I bought this to make copy of old family video in VHS and Hi8 formats. I am very happy with the results and like to recommend to people who are in the market for DVD recorder.Great- Intuitive once master the basic concepts- RCA amd S-Video connectiors are available in the back panel as well as backpanel- Progressive scan produces excellent quality even in SP mode (on level below the best)- Comprehensive feature sets - just look at the user manual- DVD-R format allows play on most DVD players- Can be used to record TV programs saved on DVRNot so great- The remote control is very busy and not intuitive - intimidating for beginners- Does not record on 8X disc - only 4X only- Start dropping images when buffer memory is filled during long recording sessions (> 2 hours in my experience) - 10% of my recording has to be repeatedGenerally speaking, it is a great product for the money and I look forward to a double layer version in the near future.