Last night I had an idea. Certain DTV converter boxes, like the one made by thomson/RCA actually have physical channel buttons on the front of the box.
Say you had a Zenith with space command or some other set with an ultrasonic remote and receiver. Would it be possible to modify the DTV box so that the space command receiver could actuate the channel change on the box? My idea is to replace the momentary switches on the DTV box with relays, disconnect the tuner motor from the space command reciever, and connect it to the relays. That way, the channel function on a vintage remote set would still work after the 2009 analog cutoff, and a vintage daily watcher could retain full remote functionality. If there was enough space inside the cabinet, the DTV box could even be hidden, though some shielding may be necessary. Any thoughts, comments?