DTV on standard NTSC TVs

[Jeffhs]

When a DTV converter box is used with an older NTSC television, I realize there will be black bars on either side of the picture (letterbox effect) as if the picture was a 16:9 one being viewed on a flat panel (I've seen this on TV commercials, whereas the program itself is a full-screen image). How does a converter box handle this? Is there a zoom button on the converter remote to change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3, as with flat-panel sets? I wonder about this because I am very new to DTV, having purchased my first FP set two months ago, and because I saw a picture in another, very recent post to this forum of a 1971 RCA console color set (CTC-44A) that showed a full picture on its 25" screen. Was that picture from a TV broadcast or a DVD? I did see what appears to be a converter box atop the television cabinet, so my best guess is the picture is from the former, probably in NTSC format since the image is full-screen, no letterboxing.

BTW, how much longer will we VKers (and anyone else) using converter boxes with older TVs be able to use these boxes? I ask because many cable systems are converting to 100 percent digital, and reception of local broadcast channels on many if not most systems will require the use of the cable operator's own cable boxes after a certain date. Time Warner Cable in my area is already digital (all major network TV stations in Cleveland show as DTV channels on my flat-panel's channel indicator), but I understand there is a hard date some time in 2012 by which time all U.S. cable systems will have to convert to full digital. It will not be an option.

Time-Warner Cable here in northeastern Ohio may be completely digital, however, but the company does offer an analog cable hookup (no box required) that provides all broadcast channels and digital subchannels such as RTV, MeTV, Antenna TV and four subchannels of the PBS station here, not to mention standard cable. To get every digital channel on the cable (upwards of 120 channels), however, one must upgrade to a level of service that requires the use of a box. Is there any such thing as an ATSC digital flat-panel TV that will receive literally every channel on every North American (i. e. US and Canadian) cable system without ever having to use a cable box? I imagine the cable companies wouldn't like seeing such a set on the market, as they get a lot of their operating revenues from the rental of cable boxes and the sheer price of digital cable service itself. I once had Time-Warner digital cable with a cable box on one of my analog TVs, and was paying well over $100 each month for it; then I downgraded to standard analog cable and was paying $55.67 monthly. I don't know what I'm paying for analog cable now, as my cable service is part of a bundle -- cable, home telephone and Internet service.