Q We are considering purchasing a DVD recorder-player, but we're wondering if we'll still be able to use it when the switch to over-the-air digital TV signals occurs. Will all current DVD recorders and VCRs with internal tuners be obsolete?
ED MEEHAN, HOWARD LAKE, MINN.
A Any DVD recorder and player you purchase this year won't be made obsolete by the conversion of over-the-air TV signals to digital.
The federal government requires all DVD recorders now being sold to be capable of tuning and recording over-the-air HDTV signals. (Older DVD recorders and VCRs lack this capability.) As a result, a new DVD recorder will record HDTV programs in standard DVD format, which is not high-definition.
But that doesn't mean existing DVD players and VCRs will be out of date; they can continue to make non-high-definition recordings.
They will be protected from obsolescence by set-top conversion boxes that change digital signals into analog ones for traditional, non-digital TVs. Cable and satellite TV providers will provide such set-top boxes to customers as needed. And you can buy a set-top converter box for digital over-the-air signals.
But even if you don't care about HDTV, here's something to think about: In a few years the growing popularity of HDTV and high-definition recorders is likely to drive DVD recorders from the market.
That means you probably will find it harder to find DVD disks, both the prerecorded ones you rent and the blank ones you buy to record.
