Panasonic unveils world's largest TV at 150 inches

LAS VEGAS: A 150-inch high-definition plasma TV unveiled by Panasonic is the world's largest to date, the Japanese consumer electronics company has claimed at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

The plasma panel features an 8.84 million pixel image resolution. Its screen is the equivalent of nine 50-inch sets, with an effective viewing area of 11 feet, the company said. It's a step up from Panasonic's 103-inch version, which cost USD 70,000 when it launched. The company did not say in a news release how much the 150-inch panel will cost.

Panasonic's other prototypes introduced at CES include a 42-inch panel that uses half the energy but stays as bright as its predecessor, and an ultra-thin 50-inch panel that is less an inch thick, the company said.

Both plasma and LCD TVs have been selling well in the US as consumers are switching out their old tube sets so they can watch high-definition TV and movies.

Panasonic also said it plans to bring videos from Google Inc's YouTube directly to its line of Internet-enabled high-definition plasma TV sets. The new Viera HDTVs also provide access to Google's photo sharing site, Picasa.

Panasonic is a unit of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.