My 17YO son just had to buy the $798 Polaroid 42 LCD at WalMart on Black Friday, even though he only picks up channels from his antenna. It picked up all of the HD channels in our area, and the football games look great.

Now, I want to get him a <$200 DVD recorder so he can time-shift, so it'll need a tuner, and to (better?) upconvert when he watches DVDs. I guess I'll buy him the DVD-RAMs, so that ne record over and over (if I've researched correctly).

So, what recorder do you recommend? So far, I've placed the "Toshiba D-R550", "Philips DVDR3505", and "Oppo DV-981HD" (more expensive) in my shopping cart, but will probably watch prices for a while.

I have the Panasonic DMR-EZ47 and it works great! Yes you will need the DVD-Ram for timeshifting.

I have the Panasonic DMR-EZ47 and it works great! Yes you will need the DVD-Ram for timeshifting.

Isn't that a VCR combo? He wouldn't have much use for the VCR. Is there a comparable version without the VCR?

Panasonic DMR-17K fits the bill

Panasonic DMR-17K fits the billA better choice would be the Panny DMR-27K if he wants upconverting over HDMI. It can be found for around $200.00 (check Amazon).

You definitely want DVD-RAM for chase play, editing, and to keep the full-screen, 16:9 aspect. You can also re-record on them 100,000x, where with RW it's only 1000x.

(By the way, the Oppo DV-981HD is a player-only. But a very good one at that.)

I've had a Toshiba DR550 for a couple of months now and I couldn't recommend it at this point. It works great except that it "forgets" the digital channels periodically (it's happened twice in the last 3 weeks) and therefore won't record the shows you've set up. I will be sending it back to Toshiba for repair, but not sure if I'll ultimately keep the device.

Yeah, I noticed that it wasn't rated that highly on Amazon when I was looking up his choices - that's why I really didn't recommend it.

I also saw DVD-RAM mentioned, but I wasn't sure if it recorded with it, or just played them.

I plan to purchase the Panasonic DMR-27K from Amazon tomorrow, for around $200, no shipping (best price I found).

A stupid question - I'll plug the antenna into the DVDR, then connect the DVDR to the Hi Def TV via HDMI. The live HD signal will still pass through to the TV, correct? But, a recorded HD program will not come though as HD when watched, but rather more of an upconversion?

I am not sure, but I don't think the signal passes through. Do all your hookups via HDMI, component and AV for best results. Use the TV's switching capability to select input. Don't use an RF pass through.

I plan to purchase the Panasonic DMR-27K from Amazon tomorrow, for around $200, no shipping (best price I found).

A stupid question - I'll plug the antenna into the DVDR, then connect the DVDR to the Hi Def TV via HDMI. The live HD signal will still pass through to the TV, correct? But, a recorded HD program will not come though as HD when watched, but rather more of an upconversion?

What passes through to the TV via HDMI will be downrezed signal that was reupconverted,whether it is from recording or live broadcast. If you want to watch broadcast HD signal, connect the RF output from the Panny to the RF input of your TV set and use the TV tuner to tune the channels.

What passes through to the TV via HDMI will be downrezed signal that was reupconverted,whether it is from recording or live broadcast. If you want to watch broadcast HD signal, connect the RF output from the Panny to the RF input of your TV set and use the TV tuner to tune the channels.

So, then, since I'm picking up signal from an OTA antenna, there's no need for me to use an HDMI cable from the DVDR to the TV? (and, in fact, I should use the RF hookups all the way through so that I can watch broadcast HD, and record?).

And, since the DVDR has an ATSC tuner, I could record one channel and watch another correct? And, did I read correctly that a DVD-RAM recording allows me to be able to watch a recording from the beginning before it has actually finished recording?

I own a D-R550 and it's perfect for your objectives. I can't speak to its HDMI performance since I'm a component only kind of guy. But it records and plays back tape transfers, OTA captures and the like with DVD or better quality in both XP and SP modes. The ATSC tuner is the best one I've used short of my HDTV. You can hardly do better. I'd recommed it over both the Panasonic and Phillips DVDRs.

So, then, since I'm picking up signal from an OTA antenna, there's no need for me to use an HDMI cable from the DVDR to the TV? (and, in fact, I should use the RF hookups all the way through so that I can watch broadcast HD, and record?).

And, since the DVDR has an ATSC tuner, I could record one channel and watch another correct? And, did I read correctly that a DVD-RAM recording allows me to be able to watch a recording from the beginning before it has actually finished recording?

You still need the HDMI connection to watch your recordings. And yes, you can chase play on the Panny if you are using RAM discs. And you can also record and watch one of your recordings at the same time.

I own a Toshiba D-R550, and it also "forgets" all of it's channels and programming after a few days, (just like "dish-hog13" said).

I had it for only 2 weeks and sent it back for repair, they had it for 1 day, (not long enough to troubleshoot or actually "see" the problem), they supposedly re-flashed the firmware and sent it back to me. Two days after setting it back up, it forgot all the channels and settings again. I called them back to get a replacement, (since I have only owned it for 3-4 weeks now) and they refused, they told me to send it in for repair again. This time I am waiting for a call tag so that I do not have to pay for the return, and I have been waiting a week for that.

I will NEVER buy a Toshiba product again.

Toshiba's are made by Funai, which also makes the Philips and Magnavox hard drive models out now that have similar digital tuner issues. So I'm not surprised to hear that.

Actually, mine "forgets" everything except date and time. Not only the channel programming but all settings. In other words, it goes back to factory default.

I also do have a problem with the digital tuner too. There is one local digital channel that won't come in at all, (even though it does on 2 other TV's I have with digital tuners), and another digital channel that comes in on a different channel, (it is channel 55.1 but comes in as 30.1).

If this thing comes back from being repaired a second time and still does not work, I guess I will just toss it and get a different brand, about $200 down the drain.

I was also leaning towards HD-DVD instead of Blu ray, but not any more.

Radio:

Have you noticed a difference in the device forgetting everything if you don't turn it off? I know you have to power it down in order to do timer recording (which seems to be ancient technology), but when you don't have a upcoming program that you've setup to record, you might try leaving it on all the time. That's what I've been doing and so far it hasn't forgotten anything in a little over a week (fingers crossed).

dish-hog

Thanks for the suggestion, I have not tried that.

If the unit still does this after it comes back from the second repair, I might have to try it. Of course, if the call tag does not come soon, I might as well try it now.

I have done a little more investigating on the net and found out that amazon.com has several reviews of this unit from people that have the exact same problem.