DVD recorders let owners ditch VCR

The next nail in the VCR coffin: DVD recorders.

A DVD recorder lets you burn your favorite shows to slender discs instead of taping them on clunky cassettes. Plus, you can play music and watch movies.

Digital recorders come in three varieties. Basic models perform much like VCRs, but use discs. Hybrid recorders let you record and play both VHS tapes and DVDs. And some machines now have hard drives that let you store hours of programming.

Keep in mind that although there's one type of VHS tape, DVD recorders use different kinds of discs. Write-once discs (labeled DVD+R or DVD-R) cost less than $2 each and can be played in almost any DVD player.

Rewritable discs come in three formats. Although DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs may be rewritten up to 1,000 times, you may not be able to swap discs with friends. Both DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs cost about $2 to $3 each.

DVD-RAM discs can be rewritten up to 100,000 times, but they will only play in DVD players and recorders that have DVD-RAM technology. They cost about $4 each.

Basic recorders run about $150 to $400. A good example is the new Sony RDR-GX315 ($350; available later this summer; www.sonystyle.com). This machine is compatible with all disc formats except DVD-RAM. It has a port to connect a digital camcorder, making it easy to transfer digital video to disc.

To burn a disc from a videotape camcorder, you connect the camcorder to the DVD player with an audiovisual cable.

Recorder/VCR combos, which cost $200 to $500, avoid the hassle of having to own a VCR and a DVD recorder. A great choice is the Lite-On LVC-9006 DVD Recorder/VCR combo ($250; www.liteonamericas.com). It is compatible with discs in all formats except DVD-RAM, and it lets you convert from VHS to DVD at the press of a button. It also has JPEG photo playback and a port to connect a digital camcorder.

Hard-drive recorders can run $450 to $1,000, depending mainly on the size of the hard drive. (Hard drives range from 80 GB to 200 GB or more.) For example, the Panasonic DMR-EH50 ($450; www.panasonic.com) has a 100-GB hard drive, good for about 22 hours of recording at the highest-quality setting.

If you want to save programs, you can burn them onto DVD-RAM discs, as well as all other disc formats except those labeled DVD+RW. It also has an SD Memory Card slot, which lets you easily transfer digital photos to a disc.