I've got a Samsung DVD recorder that I bought the day after Thanksgiving last year.
A few of the requirements I had when I bought it were:
- HDMI output
- HD Upconversion
- fibre optic audio out
I've only used it as a replacement for a VCR and it has done an outstanding job in that respect. I suppose I could also connect my camera to it or some other component and record it, but I haven't yet.
There happens to be one on
Woot! right now. If you're not familiar with Woot!, they're an interesting website. They put a product up for sale every night at midnight their time (I think they're in Texas). They usually have an outstanding price on it, but only sell the one product per day. Sometimes the product sells out in seconds. Sometimes it doesn't sell out all day. I don't own this model DVD recorder, so I can't speak as to how well it performs, but it is a good price.
Oh, and shipping is only ever $5 for anything on Woot!, no matter the size. (They were selling 61 inch HD DLP TV's last year at about 2/3rds the local cost and still with $5 shipping!)