Will TV's with no cable box survive the digital conversion?

I recently asked the General Manager of WPXT-TV in Portland, Maine (Doug Finck) if a consumer who did not have a cable box, meaning the cable wire goes directly into the TV, would need to make any changes before the February 17, 2009 digital conversion date. This was Doug's response:

"Funny that you would ask that specific question. I was at Time Warner last week discussing that exact subject with Melinda Poore, their VP of Government and Community Relations.
In theory, if there are no more analog signals, then cable will only be sending the new digital signals which will render an analog TV useless. If that is the case I don't believe the converter boxes will help...but I'm not sure, never having seen a converter box. What you're really asking is whether or not cable will be allowed to downconvert the digital signal and deliver an analog version. That would seem to defeat the goal of moving to digital television and to open the door for a cable company to charge for the conversion service, by adding a surcharge to the delivery of a local TV station's signal! Neither Melinda nor I are clear about the answer and I have asked the NAB for some guidance.

Here's the scenario. We currently provide our signal to Time Warner via a fiber optic cable. That fiber optic line carries both our analog and digital signals (including high def). Assuming we continue to offer both signals, TW could take our analog signals and sell it to their subscribers for a modest additional monthly payment. From a consumer perspective, that would be the easiest answer, especially if you have a house full of TVs and VCRs and don't want to have to downconvert all of them from digital to analog. Because of the political ramifications of this scenario, I think there will have to be an FCC ruling.

I'll check but I don't believe that the converter boxes the government is pushing, will work with a "raw" cable feed."

So as you can see the jury is still out but it would appear that right now, if you don't use a cable box, you may have serious issues when the whole television system changes to digital. I sincerely hope that this is not a reason for cable companies to charge yet even more money to the consumer but I suspect that's exactly what will happen. If you want more information on getting digital/High Definition TV without dealing with cable companies, search this blog. It does come with some sacrifice but if you are not a high-end user of all the cable stations you receive, there are alternatives.