Sorry for the confusion in my previous post.
As you have mentioned, there is no S-Video to compare, and using the composite output, I find the resulting picture quality from the recorded DVD to be satisfactory, and comparable to the PQ I am getting from an 811 which is hooked up using S-video.
I have tried playing back the DVD's on both a 46" HDTV and a 100" screen, and while the picture may be a little bit on the soft side, particularly on the larger screen, I cannot say whether this is due to the fact that I am using a cheapy $140 DVD recorder, or that is the older movies (specifically the James Bond series which has been airing on Encore), that causes the softer picture.
I have put some home video onto DVD using Firewire into my PC, and yes, the resulting PQ is visibly better.
I would suspect you to have better results than I have, since you have a much better DVD recorder than me, (at least yours has a known brand name), and you have obviously more experience than I have in burning DVD's, since I only got my 942 about a month ago, and my DVD burner a couple of weeks later.
Sorry I can't be of more help, but perhaps when more people get 942's and begin burning DVD's, then there will be more people available to offer a better comparison.