[Jeffhs]

I have an RCA (Thomson) 19" (the set shown in my avatar) and a Zenith 19" TV that both work very well on digital cable. The RCA has only had one repair in the eight years I've had it, and the picture is as good as the day I bought it; the Zenith is 12 years old and hasn't had one repair yet. The picture on the Zenith is great as well and the set still has its original CRT, as does the RCA.

I agree with Jordan that HDTV flat-panel sets are little more that glorified computer monitors, and that they don't last more than a couple of years. Another problem with flat panels is, in many cases, the video driver ICs are molded into the cable that connects the panel to the chassis, and the cable itself is, like as not, hard-wired at both ends; when one of those ICs go bad, the entire panel is rendered useless, even if the panel itself still has plenty of life left in it.

It is for these reasons that I fully intend to keep my two analog TVs until the wheels fall off, figuratively speaking. Both sets are working fine now, and frankly I don't see the RCA going bad for some time to come. When it does finally gasp its last breath, I'll just pull my 19" Zenith out of my bedroom and watch it until it finally dies; then, and only then, will I consider getting a flat-panel. I've toyed with the idea of getting a 15" Magnavox FP as are advertised in Best Buy and Circuit City newspaper advertising flyers, but I don't want a set with a picture not much larger than a slightly oversized postage stamp. When I finally get a FP, I will look for a set with a picture at least as big as my analog TVs.