Yes, I know Samsung is not a Japanese company, but they can obviously produce cool things too.

This is an 80 inch PDP screen. 80 inch.

Korea Samsung SDI presented o­n the 6th that they have developed the world's largest, HD supporting Plasma Panel (PDP) at 80 inches. Limited production will begin at the Chonan Plant's 3rd manufacturing line in the back part of 2004, and production could expand depending o­n the movement of the market. The price is not yet decided.

The panel developed this time around is 1,128 x 1,766 mm (L x W); wide 80 inch size. When used with a TV set, the degree of depth is 89mm. It has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 meaning full HD support. The brightness is 1,000cd/m^2, and a contrast ratio of up to 2,000:1 is possible.

Invested in the development was more than a team of more than 20 research members, and a total of 6,500,000,000 won (600,000,000 yen). It was able to be developed by industrial sciences research by independently by Samsung - the ultra-large screen mask, ultra-large area o­ne step exposure, electric charge regulation (Restore Pulse) technology, ultra-fast Addressing technology, Repeated Auto-quenching driving force technology, etc..

With the development of the 80 inch, Samsung now has 6 sizes in their PDP lineup: 37, 42, 50, 63, 70, and 80 inch. Also, the company has been successful in developing industrial science that makes it possible to take the same amount of plasma glass that goes into an 80 inch panel, and make 4 40 inch plasma panels.

Samsung completed their second production line in December of 2003, and plans to operate 3 production lines by the end of 2004 - making for a monthly output of 120,000 units. They have secured the capability to produce up to 250,000 units per month. They are aiming at selling 1,000,000 units in a year.

Original Article:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040109/samsung.htm

News Release:
http://www.samsung.co.jp/PressCenter/Group/040108.html