The bigger the better

Kiyoshi Ota/Reuters
Panasonic says it expects that the 103-inch
plasma screen TV, priced at $70,000, will have
a limited market.


The New King of Big TV’s Is Queen-Size
By DAMON DARLIN
Published: July 24, 2006

Will buying a TV set one day involve choosing between full, queen and king sizes?

Panasonic said last week that it would begin selling a 103-inch flat-panel plasma television in the United States in time for the holiday season. The TV, about as big as a queen-size bed and, Panasonic says, the largest on the market, will sell for $70,000.

The previous record-holder for the largest flat-screen TV is a 84-inch model, which is sold by several manufacturers.

Needless to say, the new Panasonic is expected to be a niche product.

“Sales will be limited in scope because of its weight and size,” said Andrew Nelkin, vice president of the display group at Panasonic Consumer Electronics.

The screen’s 90-inch length and 48-inch height makes it equivalent in size to four 50-inch TV’s, the company said. With the frame and speakers, it measures nearly nine feet by six feet. It weighs about 450 pounds and has to be shipped in a box with a specially designed suspension system.

The 103-inch TV will go on sale in Japan in September. Panasonic, whose smallest TV has a 23-inch liquid-crystal display, is the North American unit of the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company of Japan. The big set’s screen resolution is 1080p, which amounts to about two million pixels or twice the resolution of the most recent standard for high-definition TVs.

As my nephew says, you need a big TV to watch sports.

Seriously, this is the new status item for rappers.

"Yo,my crib gots the 103 Matsushita, baby. It's like being IN Madden 2007"

Oh, and if you don't have a TV, please don't use this thread to proclaim your willful ignorance. If you didn't read books or listen to the radio, you wouldn't share that with us, would you?