Thanks OTAHD. Shouldn't you be able to get rid of the flicker in software? If 8mm film uses 18 frames per second you could extract one good copy of each frame and then use (if my calculations are correct) 3-4-3 pulldown.

My local paper had an article on DVD players that have ATSC tuners in them. I did a quick Google search and found a Philips recorder with ATSC at Walmart that was around $160.

My local Target has just remodeled their electronics dept., and they have a row of new DVD player/burners, etc. The DVD burners I looked at all had ATSC tuners in them. Several brands.

All I want is to be able to record OTA programs that come on channels 8.1, 8.2, 55.1 etc. They don't need to be the best quality as most of the shows I want are old and in low resolution anyway. Am I correct in assuming that if I buy a DVD recorder with a ATSC tuner, that I will be able to record these programs? What It will do in two or more years seems irrelevent as most of my units break before that time anyway.

My DVD recorder has an NTSC tuner and can record shows off any channel it receives just like a VCR. I'd bet the new DVD recorders with ATSC tuners can do the same, otherwise why do they need tuners. You could probably pick a model online and find an online manual for it. I know there is an online manual for my Samsung DVD recorder.

Check out Panasonics website. Their DMR-EZ seriers all have ATSC tuners as far as I can tell. Prices are 200-330 US. They are not available in Canada as of yet.

my purpose for searching for a DVD recorder with ATSC tuner is that my Flat screen TV is HD ready only, I would like to be able to tune HDTV off air (which I can get on my new computer). I also figured that I would be getting the tuner free and a recorder and a an upconvert DVD player too instead of buying samsung's ATSC tuner for $200 which is the only tuner I can find in my local store. It would be great if someone has used one of those to tune HDTV off air and still had a pretty good recorder and a player and would be willing to tell us about it. thanks

Chances are a DVD recorder with an ATSC tuner won't be capable of tuning HD.

why do you think that would be the case? I was under the impression that ATSC mean DTV [Advanced Television Systems Committee] which is the new standard. I understand that if a component video out is not on the device, there would not be a way to get the signal to the TV, but I checked out some of the specs on some models and they have component video out (RGB + L+R audio) which is the type of input my HD ready TV can take.

Right. Except that DVD's cannot record or play HD. So the tuner might be ATSC, but not capable of outputting HD, even through component.

The DVDs I've seen so far with ATSC tuners and HDMI outputs can all forward HDTV content to your TV at the resolution it is broadcast in. They cannot RECORD that high definition, but will record a downsized version of it onto a DVD. No harder than DirecTV HD receiver sending HD content to your TV through HDMI or Component while sending an SD version of that programming through Svideo and composite outputs.

I've been reseaching how to make an Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive play HD-DVDs on my PC and came across some suggestions that there is a standard DVD format of HD programming that can be played by some of these HDMI endowed DVD players. Not enough info to know what that's all about, though.

That is definitely correct, I was not looking for recording HD with this type of device, I plan to use the recorder just to burn regular DVDs, but the Digital TV tuner function that my TV does not have would be covered by this device as well, and I would get an upcovert DVD player (not HD or blue ray player) basically for free since the cost of the Samsung ATSC tuner-only is $200, I think it would make no sense to buy that tuner if its built-in many of the new DVD recorders. I think the way I wrote my 1st posting must have implied that I was looking to record in HD make HD DVDs when in fact that was not what I intended to communicate. I guess the main issue remains which device to get, I have heard that certain brands are terrible when it comes to media compatibility and others are bad when it comes to playback of the DVDs they write (burn), as they only play in the device used to make them or in a very limited number of players. I am hoping that those with good experience with a certain brand/model would let me know. Thanks for the feedback.

Don't waste your money on an upconvert player. Usually they make the picture look worse.

OTAHD: Although it may be true that some upconvert DVD decks don't do a good job of upconverting, many do. I've got a Samsung DVD-R135 which looks GREAT fed to my Samsung 4095 LCD via HDMI. In this case the DVD deck does a better job than the TV (zoom) itself does. I'd recommend anyone considering any upconverting DVD deck should look for reviews of them online. Some review sites will compare the upconvert quality of different players.

Hi guys:

mikejordan is in exactly the same boat as I am, and I totally see where he's going. We have HD-ready TVs, "Monitors". They don't have ATSC tuners, and we can't get HD content without a tuner.

I don't want to pay $50/mo for cable, and even more for HD cable, when I'm in an area that's saturated with free HD broadcasts (San Francisco). All I need is an indoor VHF antenna and an ATSC tuner to get HD content - for free!

Here's the kicker: I have a crappy DVD player without HDMI. I want a good DVD player with HDMI. Hey, why not get one with a tuner? I'm not sure if what I'm looking for exists, but if it does, someone here knows about it.

I want a HDMI-cabled DVD player that upconverts - so I can take advantage of the 720p capability of my HDTV - that also has an ATSC tuner. I don't want to buy two separate units, because then I'm spending $200 for an OPPO and $200 for a tuner.

I would rather spend $200 on a DVD player/recorder with ATSC tuner, connect the DVD to my antenna, the DVD to the HDTV (via HDMI), and get DVD recording capability for free.

So it seems like the Panasonic DMR-EZ27K is what I need! It says it supports 720p, 1080i, 1080p up-conversion, has an HDMI output port, has an ATSC tuner, feeds the HD content through to the TV (and downsamples for recording purposes).

Awesome. It's exactly what I need. I'm buying one and will let you know how it works.