I'm new at this, I have an aspect ratio question that's bugging me

[Mallards]

I have a Samsung 46" 1080p LCD HDTV and I use DirecTV for normal programming. I used to have a Pioneer 1080p upconvert DVD player which I found worked quite well. I received a Sony BD300 Bluray player for Christmas, and although the picture is amazing, it doesn't take up the whole screen, meaning I have the black letterbox bands at the top and bottom. I own 4 BDs so far, and have rented a few and it's the same with all of them no matter what the aspect ratio on the box says, like Terminatior 2 says 16/9 ratio and others like Pirates of the Carribean 3 are the 2:45:1 or whatever it is.

Am I crazy or did my old Pioneer utilize all of my 16/9 widescreen which I loved, but all HD 1080p sources kinda lose that ability??

Any help is greatly appreciated!