Dolby Digital input in a recorder?

[LawnCowboy]

I've been looking around and can't seem to see why a DVD recorder won't have a digital coax or optical INPUT? I'd like to hook up to my standalone HDTV tuner through the composite video and get the digital audio on the dvd instead of just analog RCA jacks / 2 channel stereo.... am I missing something here??? seems logical to me although I'm sure they figure most people use the tuner that comes in the dvd recorder unit... perhaps there are units with ATSC tuners in them? kinda defeats the purpse I understand since dvd can only record with a certain resolution.... but I'd buy one! but maybe the digital input is an issue of space? ie digital input would require more capacity for the soundtrack on the dvd and thus take away from the video quality?

How about a DVR for OTA (over the air) HDTV??? I'm really not that technically minded as most of you yet these issues seem simple and yet I can't find answers online... guess I haven't looked long enough???

Thanks for the help!
Brian

[LawnCowboy]

oh, and I actually would use S-Video and NOT composite video hook up... which also brings the question, what about a COMPONENT video hook up??? that yields a slightly better picture than S-vid right?

[LawnCowboy]

just to be clear... talking about the INPUT when I say hook up.... I know most machines have these digital outputs.. just baffles me why there wouldn't be some with the INPUTS also!?!?

[RabidDog]

Maybe they dont want dvd player to recorder hookups. or hidef player to (SD) dvd recorder..
U want a dvr 4 OTA HDTV not SDTV using ATSC? I'm not sure there is any OTA hi-def DVB in USA? FTV or FTA? I doubt it..maybe someone who lives in the USA can confirm or deny. HTPC or MCPC?

[Noahtuck]

There was one announced back in 2003 but as far as i know it was never released and i have heard nothing further about them since

But we can dream 8)
I know i'd buy one in a hot second!!

http://www.smr-home-theatre.org/ces2003/sources/page_02.shtml

Even more intriguing is Philips’ upcoming DVDR90 (not shown at CES), due out in Q3 at a targeted $999 price point. Retaining the same feature base, this higher-end model will introduce Dolby Digital 5.1 audio recording, a welcome addition in light of the increasing 5.1 content broadcast by digital cable and satellite providers. The DVDR90 will also add a Digital HDMI output. In the red-hot DVD recorder market, feature sets are emerging as the true discriminants – since all manufacturers support the DVD-R standard for commercial software and rental disks, the differences between the additional proprietary formats, whether DVD+R/RW, DVD-RAM, or DVD-R/RW, are less essential than in other format wars.