Panasonic DMR-HS2 Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder/PVR with 40 GB Hard Drive (Silver)
The BEST addition to the home theater
This product is a great alternative to Tivo (without the service fee.)You can record directly to the 40GB built-in Hard drive or a<BR>DVD-RAM/DVD-R. There are 4 recording modes to choose from XP, SP, LP and EP, but LP is the lowest I suggest recording with (EP mode leaves a few too many artifacts floating around.)<BR> <BR>Digital camcorder owners will love this machine because of the built-in IEEE 1394 firewire port, making the transfer of home videos a breeze, but you need a 4 pin to 4 pin cable (not included.)<br />The DMR-HS2 has some editing features to use, but they are basic. They work great if you just need to trim out some commercials from a tv program. I will stick to editing my work on the computer for my home video projects. <BR> <BR>The next added bonus is the PC card slot, giving me the ability to transfer pictures from my digital camera via Compact Flash to the hard drive or a DVD-RAM/DVD-R. This will also support Smart Media, Memory Stick and MultiMedia cards.<BR> <BR>It was very easy to setup - Attached the coxial cable, plugged it in the wall, turned it on and hit the auto scan button. It then collected all the available channels and automatically set the date/time based on a local channel. It will only go up to 125 channels, which for me is fine, but may be a limitation for other people.<BR> <BR>Burning onto a DVD-R was easy and the resulting video quality was excellent in SP and great in LP. I started recording onto the HD with LP mode, but have since changed to SP just to maintain a crisper picture. I have yet to finalize the DVD-R and check it's compatibility with my other DVD player.<br />Overall Rating: 4 1/2 stars, 1/2 a star drop because of price, but if you have the money and the desire for DVD quality video, this is a must have.