24″ iMac = IMAX, Baby
Well, not quite, but pretty darned convincing to MY eyes, nonetheless…
I’ve been able to experiment with all sorts of High-Definition (HD) video files, and I’ve had access to plenty of recent hardware to test them on. DVD images are horrid compared to HD video… I need to cover my DVD’s with plastic sheets because I keep wanting to spit on them! :-> HD movies are actually sharper than what you originally saw in the movie-theater, the first time around. CinemaScope is pretty close, though.
I have found that the 24″ iMac (particularly when gussied-up with the high-end graphics and larger hard drive) is IDEAL for watching HD video:
- The hardware can keep up, even with the largest file-formats. No stuttering or screen-hashing. Just glorious imagery and sound.
- The 24″ screen is plenty tall enough for even the largest HD movies. George Lucas uses the “1080p“-sized digital format when he projects those extra-cost, luxury versions of his Star Wars films (and there is only ONE theater in San Diego County that can project them). The 24″ iMac can easily display the same format, and it still has 120 extra pixels of height (count ‘em) left over!
Here’s a nice screen-shot, to pique your interest. It looks best if you look at it in Safari. Now, imagine an entire movie, just as crisp and clear in every frame, during every second of the movie.
Starting yesterday, you can even order your 24″ iMac with a 750-gigabyte hard drive. Trust me, you might need it, once high-definition media becomes common. A high-resolution documentary such as Microcosmos takes up 7 gigabytes, and the entire, three-movie, non-extended “1080i” (BIG) version of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy takes up 76 gigabytes!
So… If you don’t have a new iMac, then what other Mac hardware can handle the biggest HD Video?
MacBook Pro’s, Mac Pro’s or possibly G5 towers (with a 23-inch or 30-inch monitor hooked up externally). Nothing else can keep up with the massive flow of data. In a year or so, ALL new Macs will have sufficient graphics horsepower, and the price of flat-panel screens will drop even lower. Pretty soon, we’ll all be luxuriating in High-Definition video!
