On both computer monitors and television screens of the "widescreen" persuasion, I really HATE the distorted image (stretched wide) that so many people are willing to live with.

My computer monitors (at home and at work) are "normal" in aspect ratio (shape), but I do have a farily new widescreen TV. It comes with a "format" control that allows me to very easily set any and every program to be viewed without distortion. In very many cases, this means black/blank areas at the left and right sides of the screen, on either side of a sharp, clear, correctly-proportioned picture. (In other words, the opposite of a "letterboxed" image when viewed within the formerly-normal 4:3 screen format.)

For any program or video-recording that is intended to fill, or nearly fill, the widescreen format, there are settings that allow the viewer to easily utilize the maximum amount of viewscreen area without distorting the image.

It simply amazes me how many otherwise intelligent people set their widescreen televisions to "automatic" format, and happily stare away at the distorted images of short fat actors and athletes, thinking that there's something superior about the wonderful widescreen image that modern technology has given them in trade for their hardearned dollars.