I don't have cable in my home so have been recording movies etc. with a VCR at another location. When the cable box arrived this was no longer possible so I have been told that I can do timed recordings with a DVD recorder. If TIMED recordings can be done what specs. Do I look for when I go shopping. Recommendations will be very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Gary

All these systems vary somewhat, but I don't know why you can't record from cable with a VCR (if that is one of the things you are asking).
Secondly, you need a DVD with a tuner to do timer recordings from cable TV.
I have recently done some research about this issue because we do a lot of dvd recording from cable TV and I am at the point where I will have to replace the dvd recorder we have been using, I am certainly not an expert on the matter but I am finding that it is very difficult to find dvd recorders that have a tuner and are able to do timer recordings for times in the future.
If you Google "dvd recorders with tuners" you should find a lot of sites that explain what has been and is going on in this regard. If the articles I found are accurate it is a situation that came about when the change was made to digital broadcasts (2009 or so) and a requirement that all dvd (and vcr too I believe) recorders must have digital tuners. But, if you do some research you can draw your own conclusions.