I want to hookup my insignia converter box to my dvd/vcr and my tv so I can record programs. What do I need to do. I have a 2 year old Toshiba Dlp and an Allegro dvd/vcr

I suspect that your Insignia TV has an ATSC (digital tuner). The VCRs only have NTSC (analog) tuners. If you have a digital to analog converter box, you can connect that to any of the VCRs and tune in the channels. You will have to tune in the channel at the converter box. Ensure that you disable the sleep mode, if the desired program you want to record will air later.

There is one DVD/VCR that I know had an ATSC tuner, the Panasonic DMR-EZ37VK. It's still listed for sale at Amazon and E-bay, among others. A few other manufacturers may have come out with models with digital tuners. However, I didn't spend much time looking into them. They all had MSRP >$300. I connected my VCR/DVD recorder to the composite out of a converter box for <$50.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells
(In the US, only a few low power stations were allowed to remain broadcasting analog signals at the initial switch-over date. Some of them have stopped broadcasting entirely.)

The connections stay the same, but you may need to rescan your converter box: http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/Rescanning.html

You will need a converter to record onto a VCR. I can't remember the when the FCC require VCR to have digital, but I know yours old enough it has an analog tuner. Take your antenna connection to the in on the converter box, then you can take the out from the converter box to the in on the vcr and finally take the out to tv to the tv. To record you have to have the vcr on 3 or 4 and use the converter box to do the channel changing.

Another way would be take the in to the converter and use RCA cables to the line in on the vcr, and line out to the to the tv. This will give you stereo sound.

The output connection from the VCR/DVD needs to be different for the new digital TV. Instead of using the RF output from the VCR, use the video and audio outputs and connect them to the video and audio inputs on the digital TV. When you want to watch the VCR, select "video in" on the TV. The digital converter box should be hooked to the input of the VCR so you can record programs off-air.

You will not be able to record like you used to: http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/VCRs_and_Converter_Boxes.html There are some boxes that have a timer, but not many.

Hook up antenna to converter box then from that out to the vcr's input (red,white, yellow connections are better than coaxial).

You have to use the RCA plugs on the back of the converter box and the tv (red,yellow and white). Or you can attach the antenna wire to box and then attach the wire that comes with the converter that is listed as to the tv and instead attach it to the antenna in on the vcr. The converter box will determine which channel your vcr will get a singal to record from. Your VCR for every program will be set to channel 3 or 4 (depending on what your converter box is set to broadcast on). Make sure the power saver on the converter box is turned off as if you want to record a program in say 4 hours, if the converter box turns off in 2, your vcr will have nothing to record.

I ran seperate coaxible cable to the tv from vcr and unplug the tv converter box everytime I want to watch the vcr. You can also use the RCA cord to send the signal from the vcr to the tv and use the input signal to watch your recorded programs. I had static showing up everytime I played it through the second converter box thus I solved it by running a seperate coax line. I don't know if you will have this problem, just wanted you to be aware.

Right, you don't have to plug DVD/VCR to box, just straight to TV to operate. If you wanted to record hdtv programs from the box to the vcr or a dvd recorder then connect box to vcr/dvd recorder to TV.

set the recorder to the same channel out put as the converter box

cant you just turn the channel on your DCB and then record on the vcr?