In the settings you have to set it to 16.9 rather then 4.3

 

Inspiron XPS
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

Where are the black bars, on the sides or on the top?

Part of it depends on the aspect ratio of any particular movie as to how large the black areas are.

And, Dell's widescreens are 16:10 instead of the Hollywood 16:9.  So you will never fill the screen

unless you pan & scan or zoom with your playback software.  Television's aspect ratio is 4:3.
The two ratios for film are 1.85:1 (Academy Flat) and 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Scope).  We still have

the advantage over regular LCD screens when showing either wide format so it's not a total loss.

Do a search on "widescreen format" and you will get many hits to shed more light.

 

...............................TD