Don't make this mistake configuring your 16x9 TV for DVD input.
I had my new HD 16x9 Toshiba 34HF81 TV for over a month before I realized that I had the DVD player configured for a non-optimal picture.
Since some DVDs have an anamorphic signal for the widescreen recorded on them, you can get a full 480 lines of data displayed on your 16x9 TV if the DVD and TV are configured properly.
The DVD player should be set for a 16x9 TV, this is sometimes called "wide" mode and means the letterbox picture is stretched to what would fill a 4x3 TV screen, so that you get a full 480 lines of information for display on the TV.
The TV should be set for what my system calls "full" for viewing the DVD. This tells the TV to stretch the picture wider to fill the 16x9 screen, undoing the effect added by the DVD player explained above.
The net effect is a much better looking picture since you now have all 480 lines of data going to the TV rather than having some of those 480 lines wasted on the black bars needed for a 4x3 TV. :b
(Note 16x9 and 4x3 refer to the aspect ratio of the screen described earlier.)