[surfslammer]

Hi
Not sure exactly which forum this fits into but hopefully you guys can help. Is there a relatively straight forward and not overly expensive way to record programmes from tv and/or a v+ box? This would mainly be used to record kids tv and play back on in-car dvd player which I believe reads dvd, div x, mpeg. Ideally, I'd be able to copy/save them onto a portable hard drive which can connect to the dvd player via usb. The only thing I've seen that I think will fit the bill is an Archos with the dvr dock but that is quite expensive. Is there anything cheaper or can I use my laptop in any way?
Any advice much appeciated.

[mal_k100]

You cannot record from TV to anything unless your TV has some sort of PVR output.
Buy a PVR device of some sort that has a hard disk or you can use one of the many TV tuners for a laptop that take a TV signal into the USB port. Watch out for the signal strength though. Many report problems with TV/USB devices when using supplied aerials. I have used a Freecom stick with external aerial and internal aerial with booster and it is fine but it will depend on your signal strength. Depending what you buy, e.g. mine and the Hauppage stuff will have some sort of 'record to PC' software.