3D is the newest TV technology

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The buzz surrounding 3D viewing inside movie theaters will soon transfer to television sets in living rooms across the country.

Starting this week, Samsung and Panasonic will sell 3D televisions to anyone interested in the cutting edge technology.

Best Buy Customer Solutions Manager, Brian Hedrick says 3D is designed to play 120 frames per second. That is too fast for the brain to process so viewers will need to wear special shutter glasses to see the images in 3D.

"When you're watching the TV [without the glasses] you see a normal image but then when you put on your special shutter glasses that are designed to go with the TV, these glasses alternate eyes shutting off and on," Hedrick said.

As with many new technologies, 3D television's growth is expected to be slow at first. Of the 12 million TVs Best Buy will sell this year, only three percent are expected to be 3D.

"It is going to be something people will have and want but I don't expect everyone to grab them right off the bat," Hedrick said.

Anyone ready to drop around $3,000 on a new TV and $100-150 for the glasses should not expect to have a lot of 3D options to watch right away.

"Just like when high-definition first enabled, you didn't have a lot of HD channels," Hedrick said. "3D content will be light but expect more to grow as we go on."

ESPN announced it is committed to launching a 3D sports channel this summer. Also, some movies will come out in 3D on Blu-Ray discs.