Before the end of the year I want to purchase a DVD/VHS Combo recorder with an ATSC tuner and ready for the DTV transition. Is there a consensus on the best units. So far I'm looking at the JVC SRMV45US, Sony RDR-VXD655, Toshiba D-VR660, and the Panasonic DMR-EZ47K. I see there is already a thread on the Panasonic unit, but what about the others. And I assume this summer the latest version of the units will be coming too.

If you decide you'd rather have a HDD unit, click my signature for a good unit with digital tuners and 160GB HDD, which makes editing easier and allows dubbing to DVDs on the built-in DVD drive on high speed.

wajo,
Thank you for the reply. I really like the DVD/VHS recorder concept. I like to physically record programs for archiving. Each program series then has its own DVD or cassette. I don't do any editing on the recorder.

June 23 - June 29 Costco has a Coupon for $40.00 off the Panasonic DVD/VCR Combo which includes an HDMI Cable.

The Coupon book was mailed to the house but you can pick one up at one of their stores. I don't know how much they will be selling for but if it's anything like the other Panny closeout items they've had before the price will be unbeatable. So far it isn't listed on their website but the Item Number is 290022 & it should be listed shortly.

You can still do that on the Philips, either record directly to the DVD or record to the HDD then edit if you wish, then High speed record to DVD without any losses. Recording to HDD then DVD is much more reliable. That way if DVD has any problems you can just make another HS copy.
This said if you really want the combo I would suggest the Panasonic EZ-48 rather than the rather buggy EZ-47. Also I believe the PQ recording off HD digital channels is slightly better on the EZ-xs8 series DVDRs.
Not a lot of people around here post about the JVC units, the Toshiba DVDRs have a following though but I don't think you're going to find big support for the Sonys. They tend to have overzealous Copy Protection. I had a Sony DVDR for a short period of time but didn't really care for the Picture Quality.
Personally I think the Pannys have the best PQ going hands down.
P.S. the Costcos near me sell the EZ-48 for $269 but rarely give out the coupon book. They say they are for "new" members only. If interested in a coupon PM me. For $229 I think it's one hell of a deal. Avoid the EZ-47 unless you want lots of headaches.

I really like the DVD/VHS recorder concept.

I, too, like the combo recorder concept.

In fact, I found that Panasonic's implementation of the concept reached a high point in one 2005 model combo recorder (DMR-ES30V) so I purchased two of these and my daughter also purchased two of these so four of these models serve our household. As I became involved in an extensive selective dubbing project I purchased four 2006 model combo recorders (DMR-ES35V). All these are outstanding Panasonic products.

Panasonic's 2007 models and half their 2008 models are equipped with digital and analog tuners. But Panasonic stripped the 2007 and 2008 combo recorders of important and essential dubbing/copying features. Panasonic also incorporated old bugs and design flaws into the 2007 models and they are still present in 2008 models according to several posters. (These bugs and design flaws had been corrected before the earlier DMR-ES30V and DMR-ES35V models had come to market.)

Considering the current market of combo recorders I would suggest using a VCR connected to an input of a DVD recorder or DVD/Hard Drive recorder (such as the Philips 3575 or 3576) for use in any project copying videotaped recordings to DVD. For the reasons I and many others have described, it's best to use the VCR that originally recorded your tapes for this type of project.

I have recently posted a description of my project dubbing selected videotaped recordings to DVD. In that post I describe how Panasonic's current combo recorders are unsatisfactory for use in such a project:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13955310#post13955310

I don't disagree with Digado. I also have several ES-30s and love them. With current combos the separate VCR/DVDR is the best way to go. In this case I would suggest a Panasonic EZ-28 coupled with a quality VCR. If you're insistent on a combo I still stand by the EZ-48.

I'm looking for the same thing, but one with an ATSC tuner that passes through an HD signal for viewing instead of just an SD signal. I haven't seen one yet. Are there any out there that I might have missed? If not, are there any on the horizon?

I'm looking for the same thing, but one with an ATSC tuner that passes through an HD signal for viewing instead of just an SD signal. I haven't seen one yet. Are there any out there that I might have missed? If not, are there any on the horizon?
No current DVDR passes HD thru its tuner. The Philips 3575 and 3576 pass HDTV thru its coax passthru for watching HDTV normally w/o the 3575/76 being on.