Techie question: DVD recorders?

[amedia]

I'm thinking about getting a DVD recorder, primarily for transferring favorite VHS tapes onto a more permanent (and smaller) medium.

I would love to hear recommendations from people who've used them. What brand(s) are good? What should I avoid? What features are useless bells and whistles, and what might be surprisingly necessary?

Any input accepted with gratitude!

Comments

[shawan-7.livejournal.com]

I have a Samsung that my brothers bought for me last Xmas and it's early technology; hopefully it's a bit easier to use now than it was 9 months ago. I'd actually wait until the standards settled down, and it becomes common.