When watching blu ray or HD movies, does the resolution scale down for 27"

[GKDAIR]

So i'm looking at getting either the base 27" or the high end 27" I dunno which.

BUT I may get the 21.5 depending on your answers to my question.

1) Let's say I rented a movie off of iTunes or I watched a blu ray off of an external drive, will the resolution of those movies be the full 2560 x 1440 or will it be scaled down to 1920 x 1080. Also, if it is scaled down, how bad does it look given that that the movie is not playing at the full resolution?

I know video games can run at the native resolution so I don't know why the movies wouldn't. But thanks for answering the question

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Since the 27" iMac has 2560 x 1400 pixel, that is the native resolution of that Mac.
If you play 720p or 1080i/p video, the video gets scaled up, but depending on the software you use the play the video, you won't notice it really.
I can play 480p and 720p video, if properly encoded, on my 1680 x 1050 pixel 20" iMac just fine and it doesn't show any blocky pixels.

And if you are at an Apple Store or a store selling Macs, which allows you internet access, just watch some of the trailers at http://trailers.apple.com in 720p or 1080p/i on the 27" iMac and see for yourself.

 

[GKDAIR]

I also watch a lot of netflix. If I run some movies off of that will it look horrible and blocky if I fullscreen it? I'm a computer geek but yet resolution always confuses me.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I also watch a lot of netflix. If I run some movies off of that will it look horrible and blocky if I fullscreen it? I'm a computer geek but yet resolution always confuses me.

That depends on the quality Netflix employs on their offerings. As I don't use Netflix, I can't comment on that.
If the video you watch is a properly encoded 1080p stream, then it will not horrible or blocky. It is not like watching some stupid 260p YouTube video on a 1080p screen.