16:9 widescreen curiosity

[Richard W. Haines]

I took the "Agatha Christie Marple" series out of the library on standard DVD. They're mildly
entertaining mysteries if that's your thing.

But there is something odd about the format. It's the first time I've come across it.
Every standard DVD that is listed as 'widescreen' or 'anamorphic enhanced for widescreen' plays
as a letterboxed image on conventional 3 x 4 monitors. The 16:9 ratio is preserved
with black borders on top and bottom of the image. On widescreen televisions or
DLPs the image anamorphic enhacement stretched the image to the intended 16:9 ratio.

On this series (I have the first four features on separate discs), there is anamorphic enhancement
for the 16:9 image when you play it on a widescreen TV but...it does not adapt itself automatically
to the letterboxed format for a standard 3 x 4 monitor like every other DVD I've seen in this
format. The image remains squeezed within the 3 x 4 ratio. No black borders. I tried three
different DVD players and it's the same on each of them and on all the discs.

In other words, unless you have a widescreen television, the image will look permanently skinny
from the anamorphic enhancement on a standard square monitor. No letterbox black borders.
EZ view button cannot correct it on the remote. I have no choice but to play these discs
on my DLP, not on my Sanyo monitor.

Has anyone ever come across another DVD like this? I thought it was very strange.

The discs are from 2005 and released by Acorn Media. Was it a manufacturing mistake?
Why would the distributor assume that everyone has a widescreen monitor and not
have the automatic letterbox reformatting for standard monitors?