Audio Video News

Because I'm a professional journalist, and not some hack, I'll spare you the usual "size matters" cliches. However, it's my professional obligation to inform you that Sharp's HD monitor is bigger than yours.

The new Model LB-1085 measures 108 inches (actually, 107.5 inches diagonal, 52.9 inches high by 93.9 inches wide). The LB-1085 is billed as the "world's largest commercially available LCD monitor." That's probably true at least for a few days until someone else announces something even bigger. The fact that it's described as being for "commercial applications" is Sharp's way of telling us that its price will be as big as its size. However, if you can pony up the money, and tell Sharp that you own a sports bar, I'm sure they'll sell you one. The actual price, as they say, has not yet been announced, but U.S. availability is scheduled for September.

Of course, the LB-1085 is a full 1080p HD monitor; it features an impressive 6.21 million pixels (1,920 x 1,080 x RGB) and a TFT (thin-film transistor) active-matrix drive system. It features HDMI and DVI-I connectors, and a fan-less design that minimizes noise and intake of dust from outside air. It is manufactured at Sharp's Kameyama Plant No. 2, the first plant in the world to use 8th generation glass substrates, and apparently geared up to handle some really big pieces of glass.

Even if your tiny apartment doesn't have room for a TV that's 8-feet wide, you can be mildly excited about the slew of big-TV announcements such as this one. This signals an evolution in LCD manufacturing techniques, which should lead to greater manufacturing efficiencies, and hence lower prices for screens that fit into normal-sized rooms. In keeping with the high journalistic standards of this blog, I am omitting the usual penis-verbiage concluding remarks.-Ken C. Pohlmann

Sharp