Step aside couch potatoes, biggest TV screen is here

London, Jan 6 (UNI) Move aside couch potatoes, as the biggest ever television screen will need you to sit well back.

A 150-inch plasma screen that towers six feet high and stretches 11 feet wide is to be launched tomorrow by Panasonic as one of the star attractions at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Observer reported.

The television weighs more than 226.796 kg and is expected to cost around 50,000 pounds.

Viewers would have to sit more than 30 feet away to watch it in comfort.

Panasonic insisted that the set is not merely a novelty show-stopper but intended for sale.

Jeff Samuels, a spokesman, said, ''Because we were hoping to keep this as a surprise to be introduced on January 7, we have very little information about it, but it will eventually be a viable commercial product.'' James Beechinor-Collins, editor of Republic Publishing and co-founder of the gadget website ElectricPig, said, ''This will be the Formula 1 car of TV. It's pushing the boundaries of technology and it's only this way they can improve effectiveness and efficiency. But how many people are going to buy a 150-inch TV for 50,000 pounds? These things are always about awe and wonderment.'' He added that the general guidance for watching a TV is to check the size, then sit at a distance that is two-and-a-half times away.

By this formula, a 150-inch TV requires a viewing distance of 375 inches.

''I don't know of any 31 feet living rooms,'' said Mr Beechinor-Collins.

UNI XC SKB RAI1108