Hi bigsid,
There is no reason the VP150 won't work effectively if it's a couple of feet behind the TV. When you set up the speaker to listener distances in your A/V receiver menu, the circuitry will compensate with appropriate delay, if necessary, for the disparity between your front left and right and center speaker distances.
It may not be ideal in terms of music listening with formats that use the center, but for TV movie and DVD playback, it should be fine. And I agree, it's become a major hassle with large-screen panel and projection TVs that have no shelf or surface on which to place a center channel. I'm currently using a short stand in front of the TV to support the center, which isn't ideal because it blocks the infrared sensors on my A/V receiver.
Acoustically, it's fine but I have to move it off-center somewhat so the remote sensor for the TV and other gear isn't obscured.
Regards,
