Otherwise, I'd say a fullscreen DVD set is as likely as a 2.35:1 edition of "Apocalypse Now". The customers going after these discs would find little use with anything but 16x9/1.85:1.
The 16x9 ratio has been in the minds of TV producers since the late 90's; it's all looking towards the future, similar to how many animated films in the 70's and 80's were shot and composed for their unmatted future television and video aspect ratios (some Disney films and pretty much anything by Ralph Bakshi suffer from noticeable cropping in their "original" widescreen ratios, including "Wizards" and the animated version of "The Lord of the Rings" that fans petitioned to get the theatrical ratio for).
If HDTV owners only had standard definition broadcasts at the time, then I'd suspect they would have to zoom in. It's what they get for being early adopters. And if not for practical reasons shows like "Smallville" and "The West Wing" probably had their aspect ratios for aesthetic reasons.