DVR Question/Suggestion

[Stravo]

I'm thinking about getting myself a DVR as a gift after several weeks of insane work that will only continue into the next year. I've been sporadically shopping around for one and I've seen a combo version with a VCR. Now I usually shy away from anything combo related but I have a collection of movies dubbed in Spanish for my mom and was wondering the following:

Do I need a DVR with VCR combo in order to dub these tapes onto DVD's or can I simply play the tapes in my current VCR and hit record on the DVR to record the playback?

If anyone has any suggestions in particular to a brand, model or even just features to look out for that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks.