I'm thinking of buying a recordable DVD/VCR combo player, and not sure which DVD format(s) to look out for. I know there are DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM. Some player/recorders have combinations of these formats, but which is the best combination - both presently and long term? Any suggestions or advice appreciated.

I have some friends who are in the TV trade who don't seem to have a particularly high opinion of combination VHS/DVD player recorders. Maybe some makes are better than others though.

I bought just a DVD recorder/player that records in the +R format. It seems to work quite well even though it wasn't an expensive one (£150-00). I bought it with the opinion that it didn't really matter what format it recorded in since most modern DVD recorder/players will usually play either format.

The idea in our house is to gradually change over to from VHS to DVD video recorders only. So, that's one down and two more to go

I think you're right that DVD will eventually supercede VCR. In the meanwhile I've got quite a lot of really good films on tape, and don't want to replace them all yet. I want a combo, simply to save space and look neater than a stack of different items. Again in order to save future space I'm tempted by the DVD-RAM systems which will save having to keep too many discs or tapes.

Something that supports DVD-RAM is a good option I reckon. I only got the least expensive DVD recorder/player I could find at the time to see how we got on with it. I think the next one along may be something a bit more 'up-market' and comprehensive.

We too have a number of films on tape, so still need a VHS machine in the house somewhere. The worst part about swapping to DVD only is the number of films collected on tape. There are ways and means around everything I suppose but copying is such a grey area that I prefer steer clear of it. I'd rather buy the film again in DVD format. It's better quality anyway. Perhaps there's a case for the companies that sold the tape, swapping the VHS film to the DVD format at a discounted price. The copyright part of the purchase has already been paid for once. A while ago, we did see an offer that reduced the price of the DVD film by £5-00 on production of the tape (might have been Aladdin I think). The offer didn't last though and I haven't seen anything like that since.

I suppose that a discounted price scheme would perhaps be open to abuse. Lots of people might go around car boot sales etc buying up VHS films for a couple of Pounds each and then taking them to shops for a discounted price on the DVD versions.