I hope someone can help me with this - I'll try to explain as clearly as I can.
Our VCR has just died and we're intending to replace it with a hard drive DVD recorder. Our TV is a decent big old thing and we'll probably replace it in a year or three. We mainly watch & record BBC - occasionally RTE - on terrestrial and use a Freeview box to watch Channel 4, though we've had problems recording from it. We often watch one side whilst recording another. Reception of both analogue and digital channels is very good as we're on a hill in Wexford.
An added complication is that Wales is going digital in a few weeks, so, as I understand it, from then on, we'll have to watch and record all UK channels via digital/Freeview. If I have it right, you can't record one digital side and watch another unless you have 2 digital tuners. So my queries are this:
1. Does anyone know of a decent HD DVD recorder with 2 digital tuners? They're really hard to find.
2. If I buy one from the UK will it work here? VCRs had to be UHF compatible - I'm not sure if that's the same for DVD recorders.
3. If I buy a DVD with 1 digital tuner (lots of those and cheap) can we somehow hook up our current Freeview box so we can watch one side and record another? (If so, I might come back later to enquire how you do that! I suspect it might involve a splitter which Aldi has cheap at the moment.)
4. Elara.ie has http://elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1650956&productID=S5984108 a Sharp "Digital TV Recorder" with 2 digital tuners. It's not a DVD recorder so I'm not entirely sure whether it's what we want. We do play the occasional DVD, but the DVD player in our defunct VCR still works.
I wish this weren't quite so complicated. My husband would readily buy another VCR but I feel it's time to move into the 21st century! Any comments or advice would be most welcome. Thanks.
Our VCR has just died and we're intending to replace it with a hard drive DVD recorder. Our TV is a decent big old thing and we'll probably replace it in a year or three. We mainly watch & record BBC - occasionally RTE - on terrestrial and use a Freeview box to watch Channel 4, though we've had problems recording from it. We often watch one side whilst recording another. Reception of both analogue and digital channels is very good as we're on a hill in Wexford.
An added complication is that Wales is going digital in a few weeks, so, as I understand it, from then on, we'll have to watch and record all UK channels via digital/Freeview. If I have it right, you can't record one digital side and watch another unless you have 2 digital tuners. So my queries are this:
1. Does anyone know of a decent HD DVD recorder with 2 digital tuners? They're really hard to find.
2. If I buy one from the UK will it work here? VCRs had to be UHF compatible - I'm not sure if that's the same for DVD recorders.
3. If I buy a DVD with 1 digital tuner (lots of those and cheap) can we somehow hook up our current Freeview box so we can watch one side and record another? (If so, I might come back later to enquire how you do that! I suspect it might involve a splitter which Aldi has cheap at the moment.)
4. Elara.ie has http://elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1650956&productID=S5984108 a Sharp "Digital TV Recorder" with 2 digital tuners. It's not a DVD recorder so I'm not entirely sure whether it's what we want. We do play the occasional DVD, but the DVD player in our defunct VCR still works.
I wish this weren't quite so complicated. My husband would readily buy another VCR but I feel it's time to move into the 21st century! Any comments or advice would be most welcome. Thanks.