Sony RDR-GX300 DVD Recorder
The Best Yet
Before purchasing the Sony RDR-GX300 I had owned the  Phillips  DVDR75 and Panasonic DMR-E100HS  . Both these units were top of the line when purchased.  The Sony unit is by far the superior product.  <br />The Phillips was very cheaply made, unreliable e and had a difficult and confusing user interface. It also was very particular about the brands of DVD it recorded on, resulting in a significant amount of trial and error and wasted discs. In addition the Technical Support was terrible, the wait was long and the technicians  were  not knowledgable about the product. <br />The Panasonic is an excellent machine. The ease of use is excellent and clear even for a novice. The hard drive is huge and the quality of the recording, particularly in HQ mode is quite good. The major issue with the Panasonic machine is the fact that it is limited to recording only DVD-R and DVD-RAM formats.   The absence of DVD-RW writing can be limiting because the DVD-RAM  can be played back on very few DVD players.If you want to play your recorded discs on a player other than the one you recorded on this can be a significant drawback. In addition the unit was moderately particular  about the brands of discs it recorded on. For example it did not record or recognize Memorex discs, which was  the brand recommended to me when I purchased it. <br />The Sony unit is totally versatile. It can play and record in DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW formats. When finalized the RW discs can play in any DVD player  (certainly newer one, older players sometimes have difficulty playing  recorded discs, even if the format is compatible).  It records and plays back every brand of disc  I  have tried, including the ones Ieft over after being rejected by the other machines.  <br />The ease of use is fantastic. I would describe the  user interface as elegant in it's simplicity and design. The processes of setting up, formatting, editing and finalizing  the recordings are clearly laid out and easy  to follow. Thegraphics are  simple,  straightfoward and uncluttered. <br />The only  thing lacking on this unit is a hard drive, which can function like a PVR (like TiVo or ReplayTV). Sony is about to introduce the RDR-HX900 which does include the hard drive, but is $1000 list price. Whether the difference is worth it depends upon your individual needs. <br />Overall my opinion is that this is the best DVD Recorder produced up to this time. I couldn't be happier with it.