Maybe in the future they will change that, with more people getting 16:9 sets. It's true about the 4:3 people would have to watch letterboxed, but they did for years and years on some shows. But there's also more and more people with 16:9 sets that have bars on the sides then, same thing. I have to put my TV on panorama mode to fill the screen. It's not bad, but looks a little stretched. And the HD locals on my voOm is nice, but they switch back 4:3 for the commercials and news. That's kinda annoying, because the panorama function of the TV is greyed out due to the DVI hook up to the vooOm. I can't change the mode. The vooOm options don't change anything either. It just stays the way it is.