3D TV has been one of the biggest technology stories of the year so far and Thursday morning (22 April) saw the first ones actually going on sale in the UK.

They've been available in the US and Japan for several months, but as expected they're not cheap. The price of the first TV released is £1,799 - and there are lots of other bits of kit needed to get the right set-up.

A pair of the 3D glasses this system uses cost £150, a 3D Blu-ray DVD player is around £350 and a compatible HDMI cable is £50.

For 28-year-old Matt Rajah though - the very first person in the queue on Thursday morning - it's worth the money: "Well I think it's clearly the future of where television is going.

"I saw Avatar with my friends in 3D at the cinema and really loved that film. I'm also an avid gamer as well so I'm hoping to exploit some of the features of the TV through gaming."

At the moment, the platforms available for 3D TV are limited. There are no 3D television channels and there are only a relatively small selection of 3D DVDs and video games.

John Kempner, the chief TV buyer for John Lewis, reckons that will change: "It is all about content. There will be more 3D movies coming along on Blu-ray. But more importantly Sky will be launching its 3D channel in around September time we think.

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Video gaming is the other area where there'll be a lot of 3D content available, which I think will be important

John Kempner, chief TV buyer for John Lewis
"Video gaming is the other area where there'll be a lot of 3D content available, which I think will be important too."

That video game content is seen by some in the industry as a key driver of 3D TV sales.

It's also worth pointing out that as well as 3D capability, the televisions going on sale also offer the latest 2D high-definition technology.

While some forecasts predict only modest sales this year, most experts believe it's the future and that 3D TVs will sell in much larger numbers once the content improves and the price comes down.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/te...0/10085219.stm