DVD recorders: Not high-def yet, but they still have a lot to offer.(Product/service evaluation)

ADVD recorder gives you a whole lot of bang for the buck. It's easy to use, offers better recording quality than a VCR, and allows random access to sections of a disc. It can replace a DVD player, and many incorporate VCRs. Some fine models, including two CR Best Buys, cost under $200.

But there's a hitch: DVD recorders remain standard-definition in a world that's increasingly high-def. While everyone waits for the HD recorders expected soon, fewer standard-def models are being introduced. Several companies, including Pioneer, no longer make DVD recorders.

Your best bet for recording HD programs now is to lease a hard-drive digital video recorder (DVR) from a cable or satellite company. Buying a high-def TiVo DVR is another option. If you don't mind a more complicated process, buy a computer with a Blu-ray or HD DVD burner.

Even if you don't want to record HD, you might still want to consider a DVR--a standard-def model. Whether standard-or high-def, a DVR offers pluses no DVD recorders can match. It integrates with your TV service and program guide and allows flexible scheduling. For example, you can automatically record all first-run episodes of a TV series. But capacity is limited, and a DVR can't archive recordings or play DVDs or VHS. Also, it comes with ongoing service fees, typically $5 to $10 a month for cable and satellite DVRs and $8 to $17 for a TiVo. With a DVD recorder, you buy the box and that's it.

HOW TO CHOOSE

If you're shopping for a DVD recorder, you can expect fine picture quality.Almost all we tested had excellent quality at the best setting, one hour per disc. Extended play can fit up to 11 hours a disc, but at very low quality.A 2- to 4-hour setting is a good compromise of quality and capacity. Most did well playing commercial DVDs. Other points to consider:

Tuner or not? Many new recorders have an ATSC tuner for over-the-air digital TV. Buy one of those if you get TV using an antenna. Once analog broadcasts end in 2009, a recorder with an ATSC tuner will let you watch digital broadcasts on any TV, even an older conventional set, without a set-top box.A recorder with no tuner is fine if you get TV using cable or satellite. However, cable users might want a recorder with a digital-cable, or QAM, tuner.All the models we tested with ATSC tuners also have QAM tuners.This will let you get basic cable without a set-top box.