Panasonic DMR-E80H Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with Hard Drive , Silver
My only experience with a DVD recorder
So I can't compare with other brands or models, but I've owned this unit for 2-1/2 years and have used it on a daily basis and it's still going strong. At a low estimate I'd say I've created 550-600 discs with very few failures; probably close to 2,000 hours of recording to the hard drive. I record in the XP mode and for the most part, dub at LP and the results are good for me. The machine does exactly what I expected it to do and I have used it to copy VHS tapes, home video, and recording from TV. I'm surprised to see so many bad reviews since in my estimation this is a very dependable machine. There have been a few problems, but the recovery system has resolved those problems. Everything we own with a hard drive needs to go through recovery from time to time. I run a lens cleaner quite regularly and that seems to help. I've used numerous brands of DVD-R and they all dub successfully and so far have played back successfully on every DVD except one that was 6 or 7 years old. It was a much pricier item in 2003 but it has definitely given me my money's worth and I have confidence it will continue to do so.