Tokyo Panasonic says its 3-D TVs sold out in the US in their first week, raising optimism the technology that helped Avatar break records at the box office will extend to living rooms and help boost profits.

The shortage is prompting the world's largest plasma TV maker to take back-orders from retailers, Hitoshi Otsuki, the senior managing director heading Osaka-based Panasonic's overseas operations, said in Tokyo. He declined to specify figures.

"It's a great opportunity to turn around our TV business," he said.

Sporting events

TV makers are betting movies such as James Cameron's Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time, and sports events such as the 2010 Fifa World Cup will help drive demand for 3-D sets using improved technology. Still, a lack of programmes and the need to use special eyewear, a reason that thwarted previous attempts to push adoption, may deter consumers.

"There are always people who want to buy high-end products," said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets in Tokyo, said Wednesday. "That's probably what's driving sales."

Panasonic became the first major TV maker to sell 3-D sets in the US when its 50-inch full high-definition plasma TV went on sale at outlets of Best Buy with a pair of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player for $2,899.99 (Dh10,648) on March 10. Samsung Electronics, the world's largest TV maker, began offering a 55-inch 3-D model there for $3,299.99 on March 14, while Sony plans to start selling 3-D Bravia TVs from June.

Samsung hasn't yet tracked its 3-D TV shipment figures, said Hwang Eun Ju, a spokeswoman for the South Korea-based electronics maker. Panasonic's TV operations had a loss of more than $111 million in the quarter ended December 31. The business may turn profitable in the year ending March 2011, President Fumio Ohtsubo said March 3.

TV makers are counting on 3-D broadcasts of major sporting events to stoke demand. Fifa said in December it agreed with Sony to deliver 3-D images from as many as 25 matches of this year's soccer World Cup in South Africa.