Are most DVD recorders somewhat handicapped like the Panasonic ES15 ---- in that you can't pause during a recording and then continue the recording again? How would a recorder "feature" be described that would allow pausing and then continued recording? P.S. I have yet to buy my first DVD recorder.
You will want to look for a recorder with a HD inside of it. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...CategoryId=pcmcat13900050019&id=1140391906760 This should allow you to record to the HD, pausing when needed, and finally burn to disc. I don't know for sure this is how it works as I've never considered or looked into buying a standalone recorder, but I'd be willing to put some money on it.
Stopping and restarting an optical disc recording is a tricky step that is not recommended because of the potential damage to the linking steps required in multi-session recordings. The laser turns off then has to restart again at exactly the same power in exactly the same spot. This can be done in multi-session recordings, but that file system conflicts with the DVD-video format. It will work with the DVD-VR format, but VR does not play on all DVD players. The DVD+ format has a slight advantage with "lossless linking" because it uses a high-frequency wobble groove for addressing, and the drive just has to count the pulses to line up a new recording next the first. Panasonics work best with DVD-RAM and DVD-R media. For the best, least error-prone recordings, it is always best to record "disc-at-once" for just these reasons.
