I was able to get one of these on BF for a final cost of $900. I've had no issues with it and love the picture quality. It is difficult to adjust the picture using Digital Video Essentials because it leaves the entire menu up, which gets in the way of the test video.
I don't quite understand the issue with 16:9, as I don't have HDTV to verify, but utilizing a Progressive Scan DVD player hooked up through the Component outputs, when I play a 16:9 Anamorphic DVD, the whole video fills the screen. I do not see any additional black bars. Is it only an issue when playing HDTV sources? To me, the black bars don't bother me.