My mother-in-law is not very comfortable with technology, and wants the convenience of a combined VCR/DVD/DVR player with the ability to record to DVD from VCR or DVR. Does anyone sell a combination console that does all three? If not, or if it's prohibitively expensive, what's the best way to do this with two consoles so that it's easy to switch between all the different playing and recording modes, ideally with one universal remote?

Here are some. You may also want to Google VCR + DVD + DVR + combo for other choices. It's my opinion that, since your mother-in-law isn't comfortable with technology, buying separate units would be a mistake. Get a combination, even if it is more expensive.