I love this unit!

My first experience with a stand-alone DVD recorder. After a lot of research, I picked this unit and have not been disappointed.

DVD-RAM is the only format which allows for use of the richest set of recording and playback features. A 25-disc platter of 4.7 GB single-sided DVD-RAM ver. 2.0 discs without a cartridge direct from Panasonic cost me $29.99 + 7% tax + free shipping for a total of $32.09 ($1.28 per disc).

I decided to use these discs exclusively because of the reasonable cost & full feature set. All comments are based on my experience with these discs ONLY. Caveat: DVD-RAM discs can only be played back on other DVD-RAM compatible equipment and there are few units which currently are. Also, from what I understand, recordings made on computer DVD-RAM drives are not necessarily compatible with this unit although I did not actually test this.

The manual is very clear. The result of every choice is clearly stated. Because of the fairly long list of features, the manual is quite long.

The highest resolution of video this unit puts out is 480p from its component video output. SVHS and composite RCA are other options sending video out at 480i. You can choose between 4:3 PanScan and Letterbox or 16:9 aspect ratios.

Audio output options are analog RCA and digital optical. Dolby Digital and DTS information is only sent out from the optical output for decoding by an external decoder. The analog RCA audio outputs send out Analog 4-channel Dolby Surround and 2-channel PCM signals.

There are 2 audio/video (SVHS/composite RCA) inputs plus 1 DV (firewire) input for DV cameras with this type of output. A computer with a firewire output cannot be connected to this DV input.

DVDs can be recorded in 1, 2, 4, 8 hr. modes. There is also a Flexible Recording mode which matches the source length to the DVD (max 8 hrs). E.g. if you have a 1 hr. 20 min. VHS tape, you can have the unit record the tape onto a DVD and fill the DVD to capacity giving you a recording quality slightly lower than the 1 hr. mode recording quality and slightly higher than the 2 hr. mode recording quality. This is the only recording mode I use.

Each recording is considered a "title". Initially each title has only 1 chapter but this title-long chapter can be manually split into multiple chapters. I have guitar instruction tapes and I can now jump directly to the point I want to by creating these chapters. Chapters are also created automatically at every point there is an index signal on a VHS tape. VCR con: you cannot create indexes on the tape from this unit. I will use another VCR which has this facility if I want to do this. However, using the unit's chapter creation facility is faster and more precise.

Editing a recorded title is a breeze. You can name/rename a title, break it up into multiple chapters, combine chapters (not titles), delete a chapter or a whole title. Total of 99 titles per disc.

You can create playlists with chapters and have them play in any order. The unit allows upto 99 playlists with 1000 chapters.

Some but not all Macrovision encoded VHS tapes can be copied to DVD without a problem. I don't have HDTV so I can't comment on HD CPRM recordings but from what I understand, the DVD-RAM ver. 2.0 discs are CPRM-compatible so this should not be a problem if I decide to get HDTV in the future and want to record down to DVD resolution.

The VCR has a jet rewind facility which is VERY fast. SVHS tapes can be played and recorded to DVD but you cannot record SVHS tapes on the VCR. In general, the VCR has a good but not excellent set of features. I guess, the idea being that it will be primarily used to transfer recordings to DVD.

This unit also has a TV tuner and TV programs can be recorded to VHS or DVD with 1 button. TV recordings can also be scheduled to either drive.

This unit has many more features. I've listed the most important ones. As an ordinary consumer, I would be hard-pressed to think of a feature that I need and it does not have. Only a professional would need more features.