Thanks for the replies!
Sydman - I can confirm that the Pearl shows them widescreen...very, very tiny, but wide screen.
Daphne - Thanks for the suggestion. The browser was set to Page View, and I'll give it a shot, but I don't have high hopes that going from full-screen browsing to column mode would make the video look right.
You must be right - maybe few Tour owners watch Youtube videos. I was pretty surprised that I couldn't find any discussion of this issue in this forum...I thought I just wasn't using the right search terms, but maybe folks just aren't doing it or don't care.
Bummer for me if this is the way it's going to be...the main reason I'm thinking about upgrading from my Pearl (and its beloved small form factor and suretype keyboard) is for more memory and a bigger screen for browsing, email, and watching streaming and SD card videos. Much of the Youtube content that I tend to watch seems to be widescreen, and the compressed view of that on the Tour is bad.
Hmmm...maybe the Storm2, gets me WiFi, but then I lose a real keyboard and get a phone that weighs as much as a boat anchor. ;)