Panasonic DMR-E20S DVD Recorder and Player, Silver
Good unit with a few work-arounds required
I too occasionally have problems formatting RAM media; however, I was able to clear the problem by opening/closing the tray and trying it again.  Using this technique, I've never had a RAM disk that couldn't be formatted. Video quality is top-notch at SP (two-hours). I use this unit with my TiVo to save movies/shows to DVD-ROM which then goes in my 300 slot Pioneer DVD Player (F727).  So now I can keep all the good stuff, and play them anytime (without getting up.)