While smaller may be better for mobile products, bigger is better in the DTV marketplace. And huge is even better. With that concept in mind, Sharp this week introduced its 108-inch LCD panel in Las Vegas, beating the previous record-size LCD screen by about 5 inches. But chances are the new record will not last too long.
Sharp said it's the sole operator of an eighth-generation LCD line, which uses 2160x2460 mm substrates. The firm said the 108-inch panel is the largest that can be cut from such substrates. The huge screen model television will be available by this summer, said Sharp, which did not yet disclose any price points.
Last spring, LG Philips LCD had developed a 100-inch panel at its seventh-generation production facility. Now with competition topping the 100-inch mark, LCDs are starting to surpass the size of plasma display panels, according to EETimes.
Not to be outdone, Samsung and Sony had also announced last spring they will jointly build an eighth-generation line using substrates slightly larger than Sharp's, at 2200x2500 mm.
Sharp plans to double the capacity of its eighth-generation line and will soon go to 30,000 glass substrates per month--about two months earlier than originally announced.
