Panasonic  DMR-ES40VS VHS / DVD Recorder Silver
Excellent buy for the money
So far, so good with this item.  I chose it after considerable study of reviews of various products.  For the price, this does virtually everything I want. I knew from the get-go that this recorder would not produce DVDs that would be playable universally. That will be a drawback for many people, but at this price I can't complain.  The quality of reproduction is surprisingly good, and the ease of editing out unwanted segments (and recombining segments) is rather astonishing.  One can't move material around; it will always stay in the same order, but the ability to excise commercials is a boon and saves space on DVDs.  As long as this product keeps functioning as well as it has (almost nonstop for several weeks), I'll be well pleased.