Sorry to disagree with all the recommendations, but I wouldn't touch Panasonic with a barge pole.
Had one of their "time slip" DVD-RAM recorders. Just over two years on, it failed with a blown component (memory fails which one). Although the part was a few pounds, cost of repair was roughly the same as a new unit. Soon as we took it into the shop to ask about repair, the technician told us exactly what the problem was before he examined it - such was the frequency of this failure.
By coincidence some friends had also bought the same model, and had encountered exactly the same problem after about the same length of time.
Panasonic of course denied any obsolescence.
Experience probably differs for other models, which may be more reliable, but having been burned once I'd never buy another Panasonic.