LAS VEGAS, Jan 8 Consumer electronics makers showcased supersized high-definition flat-sc

LAS VEGAS, Jan 8 (Reuters) Consumer electronics makers showcased supersized high-definition flat-screen televisions in an effort to distinguish themselves and boost profits in an increasingly competitive market.

Big LCD TVs grabbed the early spotlight at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which also saw the unveiling of a DVD player that could be a bridge between rival formats for next-generation video discs.

Sharp Corp. showed off a 108-inch high-definition LCD television to rival a 100-inch model introduced only hours earlier by LG Electronics Inc. Sharp said its was the biggest yet among liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs.

Despite the flurry of announcements about TVs, many analysts say mobility will be the key theme at the CES as more people watch TV on laptops and carry entire music catalogs in their pockets.

The four-day event, which starts formally on Monday, is the biggest annual U.S. gathering for the $140 billion industry and will draw some 140,000 enthusiasts and retailers to a sprawling exhibition of gadgets to feed consumers' ever-growing arsenal for personal entertainment.

CES, which has been the launching point for everything from DVDs and plasma TV to the Xbox game console, will also feature a speech later on Sunday by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates that could touch on the growing importance of consumer electronics to the software giant.

Japan's Sharp said its new big LCD TV would be available in mid-2007, but it did not give details on price.

The Consumer Electronics Association says wholesale LCD unit sales are expected to jump 50 percent to $12 billion in 2007 from about $8 billion in 2006. By contrast, plasma unit sales are seen rising to $6 billion in 2007 from $5.7 billion.

LCD TVs have been popular in the past year, but they typically cost more than plasma TVs and have been sold in smaller screen sizes.

Pioneer Corp. said it expects to introduce an advanced plasma high-definition TV this summer.

The new TV, which Pioneer said will have richer colors, deeper shades of black and better contrast than predecessors, is part of the Tokyo-based company's push to compete better with rivals including Samsung Electronics and LG of South Korea and Japan's Hitachi Ltd., which offer both plasma and LCD TVs.

Toshiba Corp. said on Sunday it would launch 52-inch and 57-inch LCD TVs this year, playing catch-up with rivals such as Sharp in its foray into the 50-inch class.

In an effort to counter steep price erosion in the flat TV market, manufacturers are increasingly offering larger TVs with higher resolution, which generally carry fatter profit margins than smaller models with conventional resolution.

Also on Sunday, LG introduced a DVD player to support both next-generation, high-definition DVD technologies, offering a solution in an escalating war between Blu-ray and HD DVD.

LG said its Super Multi Blu Player would be available in early February in the United States for about $1,200.

REUTERS DKS PM0556