I still have analog cable (Time Warner) here near Cleveland. ATSC from the headend is converted to analog NTSC (broadcast channels only) and sent to my TV -- the set doesn't know the difference; it works just as if it were hooked up to an antenna. The set's remote, a $5 General Electric four-device universal that also controls my VCR and DVD, works just as it did before the DTV transition.
For Zenithfan1: I don't know what you're missing; a remote is a remote. Your ATSC->NTSC converter box (OTA or cable) almost certainly has an IR (infrared) remote that may not click as the old-school ones did when buttons are pressed, but it likely changes channels, turns the set on and off (unless your box is one of the new ones that does not have a switched AC outlet), turns the volume up and down and mutes the sound; what more could you ask for?
