It's absolutely illegal, that's all that needs to be said. There are no "maybe's", no "if's". It's illegal

I see it as, if it's been shown on television and you have recorded it either on Cassette, or DVD then i guess you should be free to share it with whom ever you want, as long as you don't charge people money for copies or to borrow.
So if a song has ever been played on the radio, the RIAA will forgive me for downloading them illegally?

There's a reason the "including infringement without monetary gain" part is in those annoying FBI warnings that you can't fast-forward past