i got a panasonic dmr E55 its a good machine
yes you can recrd one prog and keep it on -r disc you can then record something else later when you go to record something else it automatically records on the next blank slot
you cannot play your recordings on other dvds until you finalise the disc after this you cannot record onto the disc
just a little thing on dvd-r discs you have the facility to delete recorded material but this does not get the disc space back
for example if you record 1 hr onto a dvd-r disc then delete it you will still lose 1 hr recording time
this does not happen with ram discs which when you delete stuff you get the space back
i have found that occasionally that the timer fails to record, but this is with my watch and wipe disc the solution to this glitch is to format the disc in your functions menu
i have copied 0 region discs to dvd vhs to dvd home video to dvd all with no problems
get one they are great