Udvarnoky said:
It has nothing to do with tastes, it has to with whether or not you want to see the movies the right way or the wrong way.
But it DOES have to do with taste. (I know, I should just drop it, and yes, I do feel like a broken record, but let me try one last time to clarify what I mean.)
Some people PREFER to have the picture fill their entire television rather than having black lines at the top and bottom of the screen. The fact that they prefer it means it is a question of "taste." You said yourself, "It has nothing to do with taste," and then you said, "it's a question of whether you want...." Doesn't "wanting" something kind of imply taste?
Look, I prefer widescreen too. But I've spoken to many people who find those black lines at the top and bottom of screen to be distracting. They don't care if they lose a bit of the scene, they'd just rather have the picture fill their entire set. They like having a bigger picture, even if it's incomplete. So it is most definitely a question of taste.
Yes, I know you could argue all the reasons why fullscreen is inferior (it's not the director's image, etc, etc), but that's not the point. The point is, people want to enjoy the movie when they're watching it, and if they find those black lines (or the smaller picture) irritating, then why go with the widescreen format when Lucas was kind enough to offer it in a fullscreen format as well. It is NOT a scam to offer an alternative that some people prefer. It's a matter of providing choices because different people like different things. Now, IF Lucas was planning to release a fullscreen format first, and then a year later suddenly announce a widescreen version, I would say the "scam" theory may have some credibility. But they're releasing them at the same time.
Here's one last analogy:
A car manufacturer releases a fantastic new sports car in two color schemes: One is red, and the other is yellow and blue polkadots. Chances are you'll prefer the red one. But the yellow & blue polkadots are not a rip-off or a scam, they're an alternative for somebody who (for whatever bizarre reason) happens to think sports cars look great in yellow & blue polkadots. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If nobody likes it, nobody will buy it, and eventually the manufacturer will wisen up and stop releasing polkadot sportscars. But if enough people do happen to think polkadots look cool, they'll continue producing them. I think that's what's happening with fullscreen DVDs. Enough people like them, and so it's worth offering them.
(Arghh... now even I'M sick of hearing myself, so I'll end this here and start following the advice in my signature.)