Lobster wrote in
:

Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this...

My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon.
We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something
to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at
a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving
for posterity here.

So the choice is between (a) a hard-disk-type recorder; (b) a DVD-R or
-RW machine; or (c) another VCR.

I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a
blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that
tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere -
but have some concerns...

For example, all these machines give widely varying hour capacities,
depending on the recording speed. How realistic are these - how good
is the quality likely to be at lowest resolution? How many Gb should
I rely on for an hours-worth of viewing?

I didn't think an 80gig drive would be enough for all my timeshifting,
which averages about 7 x 3 or 4 hour tapes, so I waited for a 160gig,
and then I got a Sony 250gig, which came out about the same time.

What an overkill! 160 would have been loads.

Also this 2.5 GB per hour is at standard play, which is vastly superior
to VHS, so you can easily extend; I've not tried lower rates, but I'd be
surprised if the longest play was much inferior to VHS

I would suggest a builtin DVD recorder as well, there's always a
possibility of archiving, also as a buffer if you manage to push the HD
capacity. And you can use your present DVD player elsewhere.

The advantages you've described are even greater in practice: I don't
know how I managed before.

mike