In addition to DVRs, some companies also sell combination DVD/VCR recorders. They're not as convenient as a
DVR, but they won't make your whole videotape collection instantly obsolete, either.
There are a couple of other things to keep in mind as you make the leap:
• The VCR section of a DVD/VCR recorder cannot record digital broadcasts. You can, however, record shows on DVD-RWs or DVD-RAMs, both of which are erasable just like analog videotapes.
• Whether you get a
DVR or a DVDR, make sure the model you buy has its own built-in
DTV tuner. Not all models do because so many people who buy them also subscribe to cable or satellite service. It's very difficult, sometimes impossible, to export signals from a TV tuner to a recorder. (You'd have to leave the TV turned on and tuned to the desired channel for a timed recording, and this wouldn't work at all if you wanted to record two shows on different channels while you're out of the house!) One big advantage of this approach: You can watch one show on the TV while recording another on the deck.
• Over-the-air broadcasts will get you ABC, CBS, Fox, Ion, NBC and PBS, and possibly a wide range of rerun- and old-movie-based networks on subchannels such as RTV, This TV, Dot-2 Network, etc. The "standard" cable networks -- ESPN, HGTV, Oxygen, USA, FX, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, MTV, and so forth -- won't be available. Needless to say, the movie and premium networks aren't
OTA, either.
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