Here in the UK most of the digital broadcasts, especially on the 5 main
channels, are in 16:9 anamorphic (720x576 I believe), so I think if
they're just scaled to full-screen (you can just pretend you're showing
a 4:3 programme on a 4:3 screen and not worry about pixel shape) that
should work. Most of the shows that are 4:3 are also broadcast in a 4:3
720x576 frame, and it's fine to show them full-screen too, because every
16:9 TV I've seen has some sensible options to compensate for that. This
is what the DXR3 plugin does (when patched so it will handle a 16:9 TV).
There are a few shows that are broadcast in 16:9 frames without taking
up the full frame, but I don't know whether they're broadcast as, say,
540x576 or 720x576 with the borders already added. I won't mind if these
sometimes get shown the wrong shape by VDR, because it's only stuff like
news.
Are 16:9 TVs and shows still quite rare in Germany? It seems quite
strange to me that they're so poorly supported by various VDR plugins
and xine.
Take into account that in France, many channels broadcast 16:9 shows in
a "reduced letterbox" format : say 720x400 with additionnal horizontal
black bars on top and bottom of the image... Which leave a pityful 200
lines or so worth of actual video. This is awful on a 16:9 TV, as even
expanding the image vertically on the TV set (thus enlarging space
between scan lines) does not get back to a square pixel shape...