My Zenith DVD5201 is skipping and freezing on old and new discs. I've put a cd player cleaner in it and also blown it out with a "can of air". No change.
I'm considering a dvd recorder so I can archive some shows I have stored on my Dish Network 522
DVR.
Does anyone have experience with a 522 or something similar and a dvd recorder? Manufacturers, models and any info would be helpful.
Thanks in advance.

I have dishnetwork 721 receivers with DVR. I have saved movies etc to the DVR (great for nite movies when you want to sleep

Then they are sent to my old Panasonic DVD recorder. But check out Gonk's review of his (newer) Panasonic reviewed. It also has hard drive, which would be great for assembly of whatever you want before you print to DVD.

There are two methods for doing this thru a 990. One is to use the record-out loop. Video 1 did not output to this and I don't know if it was fixed with the firmware upgrade. What I use is Zone 2 for the output, which I monitor with a cheap secondary TV. This works quite well and we can watch one program while I'm burning a DVD on the Panasonic. Hope this helps

Nfaguys is talking about my DMR-E80 review . I bought it to archive old home videos to DVD before the tapes died, but I haven't used it with a DVR like your 522. It only supports analog stereo and s-video or composite video inputs, so unless the 522 applies some sort of macrovision on its output a recorder like my E80 would work fine. If your 522 has a FireWire output, you might look for a DVD recorder with a FireWire input (offered by some for use with MiniDV camcorders). The hard drive is definitely handy - it allows me to edit, title, cut ads out of TV shows, compile discs from bits and pieces spread all over the drive (particularly handy for old home movies), and burn multiple copies.

Gonk's review was excellent, and I am looking for the best deals with the best value and utilities for a HD/DVD recorder. Found some that look good but haven't triggered yet.

My Panasonic DMR E55 is around 3 yrs old. It also has only S-video or composite inputs. Audio in is only analog.

However, for copying from satellite or archiving old VHS, Hi-8 etc it is quite sufficeient to dub to DVD.