In addition to being a good computer by today's standards, the 27-inch iMac is also capable of functioning as an external monitor (as we have known for a long time), but this feature has been limited for a time due to the fact that many devices capable of reproducing high definition content do not support Apple's Mini DisplayPort standard. Today there are accessories that allow the HDMI signal from Blu-ray players or PlayStation 3 to be perfectly converted to it, but they still work with a small limitation.
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According to the AppleInsider, none of these accessories is capable of sending videos at the maximum resolution of Blu-ray players or consoles to the 27-inch iMac, which would still be below the maximum supported by the computer (2560 × 1440 pixels). Apparently, the technique used by Apple to identify external devices connected to the Mac does not put HD 1080p resolution as an option, forcing their HDMI signal to be converted to 720p on accessories capable of doing so for the Mini DP standard.
This does not appear to be difficult for Apple to enable, but here also comes the question of whether it is really necessary or not; for some experts in the video area, it is difficult to notice differences between 720p and 1080p on screens smaller than 50 inches, regardless of the maximum resolution they support. The real problem with the decision made with the 27 ″ iMac can affect Blu-ray players that were created only to support HD 1080p as a video output, as they may not work properly with accessories that try to decrease the video output at the time of convert to the computer.