Am looking for a standalone burner mainly for direct archives of old videotapes, so effective noise reduction/cleaning features are desired. Was considering some Panasonic models but really don't need a tuner (didn't see any without a tuner), plus I've read they don't necessarily produce the best A/D conversion quality. There is a current Phillips model that looks good, too, which guarantees its writes will play in ALL players! Pretty steep claim -- unless it is just more marketing BS.

Then I discovered this Samsung unit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882676057
and am seriuosly considering buying one. No tuner, seemingly decent video cleaning capabilities, auto chapters/finalize with -R media -- and the Samsung name. I have been very satisfied with the performance of recent Sammy LCD and ODD purchases. But I can't seem to find many opinions regarding this recorder in this or any other forum and that makes me a bit nervious...

I think that's a good choice .

The big question these days for a recorder is whether it will record VHS movies. Many will not do so without a black box for removing the Macrovision or other protections. Similar problems can exist with recording premium channels from cable or satellite.