Hi there,

I've had the Panny E80 for over three years and have probably burned upwards of 700 discs, but it's starting to feel like it's about to give up the ghost -- increasing "no disc" errors and other problems with the DVD unit.

I went looking for a replacement and was shocked to find how scarce DVD recorders with hard drives appear to be. I found a number of them at an online store that does PAL/NTSC region-free stuff whom I've bought from before. While I don't need that for this unit, it seems like a good bet for getting a new unit at a decent price.

I was looking specifically at the Pioneer 340H.

I know this is an older model, but the 80 gig hard drive is more than sufficient for what I need. I went looking for info, but while I found specs, I can't find a manual online, or answers to a few specific questions.

Mostly, I use my recorder for dumping shows from my HD cable co DVR, editing out the commercials, and burning to disc. (I have a friend in the military and have been recording a number of shows for him this way... way better than a VCR.) Occasionally I use the TV out from my computer to save something to the Panny hard drive, but not that often.

So, what I'd like to know, if anyone can please help...

-- Does the Pioneer 340 have the same basic editing capabilities as my Panny? Can I take a recorded show, edit out the commercials, put a title on it, and then burn it to DVD (leaving the disc open for a number of weeks, then finalizing)?

-- Does it have a standard cable RF input? I don't record directly off the TV much, since recordings from the HD-DVR look so much better, but it's a nice ability to have. (My guess is yes -- it says "antenna," but I'm just checking.)

-- Is there any issue, since it's an older machine, of using newer DVD-R discs? I realize it will only record at whatever speed it's spec'd for, but can I use 8x, 16x blank discs without problem?

I don't need DV input or anything fancy.

Those are my major concerns, but if there are any problems or niggles I should know about, I'd love to hear.

Thanks so much for any advice. This is sorta traumatic... I've kinda grown to love the Panny, even with its dumb quirks.