I have a Panasonic DMR E80H, have had it for a couple of years. Not only does it record to hard drive but you can then edit and burn to DVD. I like it a lot.
There are a ton of similar devices on the market and this year should see the launch of PC based media share devices. A couple of chaps on here record to their PC's and edit down from there.
As for LEGALLY copying the stuff for distribution. That has to be copyright infringement.