IMac 20" and High Definition Video

Hey,
I live in the UK and often visit the Apple store where i try out the different displays and computers on offer. I have a 12" G4 iBook which i bought in October last year as my first Mac.
I have been converted from PC's by this and i am now looking into purchasing a desktop Mac such as an iMac.
I quite fancy an Intel iMac 20" as i would be able to do everything i would want to on it. One of the main attractions for me is the HD capabilities.....if they are what i expect.
When i try and attempt to watch HD movie trailers from the Quicktime site on my iBook, the only resolution that will work is 480p. This is the lowest resolution available as HD content and even at this low resolution the performance can be insufficient.
I would be purchasing the Intel iMac 20" with 250GB hard drive and probably 1GB of RAM (looking to upgrade to 2GB after purchase) and most likely the 256MB graphics card.
Some questions i hope that could be answered:
a) Would the spec mentioned above cope with HD content and if so, would it even cope with 1080? I know the resolution will only show 1050 but the picture would still be better than 720 right? Is there much point in upgrading the graphics card to the 256MB option?
b) As HD hasnt really been released in the UK as of yet, will i be able to import DVD's from America to watch them on my iMac, also, will these DVD's mean that i will have to set the region on the DVD drive to American, so therefore i would be unable to watch UK DVD's
c) I have a Windows desktop that struggles to record live TV from the internal PCI card. I find that it records the programs and contains a jerky picture, with an Intel Mac would the recordings be smooth, I.E would the hardware be powerful enough to be able to record video smoothly.
d) If i was to upgrade the RAM in the iMac myself, would this void the Apple warranty? Is it an easy installation process? I have created a whole Windows desktop from scratch but have never looked inside a Mac (presume they are similar)
e) I will be going to University to do a Degree in Software Engineering which will mainly use Windows applications. How does Windows run under Boot Camp and is it stable enough to use as a frequent operating system bearing in mind it will be important for me as i will use it often for prolonged periods of time.
Many Thanks to whoever could answer any of these questions.
Chris Howard
iBook G4 12 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

HD-DVD is coming soon to the Mac as an external drive (probably usb2.0). It will be expensive though.
A. The iMac has more than enough horse power to display 1080i movies. The mac will have to downres it because the display is 1680x1050.
B. Can't tell until the HD-DVD players are released.
C.It would be but you would need to buy a device like eyetv to do so since the mac doesn't have a tuner.
D. The ram is user upgradable and very easy to install. The user's manual shows how to upgrade.
E. Windows XP runs under bootcamp as well as under a normal pc. There are some driver issues as far as supporting some of apples built in hardware, like the iSight cam, but other than that it is bulletproof. I sold my intel pc recently after upgrading to bootcamp. Don't need it anymore.
Glor

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