Please bring me up to date on the DVR World

Video Asylum

TVs, VCRs, DVD players, Home Theater systems and more.

4.15.7.150

Yeah, I'm much more an audiophile guy, who has lived up to now with a DVD player and a VCR. But now my VCR won't take a tape, and I doubt it is worth fixing.
I use it for recording broadcast TV shows, sometimes manually and sometimes time recording. So now I need to replace it with a DVR.
Years ago--there was Replay and TiVo, and I am assuming that Replay died and TiVo rules, correct? There is no way in hell I'm going to 1) run a phone line to my TV; or 2) pay $12.95 per month to those guys.
So what are my options?
1) Does somebody make a simple DVR with a harddrive that I can hook up to my TV, and I can record at least manually--pushing a button?
2) Or do I need to buy a DVD recorder, and "record" to a DVD-RW, using that disk essentially like I did my VCR tapes--the cycle of record, watch, erase by recording over, etc.?
Lastly, I know this can be down via computer, but my computer isn't near my TV, and my house isn't wired between these two points.
I hate being such a neophyte on this topic, and would appreciate your help.
regards, townsend
P.S. I've got to be able to "fastfoward" through commercials . . .

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Topic - Please bring me up to date on the DVR World - townsend 15:24:02 12/04/04 (2)

Check this out - johnvb 20:26:08 12/04/04 (0)

Oops . . . even though RePlay still live, same ?s as above (nt) - townsend 15:28:35 12/04/04 (0)

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