Paul Gagnon, an analyst with DisplaySearch, calculated that based on parent company NPD figures, about 20,000 of the flat-panel sets were sold by those major retailers.

That's a tiny number compared with the some 7 million TVs overall that were shipped to retailers around that time frame, according to the Consumer Electronics Association trade group.

And a recent Parks Associates study showed that despite the success of several recent 3-D movies, awareness of the home technology is middling, even in the tech-savvy 18-to-34 age group.

"We don't see a large percentage of people going out of their way to go buy a new TV just because of 3-D," Parks analyst Pietro Macchiarella said.

Parks forecasts sales will shoot upward as more manufacturers get sets to market. In 2014, the firm estimated, 80 percent of all TVs sold will be 3-D capable.

But Macchiarella had not expected only 13 percent of the people surveyed this quarter to describe themselves as "familiar" with 3-D TV.

"I think it's a little bit of a surprise," Macchiarella said.

From the article, "3-D TV sells- but it's no great craze" by Kristena Hansen

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