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Sam Pitroda, man behind India's telecom revolution, had said: "If telephone transformed the world into a global village, television brought the entire world to our drawing rooms."
None can refute Pitroda's claim.
Often ridiculed by intellectuals as the 'idiot box', television has become an indispensable gadget of every modern household these days.
And to cater to consumers' ever-increasing demand for novelty, electronic companies have started making newer, costlier versions of television.
To get a glimpse of some fascinating television sets doing the rounds of the global electronics market, read on...
Japan's electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial recently unveiled the prototype of the world's largest 150-inch sized plasma display panel television, measuring 3.31m in width and 1.87m in height. This new television is big enough to display a full-grown adult.
Matsushita expects the television to hit the market in 2009.
Price: 6 million yen ($56,124).
1 million yen = $9,335.76 or Rs 402,361.09 (approximately).
Hitachi's Ultra Thin 1.5 series LCD HD television was first displayed at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 8, 2008.
The 1.5-inch thick, high definition television displays come in Director's Series, V Series and S Series and are available in retail stores in the US.
Price: $1,499. $1=Rs 43 (approximately).
Image: Hitachi's 1.5-inch thick, high definition television displays are on view at the Hitachi booth at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Japan's Sharp unveiled the world's thinest LCD televisions Aquos X-series in January this year.
These television sets that come with 46, 42 and 37-inch screens hit the market in March this year.
These television sets that come with 46, 42 and 37-inch screens hit the market in March this year.
Price: 350,000 yen ($3,290) for the LC-B-37XJ1, 430,000 yen ($4,050) for the LC-B-42XJ1, and 480,000 yen ($4,510) for the big LC-B-46XJ1.
Image: Aquos X-series television. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty ImagesJapan's Sharp unveiled the world's thinest LCD televisions Aquos X-series in January this year.
These television sets that come with 46, 42 and 37-inch screens hit the market in March this year.
Price: 350,000 yen ($3,290) for the LC-B-37XJ1, 430,000 yen ($4,050) for the LC-B-42XJ1, and 480,000 yen ($4,510) for the big LC-B-46XJ1.
Image: Aquos X-series television. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Japan's Matsushita unveiled the new line up of the high-definition PDP television sets Viera in Tokyo on March 6 this year.
The new PDP TVs featuring the world's highest contrast and low power consumption hit the market in April.
Price: 2 million yen. 1 million yen = $9,335.76 or Rs 402,361.09 (approximately).
Panasonic's one-inch thick plasma HDTV was first displayed at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 8, 2008.
The 50-inch display will go into production in early 2009 and is expected on store shelves by the end of 2009.
