WMR has two recordings modes for Windows Media.

The default mode has the ability to remove the DRM's such that the recorded file can be played in the local computer. It still preserves the DRM conditions. The downloaded file can be saved and played in the computer that purchased the rights however burning, conversion and transfer to other computers are still covered by DRM conditions. Due to the DRM extraction this mode is not ASF compliant and may have sometimes parsing errors that usually are corrected by Windows Media Player.

The other recording mode is WMSDK which is an implementation of Windows Media SDK. It can be enabled from Settings/Media Options. This mode is ASF compliant and does not have any parsing errors. WMR doesn't provide this as default mode because DRM protected streams cannot be downloaded or are scrambled by the ASF compliance.

This is explained in the User Manual and other published documents about WM Recorder. You may use the WMSDK mode if you care about the differences between the two downloads.