I know there's never one correct answer to these types of questions, but I was hoping those here could point in the right direction:

I live in New York City and I want to buy a DVD recorder primarily for making high-quality back-up DVDs of movies I've saved to my Time-Warner DVR cable box (mostly from Turner Classic Movies). I currently have an SD DVR from Time Warner Cable, but I will be very soon upgrading to an HD DVR from Time Warner (I've already upgraded my TV to an LCD). Secondarily I'd also like to be able to make DVD back-ups of some of my (non-copy protected) VHS tapes. I'm looking to spend between $100 and $400.

I know DVD recorders only record in SD so I'm assuming that I don't need to look for features on a recorder that would be specific to an HD-DVR, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

If possible, I'd like the discs I record to be compatible with my OPPO player (this will remain my principle DVD player regardless of the recorder I purchase), so I know I need to check the disc compatibility (-R vs +R) of my OPPO player against any recorder I buy.

Given my primary purpose for getting a recorder are there specific brand or model recommendations? Any specific features I should look out for (or avoid)?

Thanks!

See if B&H Photo still has some Pioneer DVR-640H recorders. They are excellent and meet all your stated needs.

See if B&H Photo still has some Pioneer DVR-640H recorders. They are excellent and meet all your stated needs.

Thank you! One more question: if I get DVD recorder with a hard drive would there be any significant advantage to getting a DVR cable box from Time Warner, or should I save the $8.95 a month?

The DVR's serve a different purpose in that they are always buffering whatever program is being watched so you can instantly pause or replay live TV. You only could do this with a DVD recorder when you have it in record mode. DVR's usually have two tuners so you can record two different programs at once and can record the digitial and HD channels.

A DVD recorder with hard drive doesn't have all those DVR capabilities. It does, however, let you edit what you record which a DVR cannot do. The reason to own a DVD recorder is that you want to create a library of DVDs. The reason to own a DVD Recorder with hard drive is you don't want those DVDs to be full of commercials or other unwanted content. Meanwhile the Pioneer recorder has some nice music and photo features to add to its primary purpose.

You might be able to do some of the same things on the DVDr as the DVR but it's a much better experience on the DVR. Plus, usually there's little cost diff between an HD box and an HD DVR. With the current crop of DVDrs you can't timeshift HD material - you need the DVR for that. Again, don't underestimate the value of the 2 tuners in the DVR.

If you're not using the DVDr for timeshifting (like the DVR) and make mainly 1-1 copies of stuff you don't really need an expensive HDD equipped unit. The HDD just makes timeshifting and editing much easier.

Thanks! A lot of great information. I'll definitely stick with my cable company's HD-DVR box regardless of the type of recorder I go with. I'm leaning toward the Pioneer 640 with the hard drive because I can afford it, and I might as well get as much capability out of a piece of equipment as possible. Though right now I'm not planning on doing any editing, but who knows what the future will hold.

Thanks again!