Panasonic DMR-EA18K

The Panasonic DMR-EA18K is a solid basic DVD recorder with one significant caveat -- it lacks tuners of any kind. That means that while it's fine for cable, fiber or satellite TV subscribers, those that get any or all of their TV over the air with an antenna will need to pair it with an external digital TV converter box, which isn't the most convenient arrangement. Beyond that, there are a lot of things to commend the Panasonic DMR-EA18K. It features upconversion to 1080p, an SD card slot, an IR blaster for controlling a cable or satellite box and several playback and recording features that are popular with users. But the biggest plus is picture quality that's said to be a step beyond most competitors, especially at disc-space saving recording settings. If your budget is even tighter, the Toshiba D-R410 (*est. $120) is a no-frills, DVD recorder that gets pretty good feedback, but picture quality isn't quite as good.

The best review for the Panasonic DMR-EA18K comes from CNet.com, where editors put it through a gauntlet of performance evaluations, then discuss the results in a comprehensive and detailed article. A professional review from About.com's resident expert isn't as high in quality, and is mostly focused on specifications and features. User reviews are surprisingly sparse, but some feedback can be found at Amazon.com.