Yes, some models leave out particular sections of circuitry which are not applicable to the intended market. But these days so many parts of the set are in large-scale integrated circuits that the functionality is still there. For example, many modern sets use a multi-mode color decoder IC which supports NTSC, PAL, and SECAM by applying a selection voltage to the appropriate pin, so they just mask out the options that don't want you to see in the menu programming.
Trumpy,
The widescreen sets are a 16:9 aspect ratio. This is actually another thing which is bugging me somewhat. 16:9 mode is fine for watching widescreen movies broadcast in that format, but "regular" TV is 4:3.
So many of these sets have a default setting which stretches the normal 4:3 broadcast picture to fit a 16:9 screen, resulting in lots of fat-faced people and flattened circles and squares. Considering the huge amount of work in the earlier days of TV devoted to obtaining the best linearity and picture geometry possible, I find it ironic that many people now put up with this horrible distortion just to fill the whole screen.
Some don't actually realize that there's an option to switch to 4:3 mode for normal broadcasts.
*An aside: Early British broadcasts were actually 5:4 aspect ratio. The 4:3 ratio was standardized in the late 1940s.
