Sharp Puts 108-Inch LCD TV on Sale in Japan

Sharp has begun offering its mammoth 108-inch LCD HDTV for sale in Japan...for only 11 million yen, or about $102,000.

Electronics manufacturer Sharp has announced it is now accepting orders in Japan for business and commercial use of its mammoth 108-inch LCD television, which the company claims is the world’s largest LCD panel. Sharp plans to deliver a unit to the Shinjuku Piccadilly Cinema complex in Tokyo on July 19 so folks can get a look at it running movie trailers, and then launch a “full-fledged” effort to move the 108-inch panels into the global marketplace.

The cost? Just ¥11 million, or about $102,000.

Initially demonstrated at the 2007 CES show in Las Vegas; it offers full HD resolution (1,920 by 1,080 pixels), sports RGB and DVI computer inputs for use as a display, along with three HDMI inputs, two component inputs, two composite inputs, and one S-Video input. As LCDs go, some of its specs don’t quit keep up with the home theater crowd, though: the unit offers only 400 cd/m² brightness and a 1,200: 1 contrast ratio, although it does claim a 6 ms response time and a 176° viewing angle. The entire unit weighs almost 430 pounds, and eats a startling 1.1 kW of power when in use.

The 108-inch 8th generation panel is the largest that can be produced by Sharp’s advanced production facility in Kameyama, so the company isn’t likely to be introducing still-larger LCD panels in the near future.