My recorder is a JVC DR-M10. I bought it based on reviews over at videohelp. It has it's idiosyncrasies, but a lot of features the competition didn't have at the time. The only video it's ever choked on was a very poor quality bootleg of an old blooper reel.
It's a shame the DVD recorder market is all but dead in the states. (And Hollywood is supposedly giving the evil eye at consumer level Blu Ray recorders.) Walmart is only carrying one Magnavox VHS combo deck these days.