Since the introduction of DVD recorders, I have been asking for one with a built-in hard drive and a good EPG. Pioneer has answered with the DVR-57H. The unit is a combination free-standing TiVo with 120GB hard drive and progressive DVD-RW/-R recorder. Unlike the Samsung above, this TiVo has composite and S-video inputs for connection to a satellite box or a cable set-top box or both. I connected my cable box directly to it, as well as my DirecTV receiver via the Pioneer's S-video input. I selected component-video output for connection to my display. The Pioneer can be selected to output 480p to both its harddrive section and its DVD player/recorder.

A Three Part Survey that includes the Samsung SIR-S4120R and RCA DRC7005N!