firstly, do you have a HDtv? if you don't, then you won't need a HDMI connection on the recorder (unless you plan to buy one on the near future).
as for recorders, as a starting point here are a couple of suggestions from me:
the best two (well, 4) recorders around at the moment for under £300 are the Sony HXD 870 (or 970) and the Panasonic DMR EX77 (or EX87).
the Sony 870 and Pana EX77 both have freeview and a 160GB hdd.
the Sony 970 and Pana EX87 both have freeview and a 250GB hdd.
i had the Pana EX77, sold it after a couple of weeks and bought the larger hdd version, the EX87, they're both brilliant. the 77 is around £230, the 87 around £280, but look around online for the most up-to-date prices. i'd recommend the 250 GB versions.
the Sony prices are slightly less for both hdd versions.
some retailers offer all of them as multi-region, the price is absorbed into the cost, but some offer it as an optional extra for around £10. don't do it yourself as you will void the warranty. those retailers who offer multi-region machines have voided the warranty, but your contract is with them and not the manufacturer, so if the machine screws up within a year, they have to repair or replace it will a similar machine. if you do it yourself and it screws up, there's nothing you can do about it.
the Panasonics can record to + and - R and RW discs, and also RAM discs.
the Sonys can also record to + and - R and RW discs, but can't write to RAM discs.
the Panasonics don't play divx discs (avi files etc.) but the Sonys do, so if you have a lot of downloaded material on disc, then the Panasonic won't play them.
the Panasonic DMR EX87:
Click and a review of it:
Click
sony HXD 970:
Click and a review of the 870 (same as 970, just different hdd size):
Click
the "K" on the end of the Panasonics means a black model, the "S" means silver.
with the Sonys, "B" = black and "S" = silver.
the black ones are sometimes cheaper than the silver models, this may or may not affect your decision on the colour.
if your budget can stretch, i'd recommend going for the 250 GB versions over the 160.
i'm biased so would recommend the Panasonic, but some owners have experienced problems with the aspect ratio of recordings.
on the other side, some Sony owners have had trouble with the EPG of their machines, it's generally looked upon as being quite poor, compared to the simple yet effective EPG of the Panasonic.
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