Sharp Puts Its 108-inch LCD on Sale

The world's largest LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor can now be yours -- if you have a deep wallet.

Sharp has begun offering a monitor based on the 108-inch LCD panel that it first unveiled over a year ago. The panel, which is the largest yet to be shown by any LCD maker, was first unveiled in January 2007 at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and promised for later in the year but was delayed.

Now it's available to customers worldwide, built-to-order, for ¥11 million (US$102,000).

The Full HD (1,920 pixels by 1,080 pixels) monitor comes with a wide array of input sockets. There's analog RGB and DVI computer inputs, 3 HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) inputs, two composite video inputs, two sets of component video inputs and one S-Video input. The entire set weighs an impressive 195 kilograms and consumes 1.1 kilowatts (kW) when in use.

Measuring 2.2 meters by 2.5 meters, the display panel is the largest currently possible from Sharp's most advanced production line in Kameyama, Japan. As such potential buyers shouldn't have to worry too much about bigger, better and presumably even more expensive LCD monitors coming from Sharp anytime soon.

The first place to get the monitor is the new Shinjuku Piccadilly cinema complex, which opens on July 19 in Tokyo. The monitor will be installed in the lobby of the cinema and used to display trailers for upcoming movies, according to Sharp.