Get ready to watch TV in 3D

While thousands of robots, gadgets and other complex electronics take up most of the floor at Japan's biggest consumer electronics expo, the first product available on the New Zealand market will be 3D television.

The technology is the latest bid by big-name brands to beat each other in the highly competitive race that is consumer electronics.

Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba and others showed off the TVs at the Ceatec exhibition.

Panasonic hopes to be the first to bring the technology to New Zealand market and is aiming to sell sets next year. Users will pay about $50 for a pair of special 3D glasses.

A display of the products at Ceatec revealed alarmingly realistic images that put the viewer in the middle of the action.

It's all part of the real-life, theatrical home entertainment which the brands believe will become the standard.

The 3D technology follows on from high definition quality, but without losing picture quality. It works by producing separate images for each eye and needs special glasses.