no dvdr has twin tuners like a pvr , so if you want twin digital tuners then you need to buy a twin tuner pvr , simple as that
the dvdr recorders on the market usually have one digital tuner inside them , and the sony and pioneer models also have a single analogue tuner as well , so any of those units will not become obsolete in 2 years time , but the analogue tuner inside them will have little use , and if you bought one now you may not couple up the analogue tuner anyway so that part may be instantly redundant right now , and the panasonic are digital only anyway
so no these units wont become obsolete , but he wont have the option of watching one freeview channel while recording another , which is why he needs an alternative system on his tv , and so the ideal solution is a freeview tv and a dvdr , with a digital tuner in each
buying a twin tuner pvr solves the above issues but does not address the fact he hasnt got a dvd player/recorder , and the lack of scarts would hold him back there too. but that is a tv issue and not these recorders at fault
1 scart is 1 scart , period
so from the above you need to decide what to do next , and the best answer is a new freeview tv with multiple inputs and a dvdr freeview recorder, but its your choice based on budget
nb:- my region changes to digital in november this year , but I can assure you that my sony x70 recorder dual tuner dvdr`s wont be obsolete when that happens , only my analogue vcr and any analogue tv`s , unless I add a freeview stb to the mix
