DVD-R component decks have been out for the last couple months and are available for $1000. The true question is whether to get one or not. As with CD-R component decks, DVD-R raises the question of whether it's better to get one for a computer rather than buying a integrated home theater component.

One gripe is that DVD should have come out of the gates with recording built in. That delay came from Hollywood which was worried about picture perfect copies of DVDs, and insisted on the removal of the recording feature. Believe it or not, some good did come from this as new technologies have come out to enhance the recording capabilities of DVD, but being asked $1000 dollars for an option the should've been included with the first DVD models over 5 years ago is a bit much to ask.

It all comes down to being honest with what you're actually going to record with a DVD-R component versus that of a computer. Prerecorded DVDs are unrecordable so that leaves you able to record cable/satellite and home movies.

Cable/Satellite
Cable/Satellite offers the lowest resolution next to the VCR, which offers very livable video quality for recorded TV programs, so the DVD-R quality improvement for this function is negligible. Adding fuel to the fire, digital video recorders such as TiVO and Replay TV offer more recording features, near perfect recording quality, and have already been embraced by consumers.

Home Video
The biggest use for the DVD-R format is without a doubt the home movie arena. An important fact is that a computer based DVD-R system is of more use than a home theater based DVD-R component. If you have a MiniDV format camcorder you definitely want to use a computer. Systems for as low as $1200 from Apple come with movie editing software, and the capability to capture from a MiniDV camcorder out of the box. If you want DVD-R capability worked into the computer the newest iMac has it built-in for a scant $1800 with DVD burning software iDVD that makes complex DVD menus and titles child's play.

If the camcorder you own or plan to own is not MiniDV or you're unwilling to use a computer a DVD-R component can be a cheaper alternative to a whole computer setup, but you'll loose all editing, titling, and DVD menu capabilities a computer would offer. As an option there are video converters for around $250 that allow non-DV based camcorders to work with DV editing capable computers.

The New Frontier... HD-VCR
HD-VCRs have recently become available for $1000 that offer backward compatibility, S-VHS performance, and HDTV recording capabilities. While HDTV broadcasts are still few and far between (there's more available via antenna than cable or satellite), it's the S-Video portion that would be of great interest to those looking for something to record high quality home movies and picture perfect TV programs. An HD-VCR simply offers more compatibility now and into the future.

Recording HDTV broadcasts requires a Firewire IEEE 1394 connection, and only a handful of HDTVs offer it, leaving HDTV recording an option for very few people right now. In the future all HDTVs will support Firewire, and prerecorded HDTV tapes will be available for HDTV demos. The HD-VCR one of the most future ready components you can buy, and a better alternative to a DVD-R component.

HD-VCR Competitors
Ironically the biggest competitor of the HD-VCR is itself. Consumers have embraced the DVD format and view the VCR as old technology. While HD-VCRs offer awesome capabilities, they still suffer from the VCR's technological drawbacks such as: tape wear and bulkiness of the medium.

Without a massive change DVD certainly won't be able to compete with the HD-VCR for HDTV recording. DVDs would need to be able to carry a lot more information, and the only way to achieve that is to add more data lines on the DVD disc. DVDs are already ultra sensitive to dust an scratches and increasing the lines would increase this sensitivity. The DVD format would have to become an encased disc format like a floppy disc to keep dust and scratches away. Thus, changing the DVD format completely would be very unlikely.

The biggest competitor of the HD-VCR will, without a doubt, be the digital video recorder such as ReplayTV and TiVo. Right now these formats cannot record HDTV, but rest assured the capability will be easily added in the future when the demand is there. All it'll take is a bigger hard drive on some HDTV capture technology (which already exists).

Summary
In short, the DVD-R format is best served on the computer than as an home theater component. The computer offers far more movie editing capabilities, awesome DVD creation technology, and data backup. HD-VCRs offer backward and forward compatibility over a DVD-R component, and digital recording devices offer the same recording quality for TV programs.

For people looking to record TV programs the Digital Recording Device or standard VCR is best for you.

For people looking to do home movies a DVD-R capable computer would better serve that function and offers many more capabilities.

DVD-R components have simply come out too late with so much more offered with other technologies. While the DVD-R component may be useful to a select few (such as home movie buffs unwilling to use a computer) there's simply better technology available to accomplish the same tasks.