Can anyone help with an aspect ratio problem I am having with a newly
purchased Panasonic DMR-EX95 DVD recorder?

On my Bush TV monitor, which is correctly set to 4:3 ratio, and on
which normal TV programmes appear in 4:3, certain Region 1 DVDs played
on the Panasonic appear in widescreen with black bands top and bottom.
When starting the DVD the picture appears in 4:3 for a split second
before reverting to widescreen. But all the Region 2 DVDs I have
tried appear correctly in 4:3, as do pictures from VHS tapes on the
Panasonic (which is a combi).

I have an excellent Region 1 DVD of *Gone With the Wind* which I used
as a test. This imaged in widescreen as stated above. However, with
the same Panasonic recorder hooked up to a different monitor, an LG,
it played correctly in 4:3....as it also did on a Sharp projector (but
with a different fault which I'll describe below.

How can this happen? Why only on some discs, and why differently on
two TVs? The only thing I can think of is that the Scarts were
different, could that be it?

Would appreciate anybody's ideas on this.

The other problem is that, through the Sharp Video Projector (an old
one, about 8 years old but still perfectly good), said Gone With the
Wind showed up with vertical coloured bands. I tried every variation
of set up on the Sharp but could not get rid of the fault, on PAL, and
of course on other settings such as N358 the picture was in black and
white. (Yet as stated the aspect ratio was CORRECT!) How can you cure
these bands, and why do I only get this problem with this DVD recorder
when pictures through the Sharp from live TV or my old Panasonic DVD
player are perfect?

A final question..I have read of people getting blocking and freezing
with some DVD-Rs, is this due to inferior media or something else?
Panasonic seem to recommend only DVD-RAM for this machine, are they
technically superior?

Thank you for any help.