Help on picking the right one...

[Jaysunn]

I recently made the huge mistake of purchasing the Lite On 5101 from Sam's Club. I thought the price was great, but let me tell you it was one problem after another. Needless to say, I am returning it.

One of my major problem with it was the fact that it scanned my TV stations, NOT the ones from my cable box! (According to the lousy instructions on setup, it was hooked up correctly.) In other words, I would have to keep it on channel 3 and actually watch the program I wanted to record. Heh, I thought this would be as simple as a VCR - WRONG!

I already have a DVD-RW in my computer that I can burn my movies onto but wanted to replace my VCR with a DVD burner. I want to record from the TV, and hopefully grab some PPV/Premium channel content as well.

I don't have a huge budget, but looking to spend probably up to $300 on something decent that I will probably use alot.

A question... is it possible to hook up a DVR with both a VCR and a DVD player? I looked all over and could find no info on the subject. It's funny, I'm a major computer freak and can build and fix computers but I feel like a babe in the woods in the electronic arena.

Right now my setup includes a TV (S-Video capable), digital cable box, stereo, vcr and dvd player. I am a bit put off by the Lite On brand (although that brand is what I prefer in my computers) simply because their instructions were so damn vague.

I've tried doing some research into the area, but I find this site MUCH more informative. Please help me decide which recorder will siut my needs? I definitely need it to detect the cable channels, not the air channels. from what I've read so far on this site, it appears that the Panasonic brand is well liked.

Thanks,

Jay

[johns0]

Theres nothing wrong with the dvd recorder,any recorder vcr or dvr cant scan the channels from your cable box,you have to set it to channel 3,no way around that with any device,just hook uo the dvr with cable in and cable out the the vcr as in a daisy chain or use a splitter and feed separate cable to all the devices and hookup the audio/video out to your tv audio/video in.

Theres different ways to hook up your system.