06-17-2011, 02:50 AM

I have a new 2011 iMac:

2.7 Core i5
8GB Ram
2TB HDD

I've had it about a week and have been pleasantly surprised with everything so far - including gaming which I have been doing regularly.

Finally got my iTunes library switched over today, so decided to play AVATAR to see what it looked like on the great 27" screen. Have to say I was not impressed. The picture looked quite degraded and did not appear anywhere near HD quality. It looked fine on my Macbook Pro(17") previously but I realize that is a much smaller screen. Avatar also looks great on my 50" TV using Apple TV, so I'm not really sure why the picture isn't as "crisp" as I had hoped.

I have very poor internet so haven't upgraded numerous software updates yet, included among them Mac OSX 10.6.7 update for iMac which states "Addresses issues with graphics stability and 3D performance".

Could this be the issue causing my poor quality in iTunes?

06-17-2011, 04:31 AM

I have the same iMac. Avatar should look great on that screen. It does on mine. Could be the update, I keep mine up to date. Where did you get the Avatar movie from?

06-17-2011, 12:12 PM

iTunes. I'll have to wait until I'm able to update it I guess.....

Thanks a bunch.

06-17-2011, 01:09 PM

Take into account - you have a 27" monitor with a resolution equivalent to 1440p vs a 50" HDTV with only 1080p.

Add to that, the fact you are sitting what - 3' from the screen - vs 12-15' away from that 50" screen - enlarging a 720p or 480p video up to 1440p from 3' away will not by any stretch appear as sharp as what you see at 1080p from 15'.

Plus, I would guess that most HDTVs, Blu-Ray & DVD players today probably have much better upscalers than you'll find in computer video cards in general.


Try connecting your iMac to that 50" screen and viewing anything that is text only, and you'll find the opposite. Your iMac is going to blow it out of the water from any distance.