[ramjet]

there are no dvdr recorders on the market with twin digital tuners , be nice if there were but there arent

as for these units like mine with one of each in them , no you cannot watch one thing and record another within the unit itself , it switches between the inputs and locks the others out , so it can only watch or record freeview , or watch or record analogue , not both at the same time , and neither can any other dvdr either

there are methods of daisy chaining the scarts and pressing buttons that can allow both to be connected to your tv , and other methods like a freeview stb with rf modulator built in so he can watch a different channel on a tuned in station ( say analogue channel 6 for instance ) not as good as scart but will work , or even a scart switcher

as I said earlier , its the lack of scarts and lack of a freeview tuner in his current tv causing your problems , not the dvdr recorders on the current market

with the current dvdr,s like my sony , you wouldnt actually try to watch analogue channels on it whilst recording digital , you would use the tuner in his current tv for that option. so if you added a sky box , freesat box , virgin box , or freeview stb , all with rf outputs on the coax , you could extend the life of his tv by having alternative viewing , but you then add more boxes and more remotes , which you didnt want

so the simplest answer is a dvdr with freeview , and a newer tv with freeview , job done