I am a Home Theater magazine fan and I also read S&V which I don't think comes close, but definitely provides some different products & viewpoints.
I like that Home Theater publishes some graphs and charts with its reviews. While no reviews say a product sucks, you will want to think long and hard when it gives a product a score UNDER 90. Most are between 90 and 92, so anything in the 94+ range is also something you may really want to take a look at.
Ads are ads and at best introduce you to a new concept. Mostly, they are hype that may have little to no real value and should be taken with a grain of salt. Yet, every now and then, a product will pique your curiousity and that is when you come here and to other online sites to really dig into the meat of that product.
The hardest part is that the shootouts and the comparison reviews are always limited. They will compare upconverting DVD players and declare one as best, but with a dozen+ players on the market, how does only having THREE in a shootout amount to much of anything? Don't you really need at least 10 to really do some comparing? Just an example, but they do it all the time.
Yet, they are better than S&V which is mediocre in my opinion, though sometimes more fun to read.
