It does appear to be an error, but one that has been circulated at least since 2008. I don't know, but I wonder whether it originated in some manufacturer's manual, or on a TV menu? The error is present on these pages, for example: http://www.findayes.com/hair/black/why-does-my-widescreen-tv-still-show-the-black-bars-top-and-bottom-of-a-widescreen-movie.html http://hdtvask.com/plasma/plasma-27.html http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080606195843AAN9DdK
Most films are shown widescreen on TV here now, even 2:35:1 is becoming quite normal on network TV here.