I do not have cable or any other pay TV. I have a regular old tube TV in a workout room. I want to buy a DVD/VCR combo not expensive but have been told I have to have a built in tuner. If I am not concerned at this point about the 2009 changeover and just want to rig this and be able to record programs to watch while working out what are my options. Do I have to have a built in tuner?
Thanks!

You don't have Cable or Pay TV, Do you have Antenna? What else do you want to record?

I have an antenna. Just want to record shows on regular TV to watch later

An ATSC tuner will receive HD digital broadcasts which happen now over the air.
An NTSC tuner will receive today's analog broadcasts.

You can check what's available in your area at TitanTV - The Definitive Source for Analog, Digital (HDTV), Cable and Satellite TV Listings

You don't have to have the 16:9 aspect ratio. You can use the 4:3 which is the standard now.

If you want to record shows on that TV you need to pick ATSC or ATSC+NTSC. NTSC doesn't make any sense because of the changeover.

Then you need to pick the aspect ratio. The 4:3 may be cheaper.