Unfortunately, NBC has yet to pull their heads out and convert the shows you mentioned to their proper aspect ratio on the digital broadcast. So yes, you will get 4 black bars on each side. Since the 4 black bars are being broadcast, most, if not all tvs or projectors will think this is a proper 16x9 broadcast and it will not be able to convert it automatically. I have a Mits HDTV and I cannot zoom on 1080i content even if I wanted to. I understand that many HDTVs have a zoom feature for 1080i which would be great for the NBC situation. Good luck, and don't let this joke of a network keep you from going high def.