iMac - Stand + TV tuner = Perfect media center?

So right now I'm in my uni's computer lab on the 24-inch iMac doing homework at 4 in the morning. This is only my second time using one of the new ones, and then it hits me: This could easily be someone's TV!

The first time I used it (in each lab there's only one of these-the rest of the machines are either Lenovo ThinkCentre's running Vista or SFF Dell OptiPlex's running XP) earlier in the semester, my jaw dropped as I never used a computer with such a ginormous screen.

I know Apple did something like this ages ago, (Macintosh TV) and that there are TV tuners available for the Mac, but why don't they get into the game now? Perhaps integrate something into Front Row? Take off the stand and make it wall mountable (I can see it now!)

It'll be even tougher to go back to the D630's relatively small screen.

In any case it's a very cool computer and quite a surprising find in a university no less!

 

24" is pretty small for a television, compared with the 40"+ plasma TVs that are out there today.
The iMac is also quite expensive for a TV. Most people would rather spend half the amount and buy a 50" plasma, than a 24" iMac.
But yeah, with TV tuners one can pretty much turn any computer system into a television, including a PC hooked up to some enormous monitor or TV screen.

 

the mac's screen isnt that great compared to the LCD / Plasma televisions

 

But what about the Sony AIO's?

 

those silver sony media computers have phenomenal screens. at least they look darn good in the stores.

 

really?IMO,iMac 24" has best screen I have ever seen!

 

they are great, but in terms of technology they are far behind the conventional LCD / Plasma TVs

 

24" ??

For it's price you can buy a brand new LCD TV that is 46", like the samsung 46a850.. It doesn't compare to a 24" size wise, plus it's latest technology, and there are models (a few hundreds more) even with LED backlight.

 

Well I was thinking more like a bedroom TV-perhaps if they enlarged it to 32 inches?

 

Actually, Steve Jobs called bluray a "big bag of hurt", I think.

I'm not sure if a TV that doesn't support BluRay would be very popular.

 

^true

but you can always stream HD content from itunes

 

yes,but you wont get a powerful computer with it.

 

But what if you don't wanna pay for each time you want to watch something different, also not every TV show is on iTunes...

 

Wow, you guys are pretty limited in your imagination. I have my Alu 24" iMac sitting in my livingroom as my main TV and media center. I have an EyeTV Hybrid hooked up to it with my cable line connected. I watch HD channels beautifully in 1080p. Sunday football in HD kicks butt on the iMac. The resolution on the 24" iMac is not behind what you get on a LCD plasma screen, it's quite dense and the picture quality is incredible. Some HD TV's have latency and I notice none on the 24" iMac.
To Budding: How is the 24" iMac too small for a TV, people have 20" TV's in their livingrooms.

 

That's awesome!

 

To be honest, not many people have TV's that small unless they're a student or their livingroom is obscenely small.

 

When sit a few meters away from your TV, and have got used to looking at 32"+ screens, a 24" screen can seem very small indeed.

 

sar⋅casm
–noun
1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.
2. a sharply ironic hence the

...

 

Either your living room is small, or you sit too close to the unit.
I am not saying that its a bad choice, just saying that the screen in terms of technology is far behind most LCD / Plasma televisions in the market.

 

Just throwing it out there, but why not buy a mb (or mini) and a projector? I have this setup at home and its by far the most economical way to achieve a big big big screen TV + the all advantages of a mac. The added bonus is if you have an iphone or touch, you can have a really nice HTPC setup with the best remote on the market.
a

 

Or that

 

Hi, I intend to change my existing CRT monitor to 19inch LCD monitor for my PC. But this monitor is in good working condition. I did not wish to exchange as it would not get appreciable value. What can we do with the spare CRT monitor? Can anyone has idea to use the old one ,without wasting it? What can we do with the spare CRT monitor after replacing with wide screen LCD monitor for PC?