My brother is not dumb, he simply doesn't know about cabling and electronics. I would venture to bet that you would look pretty dumb trying to perform his job as a carpenter.
All he wanted to do was have the best picture for his brand new PS3, and the salesmen in Futureshop were eager to sell that to him.
Whenever you buy stuff "Let the buyer beware" applies. I'm sure your brother has stories about unwary customers who paid ridiculous amounts of money for awful work that he had to fix up.
A smart customer isn't an expert in cabling -- you just need to know enough to question the person you are dealing with. Or ask more than one person. Or ask google. The whole business model of Futureshop is to be a convenient, one stop shop. Their vision of a satisfied customer is someone who walks out the door with anything that the store thinks they need.
I can do rudimentary carpentry, but I know what I can't do. So when I needed to have a new front door hung, I got a couple of quotes. The prices ranged from $250-$1,500. I think I paid around $600 to an old school carpenter who did an awesome job.
All he wanted to do was have the best picture for his brand new PS3, and the salesmen in Futureshop were eager to sell that to him.