Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this...
My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving for posterity here.
So the choice is between (a) a hard-disk-type recorder; (b) a DVD-R or
-RW machine; or (c) another VCR.
I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns...
For example, all these machines give widely varying hour capacities, depending on the recording speed. How realistic are these - how good is the quality likely to be at lowest resolution? How many Gb should I rely on for an hours-worth of viewing?
What about all these downloadable programming guides etc? Are you always locked in to have to pay a monthly sub, plus daily phone calls, on top of the initial purchase price?
Finally, I wonder whether it's too early to be buying an HD machine, are they likely to improve massively in price and quality over the next 1-2 years, as we've seen with DVDs? Therefore maybe a cheapo stopgap VCR would be best? Or a DVD-R (but you've still got the DVDs to find and lose!)
I look forward to your views!
David