I started using TotalRecorder back during the MJ v8 days. I don't know if the reliability of MC's scheduler has gotten better since then, but in those days it had some problems. Unfortunatley, I don't remember specifically what they were. All I remember is that I wanted to set it up to record some radio programs (from line in) and I had problems getting it to record on the schedule that I wanted it to. That was my motivation for buying TotalRecorder.
These days, I am so used to TotalRecorder that I don't think I'd go back to MC's recorder, even if the bugs have all been worked out. I think that TR offers some functionality that MC doesn't have, including:
- Built-in editing. With TR, it is very easy to do the basic editing tasks that are usually required when recording from an analog source--specifically: trim the beginning and end of the clip, split the recording into sub-clips, and normalize volume.
- Bulletproof scheduling. Scheduling has never failed me with TR. Parameters of each scheduled job can be specified individually, including recording format, how the file name is saved (including a time/date stamp if you like).
- Ability to record ANY sound that goes through the sound card. THIS IS TR'S BIG DRAW! TR installs a custom sound driver that sits inbetween the O/S and the "real" sound driver. The O/S plays sound into TR's driver and TR passes the sound on to the "real" driver. But it can also pass the sound to the TR program! That means that you can record, with bit-perfect accuracy, streams that you normally couldn't record. E.g. I can record RealAudio streams as they playback so that I can listen to them later. I can extract audio from DVDs just by playing the DVD on my computer and clicking "record" in TR.
- More codec choices for output. TR includes several pseudo-esoteric codecs that nevertheless can come in handy if you're compressing non-music sounds (e.g. talk radio, etc...). Honestly, this is a small plus, since I usually write out to 44.1 PCM wav format and then use MC to convert to WMA, but it's worth mentioning.
MC's recorder is nice to have, but I see it as a "bonus" on top of MC's main functionality: library management and playback. For serious recording, I personally prefer TR.