New Imac and connecting to a HDTV?

Hi,
a newbie here with my 1st post....

I am seriously considering replacing my PC with a new imac however I am finding it difficult getting information about connecting the imac to a HD LCD TV.

I found information me telling me how to physically connect the mac to the TV however I have some extra questions which i am finding it difficult to find answers...

1) I am guessing that the Mac can cope with dual displays being two different resolutions?

2) My mac and TV would be virtually side by side. So when watching HD content, ideally I would like to have a blank screen on the mac while doing so. I am guessing you cannot turn off the screen on the mac (because obviously its all in one). So how would I get around this... a screen saver or something?

3) Finally I have seen various codec downloads for the Mac, so I am guessing that sourcing all the weird and wonderful HD codec's is not a problem on the Mac?

Cheers for any pointers you can give me.

1) No Problem... I'm doing it now.

2) Just turn the Brightness all the way down... the screen will look like it's off.

3) Not real sure...

Welcome to the forums!!!!