Polaroid is a brand owned by Petter's, Inc., which is a "deep-discount retailer" (think Railroad Salvage, or Big Lots on steroids) based here in Minnesota. I would guess that they subcontract manufacture of their products to several companies, mostly (if not exclusively) based in China. I have no direct experience with their products; my impression, based on seeing them and giving them the on-the-shelf test drive, is that I would expect of them what I expect of any other inexpensive Chinese electronics product without a well-known-name. If it makes you feel better, I'm sure the DVD recorder mechanism and the hard drive are bits from name-brand manufacturers, so you're trusting Polaroid for the circuit boards, cabinet, and design.

Thanks!