I have a 27" diagonal CRT that displays letterbox format on a 22"X8 3/4" portion of my screen; what happened to the 16:9 ratio?
I'm beginning to think this a scheme designed by skinny bald guys with receding chins because I can't see any more of a face than the eyebrows to the dimple.
Do you have the source set to 16 X 9 or 4 X 3? If the cabel box or DVD thinks the set is 4 X 3 That will happen
We have a Sony Wega 27 inch flat screen CRT which has a beautiful picture, especially with DVDs. If your picture is really squished check your settings because you might have the ultra squish (my term) setting turned on so you have less picture (but great quality) with DVDs.