I wanted to share this find after seeing so much interest regarding this subject:
After going crazy trying various techniques to get an anamorhic recording via my cable box, I've finally found a great solution: Pinnacle's PCTV To Go sends the video to my PC and allows me to copy the movie in MPEG2 (quality adjustable) with the correct aspect ratio.
The A/V quality is great, as the finished product resembles a well-authored commercial SD DVD. And the system itself is rock solid; I've copied at least a dozen movies so far without any type of glitch.

The Pinnacle system has many great features and is well worth a look. ;)

im assuming your playing these anamorphic recordings on a w/s tv. have you tried playing them on a 4x3 tv? if done right there will be letterboxex on all 4 sides on the 4x3 tv and smaller or no letterboxes on top/bottom of w/s tv. but hey, who watches 4x3 now anyway? i hope its working 4 u.

Yes, the finished DVD will react the same as a commercially made Anamorphic widescreen DVD.

Yes, the finished DVD will react the same as a commercially made Anamorphic widescreen DVD.
thats so cool!

videonut - my guess is that you are connecting your STB to the pinnacle via componet. Is this the case?

The fact that the pinnacle offers component inputs makes it a sweet device.