Digital Trends

Electronics maker Matsushita is showing off the world's largest plasma TV at the CES show in Las Vegas: a record 103 inches.

Who says size doesn't matter, even when its only an inch?

At last year's CES show in Las Vegas, Samsung grabbed headlines by showing off a prototype 102-inch plasma television, and Samsung currently ships the largest plasma TVs available on the market: if you live in South Korea, Samsung will be happy to let you spend more than $125,000 for an 80-inch plasma screen.

But Matsushita—which does business as Panasonic in the U.S.—is the world's top selling of plasma systems, and while its offerings currently top out at a mere 65 inches (available in Japan for about •1 million, roughly $8,650 US), the company certainly didn't want to come across as some pale, shallow-chested, skinny TV maker, so it unveiled a 103-inch plasma TV prototype at this year's CES show.

That's literally one-upsmanship.

Mr. Hiroyuki Nagano, Director of the PDP Device Business Unit of Panasonic AVC Networks Company, said, "Since Plasma is a self-illuminating device, it offers superior characteristics on several measures including dynamic contrast, true-to-life color reproduction, quick response time for sports and programs with fast-moving images and a wider viewing angle, an important factor for large screen display."

Matsushita says the prototype system meets full HD specifications, features features consistent and uniform discharge (meaning the image quality is consistent from the center to the edges of the screen), and offers 1,920 by 1080 resolution. Demand for such large screens is expected to come largely from businesses and entertainment venues, but you just know there's going to be some over-financed home theater fanatics out there who want one or two just to keep the kids entertained.

"Until now, the market for 100-plus-inch screens was dominated by front projection TVs. Panasonic now realizes another option in this sector. Our 103-inch 1080p PDP promises high quality images with high brightness, dynamic contrast, high resolution and excellent color reproduction that projection displays cannot match. We believe it will create strong demand as a multipurpose display for business, educational and medical applications as well as home theater use," noted Mr. Nagano.

Matsushita hasn't released any details on when (or even if) the 103-inch behemoth might come to market, or what it's pricing might be.