Panasonic DMR-HS2 Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder/PVR with 40 GB Hard Drive (Silver)
new technology is shaky but well worth it, better than VHS
Although I'm ashamed to say, I did buy this purely on impulse and at time of purchase knew absolutely nothing about DVD-R/DVD-RAM/HDD recording. All I knew was that I HATED VHS quality and I wanted to transfer my VHS to DVD, record shows from my digital cable to DVD, and transfer DVs from my camcorder to DVD. Ok, I love technology (I burn CDs, have an stellar entertainment system, etc) but this tested my patience. After painstakingly reading the manual time and again, I realized that DVD recording is still in it's infancy yet my goals were possible except there were going to be drawbacks.<br />First and foremost, even after you finalize a DVD-R for playback, the DVD-Rs you make using this unit WILL NOT PLAY BACK IN EVERY dvd player...it's too new. DVD-RAM discs will only play back in your unit. The hard drive (known as HDD) allows you to record from TV/cable/VHS/camcorder, store your shows there inside the unit (like a computer) until you want to watch them (as many times as you want), burn them to DVD-R or DVD-RAM, or erase them. There is a limit of recording hours depending on the kind of quality you want (just like VHS) XP is the best quality mode for the hard drive (HDD) and allows 8.5 hours. Then SP (17 hrs), LP (34 hrs), and EP (52 hrs)<BR> <BR>With DVD-Rs and DVD-RAM, XP only allows 1 hr and a max of 6 hrs. EP mode is AWFUL!! I only record on XP and I'm still not 100% satisfied with the dvd-r quality but I think that'll improve vas the companies perfect making them (like CD-Rs)<br />Also, once you make a DVD-R, you cannot dub it to make another DVD-R. If you already erased the program from the HDD, you have to go through this long frustrating process involving DVD-RAM to make another copy and quality suffers. Plus, in most cases, you have to play the show/movie/vhs tape/whatever when recording onto HDD & DVD-R...no quick copy except for when I record from my camcorder and occasionally when I use RAM. It doesn't sound like a problem but believe me, it is. <br/>You can't use DVD+R or DVD+RW with this unit. I believe those are used with the Philips Recorder. Be careful, it's an easy mistake to make. <br />Also, when recording from VHS (you need your own VCR), I expected the picture to somehow improve once in DVD format but it really didn't. <br />I still love this beautiful machine, though. It's definitely the future of recording, no question. With a little practice, you can easily title your programs, choose a menu color, FF & rewind up to 100X, shorten segments (skip commercials), divide programs, and retain decent clarity unlike VHS. I was able to toss out all those clunky VHS tapes, buy standard DVD cases & even make DVD labels on my computer so that my new DVD-Rs blend in my DVD collection. Right now as of 11/02, DVD-Rs go for about (Money) a piece.