Huge 145-inch Plasma Display is 1mm Thick

While the term 'bigger is better" isn't necessarily always true, it's hard not to think that a 145-inch plasma television--big enough to serve the visual goods in a small theater--proves the quotation true. Shinoda Plasma Corporation's 145-inch plasma display, boasting a whopping thickness of 1-mm, not only offers an impressive size, but a surprising 720p HDTV and a 960x720 resolution. Unfortunately, the company hasn't entered into mass production, however the test model is certainly impressive nonetheless.

According to the company, the super-thin film-type display measures 118 inches wide, 78 inches tall, and weighs around 16 pounds. Although the display measures 145-inches diagonally, it's broken up into six seamless pieces measuring 39 inches x 39 inches each. The display also consumes 800 watts (average) to 1200 watts (maximum) of power. What is currently unknown about the display is the amount of heat it generates, or what kind of connections the device accepts (HDMI, component, composite, etc). However, Shinoda said that the display can be mounted in a wall or a cylindrical surface.

In a press release distributed today, Shinoda said that the display utilizes the company's proprietary plasma tube array display technology (PTA). According to the patent, the array includes plural light-emitting tubes, a front supporting member, and a back supporting member which spread over the front and back of the light-emitting tubes. Plural display electrode pairs are provided on the surface of the front supporting member facing the light-emitting tubes; plural signal electrodes are also provided on the surface of the back supporting member facing the light-emitting tubes.

"Each display electrode constituting the display electrode pair is a display electrode which is made of a metal thin wire, provided with plural openings formed in a distributed manner and includes a first metal thin wire facing a discharge slit and extending along the discharge slit, and the first metal thin wire is a metal thin wire thicker than a second metal thin wire which forms a region closer to a non-discharge slit side than the first metal thin wire," reads the patent.

Shinoda said that it has formed alliances with two businesses, WAIEISHII and Itochu Corp. The former company will focus on the automated production lines while the latter, Itochu Corp, will deal with the sales. At the time of this writing, only the one prototype exists, and the company did not say if or when the device will actually go into production despite its alliances.