If you have a widescreen TV...

how does regular cable television work.  Is the picture stretched out or is there black bars on the left and right sides to make it a 4:3 ratio?

Don\'t know for sure, but I would assume a wide screen TV would be able to switch between modes (wide screen and pan&scan), and that would likely mean that some portions of the TV (the left and right) wouldn\'t be used in pan & scan mode.
Of course, like I said, I\'m not sure.  Ridiculous stretching like that though, I think, is rather universally considered a Bad Thing.

[nO-One]

You can stretch it.Keep it normal and get the two black lines in the sides.Or you could get a normal TV

But this is a question for Dolbytone or THX.

*EDIT* Forgot about Videoholic like THX said.I always forget someone

Videoholic would know a lot about this subject as well.  But as for watching 4:3 material on a 16:9 set you have 2 main options:

1) Having black or grey bars on the sides of the screen.  The downside to this is that it can create burn-in unless you have a DLP (Digital Light Processor) projector, either a rptv or front-end projector.  Technology is getting better though for CRTs, and burn-in isn\'t as bad as it used to be.

2) Put the picture into stretch mode, filling in the entire screen but causes a horizontal strech.  This actually is not as bad as you\'d think it would be.  Owners of widescreens get used to it really quick (within the first week).  The overall picture is more immersing and you don\'t really notice how strecthed it is.  You have to really see it before making any assumptions.