I have a new Samsung 36"LCD TV that operates from satellite and cable with NO cable box. My old VCR died. I want to get a combo DVD/VCR to record from the TV and playback. I'm confused looking at these combo units. Some have built in tuners. Some require a cable box or something else. What type of combo unit can I get that will not require any additional boxes or apparatus to connect?

You want one that says TV on it. Those would have a built in tuner. The others are called monitors. Those DO NOT have a built in tuner.

You want one that says tv on it. Those would have a built in tuner. The others are called monitors. Those DO NOT have a built in tuner.

The OP is not purchasing a TV. The OP is purchasing a combo recorder.

OP: You want a combo recorder with a built-in tuner. Most units come with a ClearQAM tuner also (which picks up unscrambled cable channels like your TV probably does).

If you want to record on DVDs make sure it is also a DVD recorder.