Let's face it: the age of the VCR is coming to a close. When was the last time you popped into your favorite rental spot and went home with a video tape? What has kept the VCR alive this long is its ability to record broadcast television. Well, folks, with the advent of the DVD Recorder, it may be time for the VCR to sing its swan-song.

If you've been considering replacing your old VCR with a new DVD Recorder, you are not alone. In the past year, an estimated 1 million recorders have been sold in the U.S. alone. Now is the perfect time to purchase a DVD Recorder. Aside from offering remarkable features and offering decent compatibility with existing DVD players, prices have come down considerably since they first entered the marketplace.

A DVD Recorder is a component that looks and works a lot like your VCR. Familiar functions (Play, Fast Forward, Reverse, Pause, Stop) make control easy. Like VCRs, DVD Recorders provide all of the necessary A/V inputs for recording television shows. You can also copy video-recorded TV shows and homemade camcorder videos and onto DVD (just be sure to purchase blank discs that are of the same format as your recorder). And unlike videotape, recording onto DVD will ensure that your family memories will last for generations. (One caveat: the end product is dependent on the quality of the source material. Therefore, if you're copying an old home video onto DVD, remember that you won't necessarily get "DVD quality.") DVD Recorders also make great DVD players. Some of the more basic units may not come equipped with lots of bells and whistles, but most units will provide you with what you really need: progressive scan, component outputs, Dolby Digital, CDR/RW, and VCD playback.

In terms of sound, one thing to keep in mind is that DVD Recorders only have the ability to record and encode audio in two-channel Dolby Digital. This two-channel recording can be reprocessed in 5.1 or 6.1 sound, however, when used with an A/V receiver that is equipped with Dolby Prologic II or DTS Neo:6 processors.

Don't confuse the DVD Recorder with a PC-DVD Burner. A burner is a unit that is either an internal DVD drive or external PC add-on that reads and writes computer data and stores it on a blank DVD disc. A PC-DVD Burner requires you to upload the video to your hard drive, and then copy the file onto a blank DVD disk. A DVD Recorder is different from a DVD Burner in that it is a standalone unit, and lacks the ability to read or write computer data. However, a DVD Recorder can record from your video source in real-time, direct to a blank DVD.

So, should you consider buying a DVD recorder now? The answer may be "yes" if you are in the market to replace your old VCR, want to preserve family memories on DVD, and want to record your favorite television programs with the best video quality possible. With prices falling rapidly, DVD Recorders can be an affordable addition to your home theater system.