Viewed programs are automatically stored on the adjustable 6-hour HDD buffer, from which you can retrieve them, watch them again, transfer them to the hard drive, or simply record them onto a DVD+R/+RW disc. A feature called FlexTime lets you watch the beginning of a program while it's still being recorded. And, with the touch of a button, high-speed archiving will copy a recording from the hard disk to recordable media. Thanks to Instant Replay, you can immediately repeat exciting or memorable TV moments at the press of just one button.

You can also use the HDRW720 like a traditional VCR, burning televised programs directly to disc using helpful VCR Plus+ programming data. A DVD recorder is perfect, of course, for archiving your home videos, and the HDRW720 features a front-panel i.Link digital-video connection for easy DV camcorder hookup, perfect copies, and 2-way camera control.

Recording functions include safe record, one-touch record (OTR), track append, track divide, automatic/manual chapter marker insertion, Smart Chaptering, favorite scene selection, and Selectable Index Pictures.

The HDRW720 is also a first-rate DVD player, featuring progressive-scan video outputs, Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround sound passthrough, MP3 CD playback (CD-R/CD-RW), and compatibility with most DVD media (including video-mode DVD-R and DVD-RW).

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the HDRW720 will deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

Top-of-the-line component-video inputs and outputs help minimize digital and line-scan artifacts on compatible advanced televisions, while composite-video, S-video, and RF coaxial video inputs and outputs bring compatibility with nearly any video component and television monitor. Audio inputs consist of 2-channel analog jacks.

Two sets of left/right analog-audio outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio outputs (1 each of RCA coaxial and Toslink optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver.