I'm not sure they'll spend a good amount of time on it. They're not the kind of people that watch a lot of TV in the first place. Comparing the Bravia that jpeyton recommended with the XBR5, I doubt the $1K+ price premium would be worth it to them. Also, I found the Bravia KDL-52W3000 online for slightly under $2K (Yes, it's new) so it will fit nicely in their budget if they decide they want to go with it.
How about the Pioneer PDP-6070HD? It runs a bit under $4K and has some good reviews.
Yeah, I explained that I could manage speakers that would match or come close to matching the existing furniture wood, which is a basic oak. They still weren't interested. I also explained that they'd be losing quite a bit of audio fidelity by restricting themselves to small wall mounts and in-walls. They didn't care. For speakers the aesthetics is way more important to them. I'll try to give them the best audio bang for their buck based on the restrictions but it's a still a bummer they won't go for something with a bit more audio meat.
Just saw that. Some of the specs they were giving on that weren't very clear about the native res but I finally ran across one that designated it as 720p.
The TV itself is not crap. I saw the 65" version yesterday and it's not as if it has a horrid picture. Its picture was actually slightly better than I expected. The concern is more about service if something should go wrong. Honestly, it seems some people just have a natural dislike for certain companies and will bash them because that's what they see others do, kind of like the Microsoft haters.
Fair enough.
Initially they only wanted 1080p but after looking at TVs and seeing the price premium between 720 and 1080 for the larger screens they decided that 720p would suit them just fine. I tried to sell them on 1080p because of the future proofing but ultimately it comes down to whatever the customer decides. If they want 720p and in-wall speakers instead, trading some fidelity for aesthetics, no problem. Whatever makes them happy.
I was worried about rattles too but fortunately the front wall is 1/4" wood paneling that's not only nailed down but is glued to the studs as well. Because of the restrictions with the in-wall speakers (they didn't want anything on the floor, so it was done purely for aesthetics) I was concerned that it wouldn't sound all that great, but it has a very nice tone/imagining and can get surprisingly loud with crystal clarity.
Sure.
They are actually still far enough behind. They are located in the ceiling of a bay window. I was worried that their sound might get lost but a little tweaking of the Onkyo level calibration allowed for them to create a nice little spacial image. I was surprised how well those speakers sound, tbh. I didn't hold out much hope for them but they can really crank. Of course, ideally you'd want these speakers on the side instead, but the layout of their living area didn't allow for that configuration.
