Well, it is a little tricky. I described how I did a 16:9 conversion. I don't want to call what I did Anamorphic because I'm sure the studio uses a different method when they do it. From what I understand, it is an expensive process involving the creation of a new digital master. I would really need to go back and read how they do it. They get the advantage of added resolution because they are using the film source when they are doing the telecine process (film to video conversion).
I'm sorry if my answer before was misleading.

Another reason is that some studios thought it would be cheaper to use the same LD master when they made their DVD and that no one would notice. They were wrong.

Mine simply plays in the correct aspect ratio no matter what type of TV you have. If you have a 16:9 TV and have your DVD Player setup correctly to the 16:9 mode, you will have an image that is not squished out of proportion and one that will not have black bars on the sides (it will only have smaller black bars on the top and bottom). If you play it on a 4:3 TV, it will appear correctly if your DVD Player is set to 4:3 mode and the image won't be too tall and skinny.

Patrick