Page 1 of Confused Newbie - on a budget - needs choosing advice

Hi, just starting to get into the world of DVD recording and decided to buy a standalone (already got a burner in my PC) but am having trouble deciding which one.

If it helps, I`m looking mainly to archive most of the *ahem* rubbish off my VHS tapes (not prerecorded so macro not an issue) to DVD and then to use it to record TV progs etc for later viewing. Some features I`m looking for are, good picture quality (of course), I`ve got NTL cable TV and have read around that I need an RGB or component input to reep the benefits (is that true?). I`d also like to be able to use it to play my DVD movies so would like an optical output for 5.1 sound to be hooked up to my AV amp and as a bonus NTSC playback would be good. Not too fussed about menus and editing as I prefer to do that on my PC and crank the finished piece back on the burner.

I`ve had a look around and seen some I`m interested in but can`t seem to find too much info about their quality and features, this is where I need the guidance....

I think I should mention also that I`m on a tight budget (about 100 quid) so am limiting myself already. That said here`s a list of the ones I`m considering:

FUNAI DRB2737
DAEWOO DR-2100P
GOODMANS GDVD306R
LITEON 5006

I`ve noticed lots of people automatically get told to buy Panny recorders but I can`t afford that right now (I`ve seen the DMRES10 for £130, which I`m may be able to get if I pull in the purse strings, I know, I`m tight! :p but only if its right for me :) ), I`m just really looking to get a cheapish one to get my foot on the ladder, I`m fully prepared that 2 or 3 years down the line I`ll be forking out for a new and better recorder but for now can any one advise on which of the above suits my needs? Anyone had any experience with them being good or bad?

Thanks for reading my lengthy garb.... help appreciated.

I have a LiteOn 5006 and have never had any problems with it.
Records to DVD+R and DVD-R, rewritable DVDs and also has the advantage of being able to burn VCD, SVCD and audio to ordinary CDR/RW discs too.
It has all the features you`re looking for (optical digital audio output, RGB input and can play NTSC discs).
Although earlier models had only mono sound from the inbuilt TV tuner the 5006 has Nicam stereo. But for most enthusiasts that would be an irrelevance - why would anyone want to record grainy old 4:3 images from an analogue tuner anyway?? Might as well use a VCR!
And finally it`s available multi-region from the box from many dealers, and if not is easily hacked.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 22nd November 2005, 21:03