The model that Costco carries isn't a "XBR" series Bravia. Still a great monitor however.

 

Costco has a $200 off coupon for the sony (non-xbr)!

 

The Sony XBR series of LCD's have raised the bar for flat panel TV's as a whole. They are superior to the (typically) more expensive Sharp Aquos models. I'd take the 32" XBR over anything Sharp has in a heartbeat. High definition looks more or less identical, but when you flip on any kind of NON HD material, the Sony will blow away the Sharp. I've sold these TV's to many of my clients, and not one of them has been less than thrilled with its performance. Get the XBR and never look back.

 

You need to do some adjustments on that. Your loosing some screensize.

It seems (and correct me if I am wrong) that you still have letterboxing occuring. It should not be occuring.
You may loose half an inch on each side, but you will gain 2-3 inchs in height. From the top photo the left most sicker (the long one) is right under the screen, but in the screen cap of C3-PO there is 2-3 inches of black before that sticker.

Play around with the controls. That screen is 16:9 it can handle that video feed without the letter boxing.

 

Pardon my ignorance, what is XBR?

 

Isn't the black bars common with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio? Whenever I play a DVD with a 1.85:1 a/r, I won't see the black bars. However, there is a way to reduce the black bars by changing the Display are by -1 or -2. Is that what you are talking about? Good eyes!!!

 

You are correct. Letterboxing, even on a widescreen display, will still occur with 2.35:1 or cinemascope aspect ratios. The overscan on the TV is enough that the bars do not appear until you hit the 2:1 ratio, so that's why you don't see them on many movies. The deal with Star Wars, like many other huge action movies, is the director shoots in a wider angle to give the "larger than life" feel. You can usually get rid of them by zooming the image, but you will then lose information on the left and right sides of the screen. You are also not watching the film in the way the director intended. Format if you must, but I say just leave it alone and kick back!