Dish Network DVR dilemma
 

I have been waiting for some time now before getting a set top dvd recorder setup. I have a dish network HD pvr setup, panasonic rp82, all connected to an onkyo dts receiver. I am not sure how I would add a dvd recorder to this setup, considering I am using toslink to hook the dvd player, and coax to hook the dvr into the onkyo receiver. The dvd player and dvr are connected to the television with dvi cables. Considering my connections are maxed out, and I cant record content to disc in HD format (yet)

what would you recommend I get and connect a dvd recorder to at least record to disc some of the SD content I have recorded to the PVR?

Also, I see a lot of burners on the market that also contain a Hard drive, what use to me would this be considering I already have a pvr?

If you aren't using a DVD recorder to actually play DVDs, I don't really think you need to connect it to the receiver. Do you have a spare RCA connection on the TV? I wouldn't care about the recorder output quality, it's the inputs from the DVR that are more important.

I don't see much point in getting a recorder with a harddrive unless you have another spare receiver (non-DVR) sitting around you could hook it up to a different TV.

I have a DVR and a basic DVDR. I see no need for the HDD-based DVDRs with my Tivo. But that is also because I'm not too concerned about the quality of my archived discs. I mean I don't remove commercials or worry about designing my own chapter breaks or menus. (I am concerned about picture quality, but that has nothing to do with the HDD) So it really depends on your intended usage.

I do have my DVDR hooked up so I can playback if necessary, even though I use a different player for watching DVDs. If nothing else, you need to see the onscreen menu for finishing DVDs or other functions. And to make sure you are recording from the proper source. I don't care about the output quality, either. But you do need to be able to see it. Audio probably doesn't matter at all once you are sure the DVDR is receiving audio correctly. You could just leave this without an audio output if necessary, or go analog (red/white RCAs) as Chew suggested. You probably have a CD input or something on the receiver that you aren't using.