I realize this post it old, but around here Spectrum Cable finally went 100% digital (as they had been threatening to do for years). Now I bet all the old CRT tvs will hit the curbs and goodwills since they need a cable box to work now.

LCD and LED newer sets still need a cable box on digital cable systems, per set.

They would not if spectrum had made the digital cable clear QAM, instead of making the dick move of going with encrypted QAM. Once I can figure out an online service that has the cable channels I want live and lets me own the box rather than renting (thanks for finding a new way to attack the wallet spectrum) my family is going to drop them.

The boxes they offer still do support the analog TVs.

...

Do they charge a monthly fee even for the simplest set top box? We don't have cable, so I'm not up to speed with the current state of things. My grandmother has a modern TV and Spectrum cable, and a few years back when they went digital in her area, she was required to install their converter box. It's a little bigger than a deck of cards, and has coax input and HDMI output. I can't recall if she has to pay a monthly fee for it.

Yup. No TV will work on cable without renting a box...It is the sleaziest scam I've seen from a utility co...There is a special hell waiting for the corporate bean counter that thought that up...I'd like to think they will spend their afterlife in an early Motel 6 with a coin box attached to everything even the floor (which will turn as hot as a frying pan if they don't feed the meter). :D

I remember when our Charter went all digital around 2012. I was using a 1983 Zenith 13" remote set at the time, and I remember coming home from school ready to watch TV, and BAM! Snowstorm.

It has a coax, channel 3 output as well.
Those bandits charge $4.00 per month, per box. :thumbsdn:

Comcast went all digital several years ago. We have the big box in the living room, and those little Motorola boxes in the bedrooms, we have to pay for all of them though. The bedroom TVs don't get as many channels as the living room TV. Sometimes if I'm watching an older set I wish we didn't have to have the box because I'd like to be able to channel surf with the original remote and not the cable box remote.

The living room cable box remote controls the TV volume and cable box and can be programmed for DVD or VCR. The bedroom units control their own channels and volume and can be programmed to turn the TV on/off only, but nothing else.

Time for a Harmony remote. I can't recommend them enough.

You won't find entire channels streaming live. You stream by program on streaming services, on demand. And subscribe to what networks you want. But you get to watch it on your schedule. ClearQAM is pretty much NOT supported. And to stream live TV continuously, better have a really generous data allowance with your ISP. Your live TV choices are antenna, satellite, or digital cable.

What about playstation vue IIRC they claim to offer exactly the service I describe. There are two reasons to want live TV, sports and cable news.

I don't do PlayStation Vue, but it might work for you. Fox news I avoid past their short radio newscast at top of hour. Sports networks I don't subscribe to.

I guess the conversation has shifted a bit away from CRT sets at goodwill. But my local goodwill does take them, but they can't sell them. So I asked why.

I was told that selling a CRT is a "liability". Basically they told me that they are afraid of potential fires, property damage, etc. Kinda odd. They told me they can't let me take any sets that would otherwise be recycled because of safety concerns. In my area they take all the CRT tvs from the two local goodwill stores (like 1 mile apart) and they put them on a truck and ship them all to a goodwill center of some sorts in Knoxville. From there all electronics are sorted. The good goes to Nashville, then to Goodwill.com for internet auctions. The bad or should I say "bad" goes to a recycling center in Knoxville.

Now taking E-waste is supposed to be illegal here as well, but at the local recycling center I do take stuff. I did it for a long time without knowing it was wrong (I mean, it's trash right?). The local center is odd though so I really do not know if there is a reason I have yet to get in trouble. A few months ago an employee sold someone a busted flatscreen for $5, and I helped them strap it to a sedan. He said it was going to get ground up anyways so why not sell it? More recently I pulled up and a little old man (WW2 vetern according to his hat) wanted a shop vac in the electronics section and was trying to lift a projection screen tv off of the hose. I helped him, got his vacuum out, and the employees saw. So is it illegal? Sure. But the ONLY places anyone cares are places where the employees get to pick through too. This is the experience I have had around Knoxville and Chattanooga. They pick through and get anything good which is why some places do have employees who hover and watch.

So IF you see something at the local e-waste just ask about it. If it is an old tube tv they'll think you're crazy, but usually you can get permission. If you don't want to ask just haul off electronics and in the shuffle trade your junk for other junk. Typically no one cares if you swap out junk. That is my experience dealing with differnet places and people though. All places and people are different so it really is hit and miss.

Good luck to all the scavengers!

Goddwills are usually nothing but ripoff places! Too high priced for my blood. Plus they never check anything out. St Vincent's are much better..at least they check everything out before it's sold. I've gotten several good sets from there and they've all worked! GoodWill??..Boy, you're taking a big gamble at that place!