I used to think that Chinese made components=lower quality but that isn't always the case. Yes, it is the case the majority of the time, but if solid quality controls are used in combination with one of the better manufacturers, components made in China or Taiwan can be just as good as North American made components but at a lower price point.

The Mac you're using - made in China. Same for the iPhone, iPod, etc. Most Windows PCs and PC components are made in China or Taiwan. Same goes for your Blackberry. Even more so for any of the batteries or parts in North American made products.

Almost anything you use these days will have a significant portion of components made in China or Taiwan and it doesn't automatically make them inferior. The impression of this is a legitimate one because there is a large portion of manufacturers which don't really care about quality at all selling products.

Some (not all - the minority actually) of the speaker companies using Chinese made components still spec and impose stringent quality requirements on their partners, and on top of that do the QA and final assembly in North America to maintain a level of quality.

Outsourcing components is a tool that can be cost beneficial without any sacrifice in overall quality to a business if it is used carefully and under tight controls.

It's about time Paradigm realized that they are getting overpriced for the level of their sound. I'd be interested in listening to the SE line but for me they are too little too late. I built my 7.2 HT using Axioms and an SVS sub probably for about what the SEs would cost (maybe even less) and couldn't be happier. I'll bet this SE line was created in response to the Axiom, AV123, Outlaw, SVS, NHTs out there offering great sound for less by cutting out the high-margin middle man "authorized dealers".

Alternative Hulu-ese to layperson english translation:

"The media content providers have our b*!!s locked in a box in their pockets since they own the content and have all the money. Please bear with us while we attempt to get them back sometime in the future. Yes, this sucks, but like a badly abused whipped husband with no pre-nup, we have no choice but to live with it the way it is until they tell us otherwise."

:-)

Translation from Media Studio-ese to layperson english:

"The media content industry, particularly the studios, have an antiquated business model that was established when we controlled everything.

Although times, technology, and customer preferences are rapidly changing, we refuse to be pressured to adapt at a flexible and reactive pace.

Therefore, we will continue our feeble attempts at limiting access to content to within our preconditions by ineffectively applying technologies that we do not understand, only to be bypassed by those that do.

This model of resistance to change in business structure to accommodate changing markets has seemingly worked for the American auto industry for decades and we will attempt to give it our shot."

;-) Hope that made someone laugh...

That's a great analogy. It's spot on.

I hope their lawyer at least asked for it like Dr. Evil... "One beeeliion dollars" with his pinky up to his mounth...

The problem with doing this is that the width of the mount is also designed around the size of the TV (the overall width). Smaller mounts will have the brackets on the TV spread wider apart than intended, leaving very little leeway for side-to-side adjustment post-mounting. This isn't a problem if the mount is more or less centered dead on, but will present a challenge if you need that leeway. The larger mount will provide more lateral shift space post-mounting.

Just something that needs to be considered. It's not just about weight.

To be honest I think your assessment of "good enough" when it comes to consumer electronics and technology is very accurate. However, I don't agree that digital downloads or streaming are quite at that level of "good enough" yet. I've got a 52" LCD, a 92" screen with 1080p projector, and 7.2 surround home theater setup that truly reaps the benefits of Blu-ray. More and more people are moving towards TVs and sound systems that do reveal the differences between download/streaming and BD - and those differences are VERY noticeable. Every online format of media either looked terrible or sounded terrible. There was always a compromise because current bandwidth and compression technologies simply can't support what it takes to deliver a theater level HD experience.
Projectors, big 1080p TVs, and 7.1 surround systems are getting cheaper by the day and more and more people will notice the difference. Not to mention accessibility... My BD movies are available if my Internet access goes down, or my content provider/streamer goes out of business (think HD Giants).
Blu-ray is far from dead. Direct downloads and streaming may kill DVDs but BD is still quite a bit ahead of the curve. Right now the biggest "good enough" hurdle to wider BD adoption is upscaled DVD media. As more and more people get better and bigger TVs that will sort itself out. Upscaled DVDs look tolerable until about 50" at a distance of 8-10'. Any bigger or any closer and you really need actual HD material.

Chrome OS on a TV?!?! No thanks! The last thing I, or anyone else really needs, is a full OS that needs patching, has vulnerabilities, gets viruses, or can brick my unit when an update goes bad. I want my TV to be a dumb high-quality output display - I'll hook up anything else I need to do whatever else I want. How about focusing on lower power consumption, better color accuracy, higher contrast, lighter weight, lower pricing, and better reliability before even thinking about putting an OS on there?

Ummm, yeah, and betamax had better picture quality over VHS. When it comes to consumer electronics, it's not about which is "best" but where the line for "good enough" is... LCD has the wow factor, less power, less weight, less heat, and is "good enough" for 95% of consumer electronics owners.