I'm looking for some recommendations for a hard drive recorder.

The FS-4 FireStore has worked well for me. It only records .m2t in the HD mode, but I use Vegas, which can work with .m2ts natively.

There are more expensive models, such as the FS-C, which hold more data and can record to FCP compatible HD files.

Joe,
The nNovia QCHD series works for me, and I have tried Firestore, nNovia and an IBM T40 laptop.
I just posted about this here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=116924
In the disk recording section.

I use the FS-C for a one man City TV station and it works great with the Xh-A1. It really simplifies the rendering process and saves time.

O.C. Garza