Probably the most persistent complaint among home theater owners is the inevitability of mating a slim, smooth flat-panel TV with a room full of big, coffin-like speakers. Or having to suffer the consequences of tinny, undynamic sound pumped out of small, dull TV speakers. It’s a problem that many companies and designers have tried to solve with slimmer speakers, in-wall speakers, speaker artwork and all other forms of gear that have failed to produce a popular solution.

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There are many barriers to 3DTV: the fact that you have to wear goofy glasses, the fact that those goofy glasses cost as much as a flatscreen 2D TV, the fact that those goofy glasses aren’t compatible with any other brand of 3DTV. You might notice that all these barriers have one thing in common: that we’ve described them using the phrase “the fact that”. Also the glasses. Seems like if you get rid of those, 3DTVs will sell like hotcakes, instead of the cold turds they’re selling like.

Well, that means a decade wait, according to Samsung.

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Here’s something for everyone that jumped into 3D with both feet. Yeah, all 14 of you. You’re about to get something to watch…well in four months, anyway. ESPN 3D will be playing the NBA finals (San Antonio v. Boston?) in full, unfettered 3D.

So you’ll get to put those goofy glasses and full 3D view to use for all the drives to the hoop, pick n’ rolls and big dunks.

Leading up to the finals, ESPN 3D will offer a variety of big-game match-ups throughout the regular season and playoffs, starting with Oklahoma City v. Orlando game on February 25.

A full version of the current schedule is after the jump. [via Engadget]

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Every time I look at Netflix, I can’t help but be impressed. They revolutionized the process of getting video with their mail service, stayed at the head of the curve in movie streaming and are constantly working to add content to their offerings. It just seems like they’re always at the front of the pack, if not one step ahead.

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Technology can be quite tragic. Back in the spring when Google first announced Google TV, I and thousands/millions/billions of others were quite intrigued. Was this finally it? Television and Internet together in a functional, intuitive way? Finally? It certainly looked like Google had a shot what with applying its unparalleled search prowess to television and instituting features like dual view.

But then, when it finally came out, it was rather lackluster. Too expensive for a set-top box, not included on top-end TVs and falling short on both the content and interface sides. It wasn’t quite the end-all of Internet TV that we’d hoped. In fact, dollar for dollar, it was less intriguing than a Roku box.

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After launching Google TV two months ago, Google is rolling out its first software update. The update will add a few new features to Google’s first TV product including an improved Netflix app that lets you search the entire Netflix catalog of shows and movies, customization options for Dual View that allow you to resize and move the windows around, Google TV Remote App for Android, which includes voice-based controls, and improved movie searches.

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Got a huge Blu-ray collection taking up way too much of your entertainment-center shelving or drawers? How about slimming that excess down with the new Kaleidoscape 100-disc server, dubbed the industry’s first Blu-ray movie server. The server allows you to load, rip and stream Blu-ray movies around your house.

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Lack of the latest titles is really one of the only major downsides to movie streaming. Once they get that figured out, we’ll be laughing at the days of actually leaving the house to pick out a video.

Well, a new start-up aims to get movies well before their video/pay-per-view release–city-street bootleg early. Called Prima Cinema Inc., the company is negotiating with studios toward getting movies the same day as they’re released…in theaters. That’s right, you’d basically have your own movie theater full of the latest blockbusters.

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How do you take away the beautiful, slim profile of a flat panel TV? By weighing it down with a last-generation video game console, that’s how.

At least that’s what Sony decided to do with this new BRAVIA KDL-22PX300 TV. The 22-inch TV gets pretty big and boxy thanks to the built in PlayStation 2 console. Plus, the console is built into the base, so it looks like there’s no hanging this one on the wall– unless that hardware is removable (in which case why not just buy a TV and strap your old PS2 to it).

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