One of the things that people ask me frequently is how they can get rid of those black bars at the top and bottom of the image when they are watching HD movies on most HD sets. The answer I give is that sometimes you can't. The black bars are there because the aspect ratio used in theaters is not supported by most HDTVs and projectors that we have in homes.

If you want to remove the black bars, a company called Panamorph has announced a new lens that can be attached to the JVC line of home theater projectors. The lens turns the projected image into the movie theater 2.40:1 aspect ratio, eliminating the black bars.

You have to be a serious home theater enthusiast to want the bars gone enough to justify the Panamorph lens though. The JVC specific version of the Panamorph sells for $2,995. The company also points out that the lens is compatible with all currently proposed 3D projection technologies as well.