The reason its not integrated in a TV is because many people would probably still not use it and to be honest there is a reason I will never buy a tv that has a dvd player built in and I would never buy a tv that has an internal amp for speakers. I would rather get a TV that worked well then a mediocre tv and a crappy amp.
Some people just want everything handed to them on a silver platter and if they can't have it well they screw themselves out of whatever they want. I am fine with that if not they can spend 15 minutes looking online and find out how to hook up a HTiB or a receiver and speakers, hell even bad instructions say red to red black to black.
If these "idiots" of which you speak are too stupid to turn on a reciever, what makes you think they can turn on a TV?
You are missing the point of my post. You all probably think I am dumb for even bringing this up, but eliminating complexity is a powerful tool. Apple built a business on it. I don't give a crap if you will never buy one. You are here checking out audio message boards and are obviously more interested in these things than the regular consumer. Eliminating the reciever and giving them 5.1, no a HTiB does not eliminate the receiver, would make things easier for most folks, while still allowing them to enjoy the surround sound that is broadcast through OTA and on DVDs. I use a similiar strategy for my upstairs TV. I have a 40" LCD and DVD player in my bedroom and I didn't want the bulkyness, or complexity of a reciever, but I wanted a little more than the 10W speakers built into the TV. I simply routed the audio and video through the TV, and used the variable stereo out to an amp to power my external speakers. Yes, fiedelity is not great, but it is a far cry from stock. My girlfriend does not need to know anything more than how to work a single TV remote to use the system, and I don't have to spend $150 on a Harmony remote, and program it, for a simple setup just to turn on and off the stereo speakers. She is not too stupid to turn on a reciever, it is just one more thing she has to do. If I swithced the setup to DVD, in order for her to watch TV with sound she has to fiddle with the reciever remote to find the right input, then fiddle with the TV remote to find the right input, just to turn on the sound.
Really, all I am asking is that TV manufacturers put 5.1 pre-outs on their TVs instead of just stereo (with a simple 80hz crossover and settings in the TV to turn it on). Then users who are more interested in better sound without complexity could just use a 5.0 amp conected to some speakers.
I run into this dilema all the time. My parents are very well off, and I install the audio in their 3 homes. In their main home I got professionals to install a whole house audio system. It is a PITA to upgrade and maintain. It costs them a fortune, and me a lot of headache. All they want to do is watch TV, DVDs, and listen to radio around the house. When I wanted to upgrade to HD-DVD, it was a production. In their other homes, I ended up installing several simpler systems with a receiver as the backbone of the system, but I had to program remotes to turn on the system, and this system is not smart like the professional system because it does not know when a component is on or off. I get calls all the time when they can't figure out how to switch to DVD and get the sound working again because some grandkid was messing with the system. Remember they have many different systems and have trouble learning them all. All I want is 5.1 output to an amp tucked away where little fingers can't find it and have the TV do all the switching of inputs. If I buy all the same brand components, the TV universal remote works flawlessly and they are happy, and I don't get calls on a saturday night while trying to get freaky.
