Pretty much all DVD-Recorders have component out, the main reason I brought up this model is that it can accept PAL60 so it can be used for NTSC stuff on pal VCRs. Unlike the Panasonic DMR-ES10 which is often mentioned here it is switchable between NTSC and PAL/SECAM. Don't think it's as good as fixing timing errors as the Panasonic though. I mostly use it as a TBC when recording Video8/Hi8, though I've used it for a handful of NTSC tapes, both Video8 and VHS. It's not quite as strong as proper TBC like my Datavideo TBC-3000, but with Video8 that's very rarely needed.
You could put a TBC behind it in the chain, though the only purpose of that would be if you were to need to strip macrovision, as the recorder already rewrites the signal. DVD-Recorders (or at least the ones I've tested) tend to send out a video signal with macrovision copy protection if they detect it on the signal passed into them. Some capture cards can get confused by them. Later recorders with HDMI outputs do something similar when detecting macrovision. They make the HDMI signal copy protected which prevents say a blackmagic card from capturing it without a HDMI-splitter or other device that can strip the HDCP copy protection.
I have no idea about the file system on the HDD (though I doubt it's easibly readable), or the recording quality as I've only used it for pass-through to a capture card. Recording to HDD is done using mpeg2, though it can record with a higher bitrate than what is allowed on a DVD. I've read about recovering files from other recorders by reading the raw hard drive data looking for mpeg2 headers. From what I've read here on the forums, for recording directly to DVDs,
LSI-based recorders is what's recommended, as they LSI chipset is very good at capturing detail. They are not as good at dealing with crappy signals though.
