OT: DVR vs PVR

I'm putting my Christmas list together and would like to get some advice
from people who are up on the current technology.

I'd really like to get something digital to replace my VCR so that I can
record TV programs on a hard drive or erasable media. The problem is that
I'm not sure about all of the distinctions between the various devices that
do this, such as PVRs and DVD recorders. So let me describe my ideal device
and perhaps someone here can help me figure out what I need to buy.

1. I currently have a conventional TV, not an HD unit, and I get my TV
programming from my local cable provider. I live in Canada. However, I can
imagine upgrading my TV to HD at some point and possibly changing to a
satellite service or something other than cable. I'd like to get recording
equipment that would work equally well regardless of the kind of TV I have
or whether I am using cable or a satellite.

2. I really like one feature of my current VCR: it skips over commercials
when I play back the program I've recorded. It records the whole program,
commercials and all, but then goes back over the program and marks all the
commercials somehow. When I play the show back, the VCR magically fast
forwards over the commercials. Now, it is not always accurate and sometimes
starts fast forwarding over part of the program or NOT skipping over some
commercials but I can simply rewind and play to see those parts when I
notice that happening. Being able to skip the commercials during playback is
a very desireable feature for me and something I'd like to have in a digital
recorder too, providing it is extremely accurate about its assessment of
where the commercials are. (If it is not that accurate, then it must capture
the whole show so that I can manually rewind and play the parts where it
misjudged the placement of the commercials.)

3. Much of the programming I record is simply viewed and then erased. But,
occasionally, I find shows or movies that I want to keep. I'd like to be
able to make up DVDs of movies that I want to keep and have my own
"home-made" box sets - minus the bonus features and glitzy cover art - for
shows that I really like. Ideally, I'd prefer these movies and programs to
be commercial free and viewable on any DVD player. Now, editing out the
commercials might be handled automatically by the machine, if I could count
on it to be 100% accurate, but if that was unrealistic, I'd like to be able
to transfer the programs onto my PC where the commercials could be edited
out. I would NOT want to "mass produce" such DVDs: these would simply be
personal copies for my own personal collection.

4. My current VCR has a capacity for 6 hours of programs on a T-160 tape at
the slowest recording speed. The interface allows for up to 8 programs to be
recorded. This is quite adequate for my needs the vast majority of the time

telenovels...

I've found that VCRs are still better (and cheaper) than Digital Hard
drives. It's difficult to get the program off the hard drive (copy
protection) and there's usually a monthly fee (yuck).

If you need more capacity, switch to a T-210 / 3.5 hour tape which can
record almost 11 hours on the slowest speed. I purchased two of these
and I think they are GREAT for weekly recording.

but more capacity would be even better. It would be neat but not essential
to be able to record a whole week's worth of prime time without having to
pick and choose my top favourites.

So, what am I describing? A DVD recorder? A PVR? A hard-drive recorder? Or
some hybrid? Does anything like I want actually exist or is this a "dream
machine", something that no one makes?