Thanks, I appreciate the offer, I think we're good for a couple more years. I don't want to keep legacy tech alive much longer than that.Interesting. I have been considering adding a VCR to my A/V mix for a while now, and there are about a dozen VCR's at the nearest thrift store, all between $10 and $15 each. Most look to be in perfectly fine shape.
The (only?) advantage of a cable signal is its multiplexing into multiple DVRs. IIRC both DirecTV and Dish (which I believe are both available in Hawaii) require as many satellite-receiver tuners as I wanted simultaneous channels to record. I have room on the roof for three dishes but I'd have to see how that fee compares to cable.
Probably the easiest setup (so far) is three dual-tuner DVRs off the cable signal with some way for each to direct its output to a single TV for playback. A remote-controlled ABC switch would be an unexpected bonus.