Simple newbie stand alone question.

[mackgee]

I have never researched stand alone DVD recorders until now, and only because my partents would like one for x-mas. My simple question is when using a standalone DVD recorder are you restricted to 60 mins of video per DVD-R/RW?

[Racer2x]

No, but just like vcr tapes, as you increase recording times, you DECREASE the recording quality. As a result, I NEVER go beyond 3 hrs. on a disc.

[steveryan]

No.

[redwudz]

Most any DVR will give you options for 2, 4, 6, 8 hours or even longer.

Here's a link to a FAQ about DVRs :

http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdrecorderfaqs/a/dvdrecfaqintro.htm

Most have tuners and you hook your cable TV through them and use them about the same way you use a VCR. The ones with the hard drives on board are well worth the extra cost. You record to the hard drive and just make DVDs if you want. Much more versatile.

I would read the reviews for the models you are interested in. Some are fairly easy to operate and a few are difficult, with a steeper learning curve. The ones with a built in TV guide sort of selection are popular and make programming easier. It make take a bit of research to find one that suits the way you want to use it.