DVD players that record from TV?

I'm looking into getting a DVD player that can record TV shows to give to my parents. I'm curious if anyone has experience with them, or can at least tell me what kinds of features I need to look for (e.g., do I need one with a built-in tuner?).

Currently, my parents are still using VCRs. Their cable tv box doesn't let them record one show while watching another, so they have two VCRs, one for each TV. They still have an old 27-inch TV, and they don't think that upgrading to HD is worth the cost.

I'm thinking a DVD-recorder would be less expensive than a cable-company DVR or TIVO, since there's no monthly fee. Anything I get would have to be easy to use.

Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions...

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Originally Posted by ny biker

I'm looking into getting a DVD player that can record TV shows to give to my parents. I'm curious if anyone has experience with them, or can at least tell me what kinds of features I need to look for (e.g., do I need one with a built-in tuner?).

Currently, my parents are still using VCRs. Their cable tv box doesn't let them record one show while watching another, so they have two VCRs, one for each TV. They still have an old 27-inch TV, and they don't think that upgrading to HD is worth the cost.

I'm thinking a DVD-recorder would be less expensive than a cable-company DVR or TIVO, since there's no monthly fee. Anything I get would have to be easy to use.

Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions...

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Check with the cable provider. We have a DVR than with record one show while watching another, or two shows at once. If you pro rate it it still maybe be cheaper than a TIVO

We have a DVD that we can record with, but because of the way our cable works (stupid Comcast), the cable box has to be set to the channel we want to record. You can't record one thing and watch another. I'm sure this is intentional on their part. If it were entirely up to me, I'd get the cable provided DVR, but then again, I'm trying to watch less tv, so maybe it's a good thing.

TIVO (which I'll admit we have and love - we have a seriously low grandfathered rate of something like $4 a month though, since we've had it for years and years) or a similar DVR may well be worth the monthly fee just because you won't have to purchase recordable DVD's and the hassle factor is very, very low....

We also had a DVD recorder - we had been taping cycling for a friend of ours and had a chance to get a DVD recorder on ebay cheap so we went for it. It was really quite a pain in the behind... The recorder didn't always make a viable DVD... sometimes you would get to the end of a recording and it would error and spit out a frisbee... It was super picky about the media - not all brands of disc would perform well. We were recording off of the TIVO too - so we had a chance to do it again if it goofed - which you wouldn't off the air. It also had the disadvantage of not being able to record if you weren't watching - so it couldn't really be used to record something live if you weren't at home - another nice feature of a DVR.

Might the Magnavox MDR515H/F7 fit their needs? Can be seen here:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-M...Tuner/15080509

Maybe that model is overkill with the hard drive and all. Magnavox does have a DVD Recorder & 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR. I have a similar one of these since I still have old vcr tapes we like to watch.

Here is a great site for lots of info on dvd recorders:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=106

I don't have cable, so no cable box, just antennas on the roof. So, for my old analog tv I do need a digital converter box (tuner) for the digital stations. Actually we get great HD reception on our hdtv with the antenna as the digital signals travel over the air! I am not sure how your parents' tv with the cable box would hook up with the dvd recorder.

We have Dish Network and have a DVR with them. We pay, I think, $6 a month for it to us it's worth while because we set it to record a specific show (such as Doctor Who and Formula One races) and it will always record the new shows without having to reset it each week and check and make sure there's a new show or figure out F1's schedule.