I NOW have 4 freaking remotes & ALL I want is my 25" console! OK, so now that I have the D-A box by 'law'...?

Well, several people have already beat you to the punch. WinTV for instance, already patented the kind of technology you are talking about on No. 1. Plus, to have that in a regular television would also greatly increase its cost and with our current economy and inflation, sorry Charlie. As for No. 2, not quite sure where your getting at, you can get a Digital to og Converter box, which can control volume, channels, ect. The smartest thing you could come up with is an Universal Remote that can control and support Digital TVs, og TVs, and Digital Converter Boxes. So that everything can be controlled by the same remote control. Trust me, larger corporations are more than likely already doing that.