I am considering a recorder purchase mainly to xfer old tapes to DVD. I understand that one with a hdd would allow me to record first to hdd, edit to remove unwanted material, and burn to DVD with chapter marks(jump to selected scenes i beleive). And if i'm not mistaken, the hdd would also allow me to pause live tv or perform tivo like functions such as select future programs to record from some kind of manufacturer unique interface. I have several questions. (I am new to forums so patience would be appreciated) Do all let me append recordings(record on space unused at a later time)? Is there a grafical representation of the space, used or unused, on a disk? (time remaining) Do I have to "Finish a burned disk" before I can use it in another player? Who has the best tivo like interface? Is my wife going to be able to use it? (After I teach her to use the 10year old VCR) With quality weighted first, which manufacturer/model should I buy?