My Panasonic also does a great job. Mine is the one with the digital tuner, although I've never had to use it.
I also was given a Magnavox which is strictly a player recorder with no tuner. I does OK for transfers.

Lynn

"Best device IMO is a set-top Panasonic combo recorder."

Couldn't agree more! I have a Panny combo unit with a hard disk and a VHS deck built-in. It's without question the best bang-for-the-buck in any consumer gear I've ever bought.

Unfortunately, they don't make a US version with a hard drive anymore, but international units can be purchased with this feature. (at a premium price...)

Any particular model better than another. I need a couple for my business.

Paul B

Sorry I can't help you with a model number.
Mine is an older one with NTSC tuner. Still works perfectly though for transferring VHS, and I also use it as a DVR with a DVD-RAM disc (and a converter box).

I'd like to get my hands on one too........

I think you will find that the newer versions of these devices are poorly made and will not last. The VHS player portion will probably go first. Check Amazon reviews to verify.

John

There is a lot of discussion about various DVD recorder models on the AVS Forum in the Video Components - DVD Recorders sub-forum.

As craftech mentioned, the recent vintage DVD recorders are generally thought to be inferior to those produced around 2005 - 2006. The Panasonic international unit I mentioned is considered to be an exception to this consensus.

According to that link, mine was produced in 2006 (ES35V). Use it a couple of times every week.

My Panny is DMR EZ48V (also listed as 485V) which is listed as an 09 model. I bought mine in January of 09. It get used several time a week and I have had no problems. Good reviews on the AVS forum.
It does have the digital tuner, but for now, I only use it to make copies. My cost at the time was $317.99. I think I got it at Circuit City before they died.

Lynn

I blindly lucked-out and bought one of the very favorite models, produced in 2006 - a DMR-EH75V. Aside from the hard disk, the coolest thing it has is TV Guide Onscreen, aka TVGOS. This is, in effect, a poor-man's TIVO, with the advantage of being FREE!!!!

My DVR is connected to the video output of the cable box and reads a signal transmitted in the blanking interval of one of our local stations, producing an onscreen program guide that allows me to pick shows to record from a grid that lists programs up to 8 days in advance. At the appropriate time, it changes the cable box to the right channel and records the show to the hard drive. From there, I can burn it to DVD, or make a temporary copy on DVD that I can edit with Womble on my PC.

I absolutely love this machine...

If you are using your 4:3 SD DVD recorder (as mine is) as a broadcast DVR, here is a huge hint:

Set your converter box or whatever is feeding the recorder to FULL resolution -- this means the picture will fill a 4:3 display from top to bottom, meaning most programs will look squished -- but there is an advantage!

What you will get is a full 480 lines of vertical resolution, much better than the 360 you will get if you set the converter for "proper" widescreen aspect.

It is then simple enough to set the 16:9 aspect in VideoRedo or another mpeg utility. The result will be full SD 16:9 widescreen output for your dvd copy or media player, at 50% better resolution than recording at 640x360.

I've also been looking for a way to convert my old VHS tapes to DVD. I have a quick question regarding the Panasonic units - if the VHS was commercially bought, will the unit be prevented from copying it across to DVD?

"if the VHS was commercially bought, will the unit be prevented from copying it across to DVD?"

Copy-protected tapes cannot be copied by these machines.

Could I add a dumb question here? If this copies my old family vhs tapes and burns them onto a dvd, can I then edit the clips without a lot of degradation? Are these now .vob files or .mpg files? I know I must do something to preserve these tapes but I fear that I will lose too much detail. Thanks for any feedback.

Bob

if the VHS was commercially bought, will the unit be prevented from copying it across to DVD?

You would need a separate VCR and something like this.

John