Glad to hear that it's up and running!

You mentioned that the TV is circa 1996, right? That means it's a 4:3 aspect ratio, I'd expect. In that case, I would anticipate black bars for a widescreen show like Lost in order to preserve the aspect ratio - as you say, the size (or more specifically the shape) of the screen requires the bars to avoid stretching vertically or cropping off the sides.