DVD recorder stuff

[Binoculars]

OK, I'm no whiz but I can get by with computers. But the whole digital TV/DVD/HDMI/PLASMA/LCD thing is way outside my field of understanding, and everything I can find on search engines has answers going back to 18 months ago, a period of time equivalent to that spanned by the dinosaurs.

I have purchased a set of speakers which can be heard in the next suburb, despite the patronising view of the salesman at one place telling me I would have to spend three times as much as I was planning to get anywhere near reasonable sound. Tw@t.

I regard huge TV's as rather similar to large watches in terms of compensation factors involved, but I am heartily sick of VCR's and can't wait to get a DVD recorder with HDD. In truth, given the amount of TV the family watches we could probably get by without a hard drive at all, but a hard drive it will be.

So. What do I need? I most definitely want the feature which allows me to start watching a program from the beginning before it has finished recording. Whatever that's called. HDMI? I know little about what is broadcast in HD in Australia or is likely to be in the future, but for me, a TV program is a TV program. I don't think watching a recorded football game requires high defintion of anything.

So I wandered lonely as a cloud around ebay and saw this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LG-DUAL-LAYER...QQcmdZViewItem

From my time watching ads for computers it's fairly clear that they bewilder newcomers by overwhelming them with what they will receive. It's only after the sucker has got his machine that he realises what it hasn't got is an operating system!

Any opinions on what I may be missing from the above system?

[Background Noise]

Don't know what type of TV broadcasting you have down under - we have to worry about digital reception too. That should do what you are after i would think, it will do the pause live tv, rewind live tv and watch from the beginning stuff you mentioned. You can go back to the beginning of the prog you are watching and record from there on and all sorts of clever things. You can record from HD to DVD and vice versa, probably at high speed too. It can be your CD music player too. I have a HD recorder and its great - my DVD recorder is separate which is a pain. Both in the same box would be ideal.

[BOAC]

As far as I know, Binos, all the hard drive DVD recorders will do that?

I would also suggest that an 80GB drive would be more than enough for your needs if they are still available.

In the UK with the 'switch' to digital TV we are having to look at Digital tuner DVD recorders and twin tuner machines (watch one digital channnel, record a second) are coming in at reasonable prices.

Great machines, the DVDRs. So much better than VCRs.

[Background Noise]

Worth a check for any reviews on the web - here's an aussie one http://www.productreview.com.au/show...p?item_id=4354

[Binoculars]

Thanks guys. I really should have investigated a little more, because further research came up with the same thread Background Noise came up with, and I realised a few of the comments were from 2005.

The latest catalogue of the local discount warehouse apparently advertises another LG product (hopefully a little more up to date) but offers this apology on the front page:

The LG (RH265) DVD Recorder with 80GB Hard Drive & Digital Tuner advertised for $499 has been incorrectly stated as featuring a digital tuner. The advertised model does not feature a digital tuner and should have a sell price of $399

Do I need a digital tuner?

Edit: Binos thinks, which would have been a good idea earlier, and suspects that a digital tuner will be required if Australian TV is going all digital. Binos doesn't have a clue whether this is the case, but suspects that it may be a good idea to get a digital tuner included if he doesn't want to be shopping around again in twelve months.

Sorry to waste the time of those willing to help, but I'm still all ears about anything to do with the subject at hand.

[A2QFI]

HDMI

HDMI is an interface/cable, standing for High Definition Media Interface.

[P.Pilcher]

Just a point or two from first principles (I'm U.K. based) Only digital transmissions, whether they are land or satellite based give programme timing information as far as I am aware. The tricks you are talking about will require a digital tuner of some kind, thus a digital tuning facility in the equipment you acquire will be essential. Over here the current trend is to use equipment with two tuners so you can record two channels simultaneously (and replay a previously made recording as well). Equipment to do this with digital satellite broadcasts has been avaiable for a year or two and it is just now becoming available for terrestrial digital transmissions as these start to take over from our analogue services. Of course the permutations and combinations of such systems are endless and more advances will no doubt be made available to us all as it suits the manufacturers to maximise their profit from each new product. I am sure things will have develped further in the U.S.A.

P.P.