LAS VEGAS — Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of Panasonic AVC Networks Co., blitzed a standing-room crowd at the Consumer Electronics Show with a cavalcade of new products, climaxing with the futuristic prospect of "Life Wall," an interactive, high definition video technology that could fill any room it enters.

Although offering neither a timetable for the development of Life Wall beyond the prototype shown here Monday (Jan. 7), nor a possible retail price for the larger-than-life technology, Sakamoto demonstrated features that included the ability to recognize different users' faces, a vast array of screen savers that are so big they become "room treatments" and smaller video screens within the Life Wall screen that follow the user.

Sakamoto called Life Wall "an unparalleled, immersive, emotive cinematic experience" that "takes TV beyond conventional entertainment to become the center of the home." Life Wall was central to Sakamoto's theme of using new HD technology to create a "digital hearth." The CEO said that larger flat-panel TVs with higher resolution have introduced a new era of family intimacy.

"High-definition, flat-panel TVs," said Sakamoto, "have had an effect we did not anticipate--of bringing families together." He added, "Technology has often been seen as something that tears people apart. We believe it can bring people together."

Among the parade of cool new stuff was the world's largest HD plasma TV screen, measuring a whopping 150 inches, or 46 percent larger than the previous record. The screen, 11 feet wide, is as large as nine 50-inch flat-panel screens.

"This stunning digital display," said Sakamoto, "allows you to show the elephant in the room in all its glory."

Sakamoto conceded that the 150-inch display will be largely confined to commercial uses like digital cinema, but could eventually land in a few "luxurious, very special homes." Proof of this potential luxury market lay in the surprising performance of last year's Panasonic giant, a 103-inch screen that exceeded all expectation with 3,000 units sold.

Among the more practical of Sakamoto's product introductions was a 32-Gbyte SD high capacity memory card that can be docked directly into all of Panasonic's Viera line of flat-panel TVs. The cards, capable of recording as much as eight hours of HD video from camcorders or countless photos in a digital still camera, would allow consumers to plug and play their images without wires, PC software or any other intermediate technology.

Sakamoto also introduced a wireless HD transmission system for playing Blu-ray DVDs, that was co-developed with SiBEAM Inc. It employs "beam steering" technology that continues unbroken transmission even when people walk through the wireless connection.

The Panasonic chief also unveiled what he claimed was the "world's thinnest flat panel," half as thick as current TV screens at only 24.7 millimeters, and a plasma "breakthrough" that features twice the brightness of previous TV screens with a 50 percent reduction in power consumption.

Sakamoto also said Panasonic will be working with Comcast on a cable TV delivery enhancement feature called "True Two-Way," to be rolled out in Panasonic TV sets later this year. It will eliminate external set-top boxes, reducing wires and that annoying extra remote control.

Sakamoto also announced a partnership with YouTube and Picasa that will enable the display of popular Internet content directly onto TV screens, in HD.