Hello All,

I would like to purchase a DVD/VHS combo recorder to replace my old VCR. I would like to have a built in digital tuner, HDMI output and something that is reliable as my 10 year old VCR. Any recommendations?

Thanks Bob

>> Still using my 950 and don’t see a reason to upgrade

I haven't shopped for this sort of product in a while, so I can't recommend any specific models. I've heard decent things about both JVC and Toshiba recorders recently, though, so those are the two I'd look more closely at. Might also see what Panasonic has to offer.

Thanks Gonk,

Why are they a dieing breed. Is everyone just using Tivo now? Thanks Bob

I think so - DVR's have taken over for time shifting TV shows, and DVD has taken over for home movies. Pure VHS decks have disappeared completely, and there's fairly little emphasis on standalone DVD recorder decks (with or without VHS included) as far as I can tell. It's sort of like standard DVD players, although there are at least a few smaller manufacturers (Denon/Marantz being probably the biggest) that are doing some high-end offerings for DVD players.

bobm

Here is where I am confused. You have to pay a monthly service fee for TIVO. There seems to be few standalone DVR's as well? I have not upgraded to digital cable but is time shifting TV shows all build in now to the cable service?

Cable services and satellite services typically offer DVR services for an extra monthly charge (we pay something like $7 a month for DVR, at which point the HD DVR box in the den - which we pay the same rate for as for the HD non-DVR box in the bedroom - gives us "Tivo-like" capabilities). Tivo typically costs a bit more, but they are marketing their version or DVR software as a reason for the extra cost.

You can also get hard drive-based DVR units that are standalone and require no monthly fee. The principle difference is the "brains" behind them - a standalone box may not have the same ability to grab program guides and know to record new episodes of certain shows, for example. For a number of years, we used our Panasonic DVD recorder (a DMR-E80 with built-in hard drive) to time-shift TV, but the trick was that I had to manually set up the timers to record shows. Of course, the flip side was that I could go through and edit out ads before we watched or even burn to DVD-R, although the 8 or 10 minutes it took me to cut all the ads out of an hour-long show (thus allowing us to watch that show together in about 42 minutes without needing to grab the remote) ceased to fit into any sort of daily schedule once our daughter was born...

Thanks Gonk that was helpfull. It looks like my cable compnay changes $18/Month for the DVR. Yikes, I will have to call them. Bob