DVR search that records from sources

As noted in the OP, the TS is looking specifically for a composite solution.

Why anyone would want to regress 15 years back in technology is something only the TS can explain but it seems to drive everything he does.
Ya - I wouldn't spend money on a dedicated recorder that only did SD, but I would spend the extra $25 on a composite to HDMI box and then purchase a recorder for recording the HDMI signal.

For this, probably the cheapest would be an old SD Tivo
 
Fast forward fifteen years and a couple of quantum leaps in home video technology and those kinds of devices are long-ago extinct.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 has a lot to do with the demise of devices like you describe. As part of getting the certifications that are needed in a modern device (primarily the need that it support HDMI output), there are some show-stopping restrictions with what they can do in terms of analog I/O. Modern DVRs don't have analog inputs. This is why I recommended a computer capture device that does nothing but capture composite (or component) inputs. To my knowledge, there aren't any current (or even recently discontinued) capture devices that offer more than one composite input.

That said, just because a device has the right connectors, doesn't mean it will work for a particular purpose. Many analog capture devices are confounded by even lightweight copy protection schemes.

As I said, that ship has sailed.
For once I agree with you, but the HDHome run flex records the OTA and FTA channels just fine. Of course I can shedule OTA, but all the Cband networks record fine manually. That includes wild feeds.
 
For once I agree with you, but the HDHome run flex records the OTA and FTA channels just fine. Of course I can shedule OTA, but all the Cband networks record fine manually. That includes wild feeds.
HDHomerun Flex devices are incapable of recording (much less "scheduling") so it misses out of the gate in satisfying the "DVR" requirement presented in the thread topic.

Flex products can only tune modulated digital TV signals (DTV, cable QAM and NextGenTV in the 4K models). They don't work with satellite channels nor do they work with modulated analog TV signals (that you might find coming from an older satellite receiver). They have no auxiliary inputs such as might be found on a ReplayTV or analog TiVo (which is fine since they cannot record).

This thread is a classic example of what not to do when trying to define a problem. The best approach to get a thoughtful answer is to give specific examples of what you have as inputs and what you want as the finished product and let the community try to suggest a solution. It is even more important today (versus 2005) with the "analog hole" effectively closed and where content is often infused with Digital Rights Management devices.
 
Um, maybe you need to investigate more. You know everything so you think. Channels DVR works fine withe the HD flex and you get a 14 day guide fully recordable. Maybe open brain before mouth.