my old set with DVD..?

oooook..here's the question...soon i should be making my 54 magnavox my MAIN set,and i'll be using one of those adaptors for my regular antenna hook up to a cable-type hook up, basically so i can hook it up to a DVD/VCR or VCR to get cable setting the set to channel 3.my main question is what should i hook to it to be able to use a DVD/VCR? i know most DVD players have to plugs (audio and visual) but my set being so old only has the antenna hook ups and then it's gonna have an adapter for cable,so how would i make this work? should i get one of those $20 thingies in the electronics department where you plug cable and DVDs or games into it and then hook it to the set, or is there something i'm missing?any help or opinions would be appreciated! thanks!
frank