A couple of quick searches found pcworld.com and e-opinions.com with reviews. I believe that both gave pretty good ratings to Panasonic.

Yes, I finally did that. I was without a computer for a while, and I see that this thread had no activity until yesterday. I ended up buying a Panasonic, for exactly that reason, and also based on our general good experiences with Panasonic products in the past. I got the "30" model (don't have the full model number with me) DVD recorder/VCR combo unit. I learned a lot about the confusing topic of DVD recording formats, and also about home theatre and video in general, during my research. Since our HDTV has only one set of component inputs, and we have no home theater receiver, I have to switch TV inputs to get the best picture, etc. However, it's easy to do with either of the remotes. I found that the DVD signal using the S-video input is very good. This is a 27" TV, so there's not a lot of difference between the HD picture and the normal picture from cable (depending on the channel); both are excellent. I haven't tried recording with this new unit yet, but I like it in general so far. For anyone else facing a similar situation, I would only say that all of the other brands seems to have at least a few people posting who have had problems (sometimes multiple problems) with the machines. So be careful. Steve

Steve:
I have been searching for a unit similar to what you bought. Have you recorded with it yet, and, if so, what were the results. What did you pay for your unit and where did you get it?
Thanks

Yes, I have recorded with it (see comment on another DVDR thread). It works fine. I use TDK +R disks and they play in the few other machines that we've tried. No problems to speak of, once you learn the menus and the drill for finalizing disks (assuming you don't use the RAM disk, which is re-recordable and doesn't have to be finalized). The recorded picture quality seems very good, I record from Comcast Digital Cable. Have not tried dubbing from one of my old VHS tapes yet. I bought this machine from Best Buy for about $310. I have gone to Circuit City and they were out of them, salesperson thought they were being replaced by a newer model, but I'm not sure that is the case. Best Buy had plenty of them. Good luck, Steve