Survey shows consumers aren't apt to trash analog sets post-cutover

Granted, almost half of OTA-only households in America (48-percent, to be precise) are planning on picking up a digital converter box in order to get a few more years of life out of their old set, but for those taking other routes -- like spending their stimulus checks on a new flat-panel -- it seems as if tossing 'em in the garbage is a last resort. According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association, fewer than 15 million NTSC-only TVs will be removed from homes through 2010. Of those, 95-percent will be resold, donated or recycled -- or so the owners say. We can also remember a time when Salvation Army accepted bulky, inefficient CRT computer monitors with open arms, but trying to hand one over today can be a lesson in futility depending on the store. All in all, we figure it's easy for respondents to voice good intentions, but shortly after these sets become useless in the OTA realm without a DTV converter, we have our doubts about the vast majority of them dodging the dump for very long.