recording shows from cable TV?

The analog outputs from your cable box into your DVD recorder ,should work.That's what I do.Of course it's standard definition.Before that,I used a VCR.Try to buy one with a 30 day return,just to be on the safe side, but I never ran into a copy guard.

I'm pretty sure that you can record a show on your DVR (for ease of initial "capture"), and then output it to a DVD recorder.

The last I tried a DVD recorder (several years ago) I fed the analog audio/video from my cable box to the recorder. It worked fine but it would not copy anything from HBO.

Riley804..nailed it. Win7 PC with a tuner card or HDHomerun and a external HD will do exactly what you're asking. I do it all the time.

IN my area,the cable company charges a premium for the Tennis Channel.A friend who plays tennis in a different area,different cable company,also pays extra for the Tennis Channel.With that said,if Goldenears has to pay a premium to receive it,he will need his cable box,or something that has a cable card,and only some TV sets have that option,that I can think of.You still may have to pay extra for it,even with the card, depending on your company,and area.A cable card takes place of the cable box,but has its limits.No video on demand,or anything else that needs the box to talk to the cable servers,to turn on features.I would be guessing if it is over channel 100(ballpark number),it needs the cable box to be viewed,or recorded. It usually falls out of the basic cable range most of the time.