Panasonic DMR-ES20S

Pros: excellent image quality, easy to use, flexible recording

Cons: no +RW, doesn't do satellite, poor on scene creation, no basic editing

Summary: Test drove a few other brands. While DVD recording isn't ready for mainstream, this is the best I found.

Quality:
Excellent on XP and SP modes.
Haven't tried on lesser quality modes and probably will never use them anyway.
Recording satellite the recorded quality rivals the original satellite signal. Very impressive.
Recording HI8 through inputs works great.
Haven't noticed any artefacts with fast motion scenes.

Best feature:
Flexible recording -- you can tell it you want to record a source for 1h22m or 2h09m or whatever your source length and it will fit the dvd to fill it with the best possible quality. This is great.

Good features:
Nice remote. Controls tv well as well.
Easy to navigate menu structures.
Sufficient inputs including DV.
Bright display, user changeable brightness.
DVD-RAM is good. Ability to pause 'live tv' (chasing playback) is good in theory. 'In theory' because I haven't tested that yet.
Whisper quiet even with cooling fan running.

Problems I found:
1) Found that sometimes it thinks that HI8 personal camcorder footage is somehow "copyright protected
material" and complains with an on-screen message, says it's finalizing the disc but then records onwards
anyway. Result is two scenes and the first 10-15 or so seconds of the source material is always missed.
This is an occasional problem. Turning off machine and back on between recording sessions stops this.
2) If I don't hit "return" after finalizing a disc before pushing eject, the unit will freeze such that I
can't do anything but push-hold the power button till it turns off, then turn back on again.

Huge annoyances:
Doesn't record to DVD+RW
Doesn't do satellite.

Big annoyances:
Only does VCR+ programming.
Can't do customized chapters/scenes. Upon finalizing, they're made automatically every 5 minutes.
Can't do any real editing.

Small annoyances:
Using the on-screen keyboard via the remote to title discs is slow and cumbersome.
Display could be more informational than fitting all messages into four characters, some uppercase, some
lowercase.
Oddly a digital optical out but no digital coaxial.
Tends to take about 10 seconds longer than one would expect to mount the dvds and be ready to play or
record.
To finalize, you have to say 'ok' three times --> it keeps warning you and telling you what that means.
A few more of the common buttons on the front panel might be nice -- i.e. next chapter, fast forward, fast rewind.