Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I need help! I want a small pocket camcorder but I'm not sure which one to get. I don't want to fall into the hype of the Flip because I worry two hours won't be enough. What should I be looking for when considering a small camcorder and where can I get a good quality one with expandable memory? Thanks!"
The analog shutoff does not affect cable. Only OTA. I am not sure I understand the overcompressed signal argument. I get all my HD through OTA and they are not overcompressed. If you are getting your analog channels through cable, you will not have to do anything. You can continue to get it through analog cable. Most OTA channels are not overcompressed.