Pioneer DV-868AVi (premium price, premium quality - around £700 online) Pioneer DV-668AV (medium priced, good quality - around £460 online) Panasonic DVDS97EBS (haven't actually seen it running, but reports are good - £160 direct from Panasonic)
denon 3910 is a cracker, though a little more expensive than the top Pio mentioned above. Or, mortgage your soul and go really mad for a meridian G98 or G91.
What about HDMI DVD recorders? I've seen Panasonics latest range, no HDMI and no MPEG-4 playback either. Is it or me or do they leave features out on purpose just to annoy me... or get me to upgrade later
I've got the Panny DVDS97EBS - although not currently using HDMI (will do when I get my Plasma - currently waiting for the models to arrive), however I use it currently with RGB Scart to a CRT TV and its brilliant.
Best DVD Player I've had (and I've had quite a few!).