Posted by Bill's News on 12/10/06 23:36

Bert Hyman wrote:
> I'd like to replace my aging VCR with a DVD recorder of some
> sort,
> but wonder if I'll be able to control one through my Dish
> Network
> satellite box.
>
<snip>

Since this is an opinion forum, here's mine:

To get the best recordings from my cable supplier I use their
HDVRs. They're equipped to record the digital and HDTV signals
from the cable, have a reasonable guide and program search
capability, and store anywhere from 9 hours of HDTV to 5 times
that for SD TV - and WHEN they break, the cable company will
come to me and fix or replace them at no additional charge.

The mo-2-mo cost is dearer than buying a bottom-of-the-line HDD
DVDR which survives two years or more, but I have no issues with
quality, media costs, finalizing, cable cards, or other extras
that are not in the sales price of an independent device.

BUT - and this is a big BUT - if you must end up with an
achievable copy, these devices do not hack it. That's not to
say that there are not other ways to archive, but then - we're
back to square one;-)

It very much depends on what quality you want when viewing and
what you're willing to pay to get it! I use cable because OTA
here is poor. You use DISH for your own reasons, but these are
presumably important to you.

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