Panasonic  DMR-ES40VS VHS / DVD Recorder Silver
Fantastic Product!  Highly recommend!
I am VERY pleased with this product.  After finding out that Consumer Reports rates Panasonic higher than all other brands in almost every category, I decided that this was definitely the brand to go with.  I'm still learning about all its features, but so far am quite impressed.   <br /> <br />Just a heads up to those considering this product, you are able to do alot more if you also purchase DVD-RAMs instead of R or RW discs.  (One free RAM disc does come with this product.)  With the RAM disc, you can add titles to recorded programs,  create chapters in something you have recorded, delete chapters, combine chapters, etc.  (I have recorded some TV movies and have been able to delete the commercials by creating chapters).  The Chase Play feature (watching a program from the beginning while it is still recording) is also only available with the RAM discs. <br /> <br />I originally purchased an Emerson DVD recorder, which was quite a bit cheaper.  Naturally, you get what you pay for.  The Emerson worked fine, but did not have the features that the Panasonic does.  I also did not like the Emerson remote control, as it was hard to find the buttons you needed.  (i.e. the arrow buttons for the DVD menu were mixed in with the channel buttons, all buttons were the same shape and size - difficult to distinguish).  The Panasonic remote has a lot of buttons, but its not intimidating if you take the time to scan the instruction manual.   <br /> <br />VCR to DVD dubbing and vice/versa is very simple - just select which you want to do and hold down the button for three seconds.  One negative to this is that you cannot pause recordings to cut out unwanted material and the full disc will be copied unless you monitor it and stop it where you want to stop recording.  However, on VCR to DVD recordings, if you use RAM discs, this wouldn't be an issue since you can edit as desired. <br /> <br />Another positive feature is that this player will both read and record all types of discs:+R, -R, +RW, -RW, and RAM.  You do have to finalize any DVD that you record before it will play on other DVD players (you do not have to finalize it to play it on the Panasonic).  I cannot attest to the statement in one of the other reviews that it does not play discs that have been recorded on other players - but perhaps those discs had not been finalized?  In any case, I've had no trouble playing any discs which I have in my home library.