Panasonic DVD-R

We picked up a DVDR a couple of weeks ago and it's just about perfect for setting up a whole day's worth of recording, then sitting back and watching stuff at your leisure. It has an inbuilt guide which is pretty accurate, although we have missed ends of programs due to the guide not lining up exactly with what's shown. It can record away and let you browse the HDD and play anything pre-recorded, even a show that is recording. It's great for sitting down 1/2 an hour after the show has started and watching it adless and in less time. Great for House.

Only thing I'm a little miffed at is that it can't play DVD (or DivX on DVD) while recording. Hasn't happened too many times, but it does break into the "watch anytime" philosophy. One time we were watching a DivX and a recording started. I couldn't for the life of me get the recording to stop so we could get back to finishing the movie. Finally found out that the drive setting was still on DVD so all the buttons were triggering the DVD (which couldn't respond). You need to swap it back to HDD, stop the recording, then go back to the DVD. Seemed obvious in the end, but how hard would it be to change it to HDD mode if you know that the timer recording precluded any DVD access?