what brand and what models are recommended?

Yo-

Look at the Toshiba DR-5 here:

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=d-r5

Looks like it's about $145

Personally I would hold out for a Panasonic-eh!

I would hold out until the new models come out in the spring. A lot of them will likely have upconversion and HDMI. Also, remember that after March 1st all devices with tuners must have an ATSC tuner. It is very likely that a lot of models will have QAM (for digital cable) tuners too.

Panasonic DMR ES25

Use the google search engine for "Stand Alone DVD Recorder with HDMI interface.

Just looked at the spec for the ES25 on CNET and it didn't show HDMI amongst the connections.

Trust me it has HDMI



Page 13 of the Operating Instructions

Great! Thanks. Looked at a couple of sites that do not show this.

Note: the DMR-ES25 does not have a HDMI Cable included in the box

Yo-

Good/reliable/inexpensive vendor to purchase a variety of cable needs here:

http://www.national-tech.com/index.php

I have personally bought a bunch of stuff off of them and they are great and cheap-eh!

Cables are good from monoprice.com as well.

If you are trying to use HDMI interface either from output or for input then you better be willing to buy and use high quality of HDMI cable and is expensive otherwise you won't benifit the quality of HDMI signaling.

they had a samsung for only $59 on fatwallet it was a hdmi dvdr but it sold out now

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/697667/

I won't put my fait for HDMI interface on DVD Player which only cost less than $60.

Nonsense! I have a cheap HDMI cable and an expensive one, you can't tell the difference in the picture on my 50" HDTV. Granted, these are just 6' cables, if you were going longer than 15' I would spend a little extra, but don't waste your money on Monster cables or most of those recommended at BB or CC etc.

After a lot of reading and searching I settled on Oppo DV-981HD. I have had it for 2 weeks now, and I love it. http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/index.html
A bit on the pricey side, but it competes with players costing much more.
I liked the fact that it is firmware upgradeable.
A heads up about hdmi though, there are a lot of compatability issues, especially with switching. Some cable and satelite boxes do not support switching, so this could be an issue, if your tv doesn't have more than one input. This player is HDMI 1.1.
I had to use the digital optical port to connect to my sound system, due to the limitations of my audio receiver, but it sounds great and the picture is phenomenal. It definitly breathed new life into my DVD collection.

I second that.. My 33$ RCA brand HDMI cable I purchased from Walmart provides the same picture quality and sound as the 99$ Monster cable from Circuit City. I can't tell any difference at all on my 56" 1080P widescreen.

I highly recommend the OPPO as a player (I have the 971), but it is not a recorder. They don't make a recorder as far as I know. Luv to see them do so.

I would begin that its a samsung and samsung is just as good if not better then the $200 one

my samsung phone works flawless and has been through hell
my 2 samsung dvd pc burners works great and has burn over 1000 dvds

samsung is great and for under $60 i would put all my fait in it

I just noticed my error. Should have read more carefully. Sure like my Oppo though. Would be nice if they got into that market.

If you think you can get away with cheap HDMI and still get high quality signal then you are genius and I take my hat off for you. Better, be serious when you claim engineering argument.

I have an Oppo 970 & I love it. http://www.avsforum.com suggested http://www.monoprice.com to me for great cheap cables.

Funny, nowhere in this thread was anyone claiming or attempting "engineering argument." Be careful with your words, this is a forum based largely on user experience so the comments posted herein are exactly that.

If you can tell me why my 30$ HDMI cable would have worse performance than a 99$ Monster cable from Circuit City, I'd be all ears. Until then, there's no discernable difference, IMO of course

Interestingly enough, I've heard the greatest profit margins for retailers such as Circuit City, Best Buy, etc, come not from the expensive electronics they sell, but rather the cables that go along with it, sometimes as large as 200% profit!

No disrespect to others opinions.........but I have to go with you on this one.
A wire is a wire....(the electrons will flow from one end to the other) sure we can make the connection more corrosion proof, (gold), but the bottom line.... more expensive does not nessesesarily mean better picture. (as the old saying goes, it's always easy to tell an engineer, and you constantly have to tell them)

Well bottom line is, conductor to conductor the electrons flow the same, and you can bet both companies (Monster and RCA) are going with the most bang for the buck, which means cheapest conductor for the price. (I would be willing to bet money they both use the same material for the wire).

The gold connectors may be fancy and corrosion proof (in fact I believe my 30$ RCA HDMI cable's connectors are gold plated), but it's still going to have resistance of the *least* resistant material, which is used in the wire.

I'm not planning on putting my HD theatre system outside anytime soon, so I'm certain I could do without the gold plated connectors.