We've owned a Panasonic VCR/DVD recorder and now have a Toshiba unit with same the same functions. The Panasonic worked well in general, but was finicky about which blank disks it liked to record on. The Toshiba seems to work pretty well; it's a little slower about some things (rewinding VHS tapes; loading disks) than the Panasonic. But we haven't had a problems recording on disks. I'm afraid that someone in your household will have to read the manual and also deal with on-screen menus. That just seems to be the way these machines are. Also be aware that your connections will depend on the age and sophistication of your TV and any other equipement that you are connecting to. I'm pretty good at hooking up electronics in general, but getting this machine properly connected took some time for me to figure out. There are about 5 types of video cables/connections in use now, for example. Good luck.

The last time I purchased an electronic appliance, which happened to be a DVD/VCR combo I just went to WalMart, bought all three they had, tried them all at home and returned the two I did not want.

One of the two returned was a Sony, I did not like the remote and programming to record TV was complicated. The other I returned was some obscure brand.