Widescreen TVs and DVDs

[uncle fester]

Why do I still get the 'letterbox' view on my TV when I am watching a DVD on my widescreen TV? This has been driving me nuts for ages! I have tried every possible button on both remotes in order to solve this problem and the best I can come up with is to zoom in using my TV remote ( which still leaves me with a letterbox only not as noticeable ). If I'm watching sport or films on SKY this does not happen. Any ideas?

[LeMarchand]

Basically, different movies are shot (and put on DVD) at different "aspect ratios" - some will be "wider" than others, to put it simply. Generally, big-budget F/X laden movies (say the Star Wars films) will be at the "widest" aspect ratio. As your widescreen TV is at 16:9 aspect ratio, movies "wider" than that will have the bars at the top and bottom. However, the movies and programs put out on Sky are normally enhanced for widescreen TVs before transmission. For a fairly good article on the subject, look here: http://www.dvdbulletin.co.uk/guides/aspectratios/