DVD Recorders, the defacto 2005 appliance?

The search. I was looking at my aging entertainment system setup and wonder to myself what can I add to zest up the 34" Philips Pixel Plus TV, Samsung DVD player and a pair of Canadian Mirage 280 bookshelves speakers. The rest of my sound gear -- amplifier, double tape deck, CD player, tuner, LaserDisc player (anyone still remember those?!!), karaoke mixer, VCD player, are collecting dust in the back room. I think I have a burning need to add more to the entertainment junkyard.... Just like I need more chocolate in my diet.

Narrowing down. My thoughts seems to converge to having a video recorder. I threw out the family last VHS taper recorder donkey years ago. I cannot even remember what make/model it was. All I knew was that our first video recorder was an AKAI feather touch model. Subsequent models are just a blur. I was living without any video recording capability unless you count camcorder. A DVD recorder with an internal harddisk seems to make sense. That way I can pause a programme and resume watching the programme later if I have to pop out to pack takeaway food or get a bite in the middle of a marathon back to back showing of Godfather I, II & III. Just hit (play) pause, leave the recorder to record the rest of the programme. When I return, I can resume from where I left off while the recorder simultaneously record the programme and playback from where I left off using the material recorded on the harddisk. If I come across a great episode of CSI, I can replay the clips on the fly if I missed the details. After that I can burn the programme onto DVD from the harddisk. I will be able to have instant playback on any programme and a DVD copy if I chose to have it burnt onto DVD. Fantastic feature!

The shopping. Every major electronics brand seems to offer one form of DVD harddisk recorder or another. They range from LG ($699~$899), Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony ($1499!!!). Just pop into any HarveyNorman or Best Denki stores. I was hoping to find bargain models from the likes of Shinco, Konca, Haier and TCL. LG's model RH-7823 seems to be the only brand which allows the recording onto double layer media. It is about the best compromise on meaningful features against price. However, $899 is still rather much to pay for essentially a VCR....

Alternatives. Chub Pinki suggested that a PC equipped with a suitable TV tuner card will essentially provide the same feature. I checked it out... I found that I need to finish recording onto a file before I can play the file. So if I want to go back to an immediate pass scene, I have to stop recording onto the current file and start recording onto a new file without any noticeable gaps in recording. If I do not need and instant playback feature, I should be able to do this on the cheap using a PC. However, if I have to mimic a harddisk DVD recorder, I have to be very quick with mouse clicks or find a recording software that works with my TV tuner card. The software needs to record and playback in small blocks so I can go back and forth my programme while the computer is recording the rest of the programme.

I will give more updates from my aged ATI All-in-wonder TV tuner card...