Panasonic DMR-EA48VK DVD Recorder

We don't have cable, satellite, or any other pay-tv service, so when we were looking for DVD recorders, it had to have a tuner. That eliminated about 95% of the models on the market. Of those remaining, the Panasonic had the best reviews, so we picked it up over the summer and haven't looked back!
The manual is very easy to read and follow, and tells you exactly how to do exactly what you want to do. Programming is pretty simple (compared to the VCR, which I couldn't do EVER), and you have so many options, like labeling the content you're recording, and being able to choose time over picture quality (I know, VCRs did that, too).
At first, we were skeptical about the 1080p up-conversion, because many of the DVDs we were watching were made before 2005, and thus didn't take advantage of advanced photography. When we started watching the later seasons of The Sopranos, we realized the huge difference. It was incredible! Suddenly, everything looked crisp, sharp, and super-real. There was no longer that grainy mess caused by the tv trying to digest the signal. It came through crystal clear. Is that a good thing while watching Tony Soprano having sex? Well...at any rate, the picture quality was a million times better than the older episodes.
I do recommend using DVD+RW disks, as they are re-recordable. Yes, I know, they cost more, but who wants a billion disks of shows you know you're only going to watch once? I don't relish the idea of buying that many future coasters.
On the downside, the machine can lock-up if the disk is damaged, or if you try to make it do too many things in a row faster than it can handle it. In these cases, just hold the Power button on the machine for 10 seconds, and it resets. Fortunately, it doesn't require resetting all the programmed information, including the time and date. While I prefer a remedy over a work-around, it's a very simple and quick work-around, so I'll live with it.
For $300, it's not the cheapest thing on the market, but much of that has to do with its digital tuner. Leaving it out makes other machines cost less, but if you don't have cable/satellite/etc., you need one.
As for the VCR, it works. It's a VCR. What is there to say? It plays, it records, it plays what it records. Once Americans transition completely to disks, future machines will cost slightly less and be smaller (without all the space devoted to those big fat tapes).
The machine has inputs for RF Video (coaxial cable, for the antenna users like us), HDMI, USB, SD cards, and has outputs for component and HDMI and others.
For anyone watching TV from over the air signals, this DVD recorder is the way to go.