Aspect ratio hell! I need some help!

[lbecque]

I've been recording programs from cable TV, which is 4:3 format, but some are aired in 16:9 with the black bars at the top and bottom of the TV screen. When I record this in 4:3 and play back on a DVD player connected to a TV it looks as originally broadcast which is fine. But if I play the same DVD on my portable DVD player which has a small 16:9 widescreen I get black bars on all four sides of an already small screen. How can I fix this so I fill the screen on the portable display without changing how its displayed on the TV??

My current PVR recording software, MPEG2 editor and DVD authoring programs all show me that the files are recorded and played back in 4:3 format but none of these programs allow me to change this setting. I know what is happening is that I have a 16:9 box recorded within a 4:3 box.

[Baldrick]

what do you play with? windows crappy media player?

[Baldrick]

please don't cross post. sdfsdfsdf.