World's biggest TV

The world's biggest TV - a whopping 150 inch plasma screen and standing six feet tall - has been unveiled.

The monster Panasonic TV, which is expected to cost a wallet-busting £50,000, is the star attraction at a gadget show in Las Vegas.

The high-definition screen, which is understood to weigh more than a quarter of a tonne (220kg), smashes the previous record size for a TV by 42 inches - the height of a small child.

Towering six feet high, it is tall enough to show full-scale footballers and will cost £5,000 to install.

And with any buyer needing a huge house and plenty of money, Premiership stars could be at the front of the queue when it goes on sale.

Scroll down for more...

The world's biggest television is six feet high and a staggering 11 feet wide

* Jumbo-vision: As the world's biggest television screen is unveiled, one TV critic says size isn't everything
* The £25,000 bed you can live in - and that even stops you snoring
* Computers will soon be controlled by 'voice and touch', predicts Bill Gates

Two years ago, Panasonic launched a then world record 103-inch (8.6 ft) TV at the same Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.

John Lewis on London's Oxford Street later sold it but there was a a three-month waiting list for the TV, which had to be ordered from Panasonic's factory in Japan.

And last year, Sharp went one better when it created an 108-inch (9 ft) LCD flatscreen.

Technology experts estimate that the new Panasonic will use up to 3,000 watts of electricity.

And general guidance for watching TV is to check the size and then sit two-and-a-half times further away, giving it a viewing distance of 375 inches (31.2 ft).

Panasonic had hoped to keep the TV's existence under wraps until the show.

But after word leaked out, its spokesman Jeff Samuels admitted: "It exists and will eventually be a viable commercial product."

James Beechinor-Collins, founder of gadget website ElectricPig, marvelled: "This will be the Formula 1 car of TV. It's pushing the boundaries of technology.

"Once you get TVs that are 80, 90, 100 inches, you're compelled to go and see them because the scale is out of your mind."

But he cautioned: "How many people are going to buy a 150-inch TV for £50,000?

"These things are always about awe and wonderment. If you're too close, the picture isn't very good and I don't know of any 31-feet living rooms."

The first 3D TV sets designed for home use will also be unveiled at the Vegas event.

And the world's biggest electronics companies hope to have their products in the shops by the end of the year.

Philips is showing off TVs which can screen three-dimensional content, in which objects appear to leap out at the viewer, without the need for special glasses used in cinemas.

Its technology uses a special lens on the screen to create the effect.

Samsung has a competing 3D TV but it will require viewers to wear special glasses.