Flat-panel monitors and TVs are getting bigger all the time, but Samsung Electronics' latest screen sets records, even by the standards of the electronics business. At 70 inches, the high-definition Samsung LCD display is simply massive (see below for an image).

The 70-inch display has a resolution of 1,920x1,080, which is powerful enough to qualify as a high-definition TV. However, this is not high for a screen of this size. For example, one of the largest LCD screens seen by ZDNet UK is the 56-inch V562D1 screen from Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO). This screen debuted at the CeBIT trade show in March, and has a resolution of 3,840x2,160.

The Samsung display is aimed at the consumer HD-TV market but will no doubt become available in the business market at an early stage.

Samsung vice president Kim Sang-Soo said that the new screen "sets a new benchmark of excellence in terms of video image reproduction, viewing angle and image quality. We've designed it to dramatically enhance the large screen LCD TV user's viewing experience".

The screen offers a conical viewing angle of 180° for "multi-viewing audiences". The video signal is reproduced at 120Hz, compared to the 60Hz offered by conventional high-definition LCD panel, enabling "rapidly moving video images to be reproduced with crystal clarity", the company said.

Samsung will begin mass production of the new 70-inch LCD during the first half of 2007, bolstering its position in the ultra-large-screen TV segment. With the introduction of the 70-inch LCD TV, the company will be in a position to compete head-to-head with PDP (plasma display panel) and projection TV makers.

Samsung had not named a retail price for its 70-inch screen. The screen from CMO is expected to retail at around £6,000.