So you’ve splashed out £1,799 on a new 3D television and you’re ready for a revolutionary new viewing experience – it’s just a shame nobody else is.

Although one of the first 3D televisions – a 40-inch Samsung – went on sale at Christchurch’s Purewell electrical store last week, experts warn consumers might be jumping the gun purchasing one.

With just one film currently available in 3D (Monsters vs Aliens) and Sky’s 3D channel not due to go live until October, it’ll be a while before consumers see the benefits of their purchase (although they will be able to view regular television in the meantime).

“The 3D stuff that we have seen is great but there’s not a lot of it out there,” says Ben Stevens of Which? Magazine.

The reason for this lack of material boils down to money.

“If you want to watch real 3D TV it has to be filmed with a 3D camera, which is very expensive to do,” explains Ben.

“Avatar is really the only film that was filmed with a 3D camera and some of Sky’s football matches are too.”

On the plus side, those who’ve purchased one of the new sets needn’t worry about it being superseded anytime soon.

“It’s not often you know you’re buying something that’s future-proof,” says Purewell’s Chris White.

“In terms of technology they are covering all the bases.”

In October Sky launches a dedicated 3D channel, showing football and documentaries, and in the meantime some animated films and computer games will be trickling out over the coming months. However, for now, to compensate for the lack of 3D content, production companies have done some technical jiggery pokery with existing films, but Ben warns of imitations.

“Alice in Wonderland was recently launched in 3D but it wasn’t filmed on a 3D camera, it was filmed on a regular camera and converted in the studios later,” he says.

“There is some debate as to whether the effect is as good.”

Ben is also dubious about the switch on the new Samsung that he tested, which claims to convert regular 2D images into 3D.

“I think they’ve bolted that on just to try and compensate for the lack of real 3D content out there – it’s not terribly impressive,” he says.

“If you were buying the TV thinking ‘I can convert Coronation Street to 3D using this special tool’ you might be a bit disappointed.”

Happily, there is good news for footy fans who will be able to watch England play at the World Cup in 3D... providing they make it to the quarter finals. That’s because Sky will be filming some of the bigger games with their 3D cameras after successful trials showing them in pubs.

However, before you send an invite out to your friends, be warned; the battery-powered glasses required to watch in 3D will set you back about £149 a pair.

“An alternative is to wait until the summer when LG launches its passive 3D set, which comes with glasses that cost about 50p,” says Ben, who admits that passive sets won’t quite match Samsung’s active version on high-definition quality.

Although “only purists will notice a difference”, he adds.

He’s quick to warn about other hidden costs too.

“If you want to watch a 3D film then you’re going to have to buy a 3D Blu-Ray disc player and a special 3D Blu-Ray disc.”

Purewells were one of the first to stock Samsung and Panasonic’s 3D televisions, shortly followed by flagship stores of John Lewis. Sony, Philips and LG are set to release their version of the televisions in the coming months.

While cautious about the new televisions, John Lewis’ vision buyer John Kempner is optimistic they will sell.

“At the moment there’s nothing to watch in 3D on TV, and the rollout of new 3D content is likely to be relatively limited this year,” he says.

“But I think people will buy into it.”