Panasonic DMR-ES10S DIGA Series DVD Recorder , Silver
Tested better than Sony & Philips, but DOES  NOT WORK WITH DVD+R
If you're going to copy a lot of VHS tapes to DVD-R or DVD+R discs, this is the one to get.  I tried both a Philips DVDR600VR DVD recorder/VCR combo and a Sony RDRVX500 DVD recorder/VCR combo.  The Philips had a couple problems and I returned it, so I'll compare the Panasonic to the Sony:<br /><br />The Sony had a lot of nice features and overall good quality, but I found that it had a major problem copying VHS tapes from a separate VCR with a GoDVD device.  The quality in that case is substantially degraded, with streaks of interference, as with a satellite dish with the polarity or azimuth tuned wrong.  This is either with the composite video connection, or using an S-Video cable from the GoDVD to the Sony.  The odd thing is a signal from a separate DVD player comes through the same GoDVD device OK, and the signal from the VCR is OK without the GoDVD. The only way I found to get a decent signal from a separate VCR through the GoDVD to the Sony was through an adapter to the coaxial input, which of course is lower quality anyway and somewhat defeats the purpose.<br /><br />However, with the Panasonic DMR-ES10, I made perfect copies of the exact same tapes from the same VCR through the same GoDVD device.  Additionally, the Panasonic has the following handy features not on the Sony combo unit:<br />1. Flexible speed recording.  If you have a tape that's 2 hours 5 min. you can record it at a speed that exactly fills the DVD-R (or +R), where if you just left it in SP mode it would run out.  I tried a DVD-R disc recorded this way on 2 other players and it works fine.<br />2. You can change the thumbnail images in the menu. With the Sony you're stuck with the first frame. With this model Panasonic you can play the title to any frame you want to select for the menu image.<br />3. You can store phrases for the titles.  For instance, if you're recording Perry Mason episodes, every title starts with \\"The Case of the ... \\" You can store that so you don't have to spell it out each time.  I like to add previews to the extra space on a disc, so I saved \\"PREVIEWS.\\"<br /><br />The only problems I've had with the Panasonic DMR-ES10 is with DVD+R media.  When recording stops, it fouls up the disc so it's unusable.  I've had this problem with TDK, HP, and Sony DVD+R disks.  Once in a while it works if the recording is under an hour.  It always works fine with DVD-R.<br /><br />This isn't a combo unit, so the quality from the VHS tape depends on the VCR.  I tried two different VCRs, an old Toshiba and a newer cheaper model, and got great quality DVDs from both.  I tried both VCRs with the Sony and both had the problem with the GoDVD described above, but seem fine without the GoDVD.  But the VCR built into the Sony combo unit seems to have worse performance than the separate VCRs, causing flickering sometimes.<br />Because of that I don't see much advantage to the combo unit, and recommend the Panasonic DMR-ES10 as the best option for copying VHS tapes to DVDs.dd previews to the extra space on a disc, so I saved \\"PREVIEWS.\\"    The only problems I've had with the Panasonic DMR-ES10 is with DVD+R media.  When recording stops, it fouls up the disc so it's unusable.  I've had this problem with TDK, HP, and Sony DVD+R disks.  Once in a while it works if the recording is under an hour.  It always works fine with DVD-R.    This isn't a combo unit, so the quality from the VHS tape depends on the VCR.  I tried two different VCRs, an old Toshiba and a newer cheaper model, and got great quality DVDs from both.  I tried both VCRs with the Sony and both had the problem with the GoDVD described above, but seem fine without the GoDVD.  But the VCR built into the Sony combo unit seems to have worse performance than the separate VCRs, causing flickering sometimes.    Because of that I don't see much advantage to the combo unit, and recommend the Panasonic DMR-ES10 as the best option for copying VHS tapes to DVDs.