Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After researching for a DVD recorder with hard drive for several weeks it became apparent that this new model coming out would be worth waiting for. I had almost settled on the E85HS model but after reading the reviews it seemed it had a lot of problems and was pretty limited to the types of disks it would record to. This new model has solved all that with several more types (read specs) to record to. The TV GUIDE downloaded just fine and works like a charm. I haven't recorded too much just yet (only have had it for a week) and have had no problems with it freezing up. The TV GUIDE editing works well and you need it as the stations on my system came in random order. I just rearranged them and turned off the channels that I didn't want. This device can certainly replace TIVO that is for sure. Be sure to follow the intructions about giving it time to download the TV GUIDE stations. It needs to be left off (standby) for at least 24 hours. I had to play with it for the first day or two so it took me a little longer to get up and running. Also, the manual is a bit daunting but I found by playing around you could figure out most of the remote functions. As you can tell, I didn't get this machine to convert VCR tapes. I wanted something that could replace my converter box from my cable TV company (RCN) and have TIVO capabilities. This unit does that magnificently. I am now using my converter box upstairs with another tv so I can tune in music channels and use the "on demand" channel. However, this unit will work with the converter box with the included IR Blaster so it is a very versatile recorder and tuner box. I'll come back later and add addtional information about my recording and editing experience. 7/7/05 update: I finally got around to editing and dubbing a TV recording to DVD. It was a very easy process overall. The only thing that slows you down is trying to read the instruction manual. Once you are on the editing screen ("Shorten Title" as it is called) it is pretty intuitive and with a little trial and error it was a pretty fast operation. Now my son-in-law has a commercial free copy of the Eagles concert. One thing to remember is if you want to utilize high-speed dubbing you need to turn it on before you start. This means even before you start recording a program. Once it is recorded without high-speed dubbing you are stuck with a dubbing time equal to the length of your recording. Panasonic recommends that you set that option to off unless you know you want to dub a program at high speed. They don't say why. Even though this wasn't the primary reason to buy this recorder for me it really seems to do the job and would be great for converting VHS tapes to DVD. Finally, don't forget to finalize your DVD so it will play on other devices. There is a prompt for it so it really isn't a problem. As a follow up to my primary review, I am loving the recording of TV programs on the hard drive. I record and watch movies that I would never have bothered with because of the commercials. The TV GUIDE makes it very simple (push one button)to record. With the on screen menus you don't even need the book to use this function. The normal (SP) speed gives you 44 hours of recording time and I can't tell the difference between it and the orginal TV program in picture or sound quality. Overall, this device has exceeded all of my expectations.