Hi All,I am currently running a 12 year old Panasonic crt tv (brilliant picture),running off a Sony STB,which will record to both my Panasonic DMR-EH50 dvd recorder which has a built in HD,or a VHS recorder.We live in a very strong signal area as we can get all the free view channels from an old analogue aerial mounted in the attic. I would very much like your advice as to which 32" Panasonic LCD tv and method/device I should buy to enable me to be able to tune into one digital channel and record another digital channel at the same time,or if possible record 2 digital channels at once. I have been doing some research and have discovered that there are such things as pvr devices with built in Hard drive units which have built in dual tuners. Is this method the most simple way of achieving what i want to do ,or is there a better method. I would also like to retain my old Pany dvdr to play dvd's on,and if possibe record to from the PVR device. Any help would be much appreciated.
Paul
Hello Paul.
Generally you seem to have a handle on the issues.
It can be problematic as different parts of the industry can and do use different names for the various class of devices.
We have a strict classification here to assist in clarity of understanding:
PVR's are hard disc based video recorders.
They almost always have two tuners.
They cannot record from any other source other than the aerial or signal source they are designed for... Thus, for different platforms there are Satellite PVR's , Cable PVR's, and the type you require - Terrestrial [or Freeview] PVR's.
They are generally simple and easy to use.
DVDR refers to any recorders that have removable disc facilities.
They may, or may not include hard drives.
Either way they are still referred to as DVDR's.
DVDR's always have only one digital tuner [... except for some very specific exceptions which do not apply here].
In operation they are slightly more complex to operate than PVR's.
All that said - given that you have a DVDR already, then yes a PVR is a perfect route for you to achieve your objective.
The two classes of machine are complementary and will provide great flexibility in use and will also provide permanent archiving facilities.