[kenberman]

you are right: very few DVD's are exactly 16:9, even if they are "widescreen".

you will still get letterboxing on most DVD's, and the determinant is the DVD native aspect ratio. you can fiddle with your TV settings, but it really depends on the DVD you watch...

this was a dissapointment for me when I first watched DVD's on my widescreen monitor. I automatically assumed the picture would fill up the whole screen. alas, I was dissapointed.