Upgrade to iMac 27"? Which TV tuner to buy?

[Crunch]

Hi all.

I'm really digging my new iMac 21.5". In fact, I'm thinking of upgrading to the 27" model. What is the ideal distance from the screen to the eyes?

I also use it to watch movies, many of which are Bluray's in full 1080p. How will they look on the 27" model with the higher resolution of 2560x1440? I'm asking because my 46" HDTV supports "full 1080p", which means what for its resolution, 1920x1080? I've always wanted to know how monitors and TV screens differ.

Is there a TV tuner that you can recommend for the iMac? I have Apple TV, but that's obviously not a tuner...

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Gregintosh]

I will be getting my 27" hopefully today (it's on the Fedex truck!) but from my past experience I can tell you that the BEST conditions for video are when the file is the same resolution as the screen. At that point, the computer maps the pixels 1:1 and you see the file as its meant to be seen.

When you have a situation where you have a 1920x1080 file and a 2560x1440 screen, the computer will scale up. If the file is of good quality, it will still look pretty awesome (much like good 720p content looks GREAT on 1080p TVs).

If your only reason for wanting to go with 27" is to use it as a TV, I would probably save yourself the money and get a 32" HDTV, regular 1080p, and a $150 blu-ray player that can also stream netflix and internet content (some can be had for much less if you look). You will be happier with that movie and TV watching experience, IMO.