Sony RDR-VX500 DVD Player/Recorder with VCR
Not bad!
I tend to tune out technological change until something breaks and I need a new gadget -- so I expect a bit of pain when I buy something new as I usually have a bit more of learning curve than many folks.  When my VCR bit the dust three weeks ago, I went out to get another and saw the RDR-VX500.  I have been surprised how pain-free it has been -- had it set up and connected to our LCD HDTV in a couple of minutes, and the one button transfer recording on the front panel between the VCR and DVD could not be simpler.  Have recorded about a third of my old VHS-C tapes to DVD without a hitch, and I've played them on our three household desktops, our laptop, and a couple of low end DVD players without a problem.  (Have used both DVD-R and DVD+RW disks.) The quality of the reproduction on the DVD is of course excellent, but the VCR, too, does a noticably fine job -- it is not at all hard to watch on a fairly good HDTV screen.  Finally, while there are many buttons on the remote, they are sensibly laid out, and not as bad as many remotes with which I've struggled.  I'm very pleased with this machine and recommend it to any protoneoluddite like myself.