Analog cable stations broadcast at 10 bit-depth which is a very low grade picture

[Jeffhs]

I've been recording analog TV programs since the transition, and have had no problems with picture quality. My cable carries all local TV stations in SD and HD, and, again, I see no loss of image quality (except that the picture does not fill the screen on my 19" flat panel TV) when viewing the SD feed. The tapes are perfectly watchable when I play them back on my Panasonic VCR; in fact, I just recently watched a tape I had made of an episode of "Criminal Minds" on ION TV (channel 23 in my area). Again, no loss of picture quality that I could see when I watched the program.