BillyVance 35 #1 January 12, 2006 Tokyo (Jan. 6) - Matsushita Electric Industrial, the maker of Panasonic products, said on Thursday it had developed a prototype of a 103-inch plasma display panel, the world's largest plasma screen. Matsushita's 103-inch plasma television is expected to be used in airports, hotels, and home theaters. The prototype, which will be on display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from Thursday, appears to put Matsushita slightly ahead of South Korea's Samsung Electronics in an ongoing battle for bragging rights over who can develop the biggest flat TV. Samsung grabbed headlines at last year's CES show by unveiling a 102-inch plasma display prototype. Neither company has made clear when these monster screens will actually reach store shelves and at what price. Samsung boasts the largest plasma TV now on the market, having started sales of an 80-inch model in South Korea in October for a whopping $130,200. Matsushita recently began selling a 65-inch plasma set for about $8,614 in Japan. Matsushita, the world's top seller of plasma TVs, said the bulk of demand for the 103-inch set would probably come from businesses, schools and medical institutions, but it also saw demand from consumers looking to set up home theatres. Matsushita said the prototype met full high-definition specifications, meaning it can produce images at the highest standard of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels of resolution. Developing panels able to display a full high-definition picture has been a major challenge for plasma makers because of numerous hurdles inherent in the technology."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
