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Hi, I've been kind of confused about DVD recorders, so I've put off buying one, but I would really like to get one, and I thought that people on this board could answer some of the questions I have.

1) First, I was looking for a DVD recorder with a hard drive for storing longer movies, but I'm having a hard time finding them - have they been largely discontinued? If so, will they be manufactured again soon?

2) I have an old Replay TV - if I don't get a DVD recorder with a hard drive - and I decide to just just use the hard drive on the Replay TV to record onto a DVD recorder, will that work - aside from having to make the recording in real time, are there any other drawbacks - mainly, will there be a difference in quality between this set-up and a DVD recorder with an internal hard drive - and if so, will this difference be noticeable?

2) Sometimes when I look at a description of a DVD recorder, there's a line that states that it doesn't have a digital tuner. How much of an a problem is this - I currently have a digital cable box, but an analog TV. What features should I be concerned about if I don't want the recorder to become outdated by the changeovers to digital TV and HD, or other upcoming changes?

3) Among the other features that I think I want are: upconverting to near HD playback, a DV input, ability to play DVD + and - R, ability to play VCDs (though that last one is perhaps the least important) - does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks so much, in advance.

Spiky

1) Huh, they do seem to be pretty scarce. Don't know why. Wasn't like that last time I looked, which was probably a few weeks ago.

2 (the 1st) Yes, it will work. I'm very happy doing this with my Tivos. I record to DVD while sleeping or watching other sources so I don't interfere with the recorder and the Tivo playing to it.

2 (the 2nd) Since all these have TV tuners to record directly from antenna, the new thing is that they all have ATSC (HDTV) tuners. That comment at Amazon or other places is to say this older model does not have an HD tuner and will not work with an antenna after 2/17/09. That will be true even with your non-HDTV that you have now. But you have cable. This will have very little impact if you get all your TV from cable, not an antenna.

3) Panasonic. Whichever fits all your features.

Spiky

Oh, btw....just because they have ATSC tuners does NOT mean they can record to DVD in HD resolution or colorspace. It downconverts and records SD analog to DVD. Now, HDTV recorded onto DVD does look great, comparable to the best purchased DVDs out there, but it is not HD anymore.

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Spiky,

Thanks so much for your very clear and helpful answers!