I recenlty bought an LG DVD recorder in Argos. Works very well with Sky.
There are two types of DVD Recorder.
One that just records directly what is on the telly to DVD and One that does same, but also has the capacity to record onto its internal hard drive (so you can complete the recording afterwards)
They are connected via HDMI cables (for best quality). They all generally seem to work quite well although not matter what one you go for there does seem to be a slight deterioration in the picture quality.
I can record RTE 1, BBC 2, BBC 1,etc as normal with an ordinary DVD recorder.
To record digital channels such as Sky Arts, BBC 4 extra, or BBC 4, I have to record from Line 3.
I have to change the UPC yoke to the appropriate channel. So if I am out, I can't timer record BBC 4 from 10 to 11, and Sky Arts from 11 to 12. It will just record Line 3, which may be set to one of the channels.
Presumably this is because your DVD recorder has a built in tuner that can tune in and record the first set of channels but not a digibox that can select and record the digital channels directly - hence the need to select them on the digibox and then feed the signal out through "line 3" (?)?
Maybe so. I really have no idea how it all works. But I know it's very annoying setting the recorder in advance but forgetting to change the channels on the UPC box.