[Jeffhs]

My cable service is through Time Warner, which some time ago converted every one of its systems to digital. I still get broadcast channels (plus DTV subchannels), with the rest coming in (according to the info box on my flat screen) as NTSC. I recently asked one of the customer service representatives at TW if there is anything still being carried in NTSC (analog) format on their systems; the answer was no -- everything is digital, no analog whatsoever.

TW has already moved four channels (ShopNBC, Speed, Travel Channel, and just last week, TV Guide Network) from standard cable to digital (standard QAM), so these stations are unavailable without a cable box.

I don't know what other standard cable channels may be next in line to be sent to QAM land, but in all honesty I don't care -- as long as the cable company leaves the broadcast channels and their DTV subchannels alone. Antenna TV and MeTV, on channels 8.2 and 19.2 on Time Warner respectively, are the only non-network channels I watch regularly anyway. For movies and classic shows not carried on those two networks, I have Netflix and a collection of DVDs, so I don't need cable to get them anymore. Just as well, as TV Land, Nick at Nite and A&E dropped most of their classic shows some years ago.