Toshiba RD-XS54 DVD Recorder with 250 GB Hard Drive
A great machine
I've had this machine for a couple of months now.  This recorder requires patience.  It has an immense number of features and probably would take months to get familiar with all of them.  I'm using the TVGOS (required a firmware update from Toshiba).  I record profusely with it and it can store endless programs because of the massive hard drive.  I've also copied an unprotected DVD and editted it, left out parts I didn't want, and put in chapter breaks, all very easily once I learned how to do it.  And this barely scratches the surface of what can be done.  Yes, it's true that the TV Guide is a little slow advancing in 1/2 hour increments, but it has a number of searches which are actually very quick and useful.  For example, I can pull up all the movies that are going to be aired, and record whichever ones I want, and of course not even think once about available space.  And yes it's true that a second tuner would be nice so you could record two different shows on at the same time.  But I'd have to watch 12 hours a day just to catch up with what I have recorded.  BTW, everything I do is off the air, so if there are any cable issues, they are not relevant to me.  I'm giving it 5 stars.  Not because it's perfect, because no complex machine like this can be.  I give it 5 stars for the features and flexibility of the machine.  And that 250 gig hard drive.  This machine will forever change your view on how you watch recorded TV.