Cyberhome CH-DVR1600 DVD Recorder
You get what you pay for!
Let's be honest: this is the cheapest DVD recorder for sale in most places.  Clearly, you are not a serious technology buff, but you want a DVD recorder because you feel like the times are leaving you behind.  I'm the same way, so I bought this thing.<br /><br />The good news: it will, in fact, record DVDs, even directly off your TV when you aren't at home.  However, the on-screen font is nearly unreadable and you have to hit enter and then a navigation button between every element that needs to be programmed.  It takes a good 20 minutes to format the disc and program the timer.<br /><br />Then after it's done recording, plan for at least 30 minutes to edit, check and finalize the disc.  This is worse than Pong.<br /><br />And all the while it groans, squeaks, barks and sizzles as it spins the disc inside.  It sounds like the disc is jammed, or possibly on fire, but in fact the noises are how you know it's working.<br /><br />The only reason I'm still sane is because I cleverly kept my DVD player hooked up to my TV as well; I can record on the CyberHome and then play back on my GOOD machine.  Enterprising home users might think of other advantages to this setup, but the truth is this recorder simply cannot replace whatever you're using now.  This loads and reads discs too slowly to ever use as a playback machine.<br /><br />In conclusion: It works, but it's awful to operate.  Wait for a good one to go on sale; or better yet, just keep your VCR for another year and wait for prices to drop again.  This is just too painful to spend money on.