Sony RDRHX715 DVD Recorder
It works well..if you know how to set it up right
After many searches and reviews I landed on this recorder.       I have a Sharp television and a Scientific-Atlanta digital cable box.  For those of you who say the free TV Guide does not work, I had the same problem at first.  To resolve this I read the manual and made it work through trial and error.  The manual specifically stated that you have to leave the cable box turned on and the DVR turned off for the data to load overnight.  Also, you have to have the DVR remote control as the default remote in setup with the remote link adapter hooked up and placed on top of your cable box hanging by the cable box remote sensor.  As soon as you turn off the DVR you should see your cable box changing channels sequentially to load the TV Guide, if you don't see this happening then something is not set right. My cable service is SureWest and initially I had to set my cable box AND the DVD recorder to channel 2 before I powered off the DVD recorder to get the TV guide to load.  If the TV Guide fails to load overnight then try another cable box remote code....make sure the DVR remote works with your cable box before you accept that as your working code and/or try another default channel like channel 2 or 3.  Make sure your zip code is correct in setup.  Keep on trying different codes until you have one that changes channels with the DVR remote and also loads the TV Guide.  I once had a code that worked with the DVR remote but didn't show my cable service provider in the setup.  I tried another code and my service provider showed up.  If you still can't get it to work, call the 800 customer service number provided with your packaging.  They are fast and they know what they are talking about.  It costs you nothing to call.      Pros: 1)It's met all of my expectations.  It works very good!    Cons: 1)The DVR remote turns the channels very very slow.  2)If you use your cable box or TV remote remote after you have set the recorder to record a program in the TV Guide menu, you willnot record the program set, you will record the channel you are presently watching. 3) Programming the TV Guide channel line up takes forever...plan on 1-2 hours at least, unless you prefer to scroll through 200+ channels you don't have to find the ones you do have.  It's OK to turn off the DVR for TV Guide updating but you cannot turn off your digital cable box or your TV Guide will not update.