Recommendation on first DVD recorder

[Pudah]

I am thinking of treating myself this holiday season with a DVD recorder. It will be the first time that I have purchased one of these so I am looking for some advice. I want one with a hard drive. The unit will be used in a bedroom so excessive fan noise would likely be a problem. Source will be analog cable. I'd like to spend a max of $450. Under $400 would be even better if possible.

The models I am currently considering are the JVC DR-MH30S, Pioneer DVR-633H and the Toshiba RD-XS34.

Have any of used any of these recorders? Can you compare and contrast their recording features, ease of use, reliability? I don't care about fancy menu creation (if I need something like that, I'll do it on a PC). Good picture quality is important (though I know there is only so much that can be expected given the source).

Any comments on these units, or any others that I should consider, would be greatly appreciated. TIA

[Frobozz]

I've read a number of posts that the Pioneer makes a lot of hard drive noise as it frequently downloads updates to the TV Guide. From what I've read I wouldn't recommend it for a bedroom. I don't know about the others.

[Captain Satellite]

It seems a lot of people don't like the Panasonic units but I have used them for almost three years and couldn't be happier. I never record at anything below SP. The recording that I do is off of satellite which is much more responsible for macro-blocks from compression than the recorder. These machines are workhorses and have never given me trouble. I already know that Lordsmurf hates them but I respect him a great deal because the guy knows his shit - gotta respect that. Below is a review on the JVC unit on Amazon that you mention.

"Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Overpriced Piece of Junk, October 24, 2005
Reviewer: L. J. Smith - See all my reviews

I first bought this DVR in May 2005. I had researched DVRs for some time and this DVR got rave reviews. Don't believe everything you read.

I'm not a novice (I've been called a electronic geek - I do love my gadgets!) but it took me a week, extensive review of the owner's manual and several calls to JVC before I could operate it on my TV and satellite system. It took another month before I was comfortable enough with the menus and commands to actually use it properly.

After I was finally getting the hang of it, in early September the unit decided to lock up and quit working altogether. I had to unplug it several times just to eject the DVD that was currently loaded in it. After calling JVC again, I was told to send it to the nearest service center which I did on September 6th. I didn't hear anything from JVC for several weeks regarding the status. I called them several times and was only told that the unit was received. I finally got the thing back exactly one month after I had sent it to them, October 6th.

You would think that would have been the end of the story - but NO! After reconnecting everything (no easy task), it seemed to finally be in working order. I used it a couple of times, mostly just to play DVDs, for the next two weeks. On October 23rd, it decided it would show me and proceeded to completely lock up and show me a colorful pink and green screen. Again, I had to unplug it several times to get the DVD out of it. I'm having to send it back again at my expense (it's not that cheap either!)

This is the most I have ever paid for a recorder to only be able to use for 6 months. I'm to the point I don't think I want the thing back but I've paid too much for it to give up now. In the meantime, I bought a much cheaper Pioneer DVR which I love."