DVD/VCR player

I just bought my sister a new DVD/VCR player. It's not a "high tech", expensive player, as she hardly watches either but often records live T.V. on her older VCR. I've read reviews about this player (Phillips DVP3345V), and the only complaint I seem to find is, "It doesn't have a TV tuner and you must have a cable box that hooks in the red, yellow, and white cables". My sister does not have cable and only wants to use this VCR to occasionally record a TV show and to sometime watch a DVD too. Now, my question is, since she doesn't have cable, does she still need to have a DVD/VCR player with a tuner? I'm very ignorant, when it comes to electronics and would appreciate any input on this subject and thank you in advance for your trouble and time.

 

If she doesn't have cable or a cable box and she lives in the US she will need a converter box to watch anything after Feb. 19th 2009 anyways. All regular analog broadcasts are going to end and she will be left with nothing but snow and those old recordings she already has.

If cash is an issue Walmart has the cheapest new Digital Converter boxes I've seen. If you want to try the used route there's always eBay but your taking a chance if you ever buy anything there.

If you go asking about the digital converters in a store and you get told that you'll need a new TV get very mad that they would try to take advantage of your situation and cuss them out royal. It's a plain lie.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8343230&findingMethod=rr here is one example of a digital converter box. It doesn't list the price but you should be able to find a box for $50-60, maybe cheaper. You can apply for a $40 coupon to buy a converter box here. Once you get the coupon it's only good for 90 days.

The reason why your VCR does not come with a cable/antenna in anymore is because by FCC ruling anything made after a certain date that can receive TV channels needs to receive digital channels. The workaround is what you have there, something that just plays but has no tuner at all.

 

Thank you! All that information is good to know, and I appreciate your taking the time to answer cabbiinc