Letterbox I own a sony 40 xbr800 and the black bars in theatre mode 16x9, (I think) are bending in the middle. It does the same thing on the bottom tickers on espn and fox. It does this on dvd's sat and cable with no disernable difference

Distorted Picture. All wide angle Cathode Ray Tubes have to have magnets around their periphery at the back. They are fixed on metal strips so they can be moved slightly. The effect is to alter the shape of the picture towards the corners. Try this, but remember their original position in case it gives the wrong change in shape (linearity). There are also parts of the circuit which control linearity by altering the shape of the line or frame scan waveform. In your case it is the line scan which needs correction and there should be several adjustable components. In some TVs, the effect the edjustment has is clearly marked by a symbol or word. You may need special tools and be aware of high voltage parts. Unplug the TV while you move a magnet etc.