.

Real world example time... I can name three co-workers who have relied on me to help work through setting up new AV technology at home. One bought a Rotel setup back in 2004 or so and the local dealer wouldn't even give him the time of day without charging for in-home setup at some nasty hourly rate. He'd come from very high-end two-channel gear, but the jump to surround sound and HD involved so many changes he didn't know what to do. There was no starting point for understanding how to do the setup. Another co-worker just started building his home theater last Christmas, and I helped him shop for some gear. His budget was tiny, so we went with some HSU Research speakers (a center and pair of bookshelves) and one of the cheapest Onkyo receivers on the market. The receiver will get upgraded later, probably to Outlaw separates, but setting up that little Onkyo intimidates him. (It has one coaxial and a couple optical inputs, minimal component and composite analog video switching, so basically it is a cheap 5.1 version of Outlaw's Model 1050 with just a couple newer features like PLII added. If we could have found a used 1050 for the same price as that Onkyo, we probably would have gotten that instead - it would have sounded better!) He'd be nervous about just operating something like the Onkyo 885 I have. The Model 990 would probably be a better fit (the menu structure is a lot shallower and manageable on the 990), but it would take some help from me initially. Then there's our office manager/secretary, who upgraded from old 19" and 21" TV's to DTV for the transition early this summer (she doesn't want cable or satellite). The process involved buying one new TV, a couple converter boxes for bedroom TV's, and one VCR/DVD-R player. I can't tell you how many questions that process generated: how to deal with the disappearance of the VCR for someone who records her soaps, different antenna needs, low power broadcasts prior to the transition, recording to DVD-R and how to delete a program from a DVD-RW when you're used to rewinding and going back over it, ... I could come up with other examples, and I've at times recommended that someone stay with a product like the 990 rather than upgrade to something like an Anthem specifically because of the complexity. This sort of stuff is why I tend to be critical about user interfaces and documentation.

The geek in me is drawn to the idea of something like an Anthem AVM50v (with tons of settings that can be endlessly tweaked and dialed in) or an Onkyo 885/886 (with more than its share of settings). The engineer in me looks at those interfaces and feels a strong urge to try to "fix" the interface, make it easier for people like my co-workers or friends to use. The husband in me likes the idea of something user-friendly so my wife won't gripe every time she tries to watch TV on her own. The 885 isn't particularly bad in this regard, but I think it could be improved. The Model 990 strikes a good balance, I think. It makes me curious to see what will happen with the Model 997.

Edit: I say all this not to condemn products like the Anthems or the Onkyos. They have their place in the market, and they exist for a good reason. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be a way today to get really good sound quality without taking on the extra baggage associated with these massive feature lists. There is probably some real value to be had in a product that offers Outlaw-style sound quality and effective integration into a modern home theater (HDMI for HDTV's and Blu-ray, for example) without all of the other bells and whistles.