Review of Riverside.fm – high quality Podcast and LiveStreaming Cloud Service

many of you know that I am investing a lot in Video Live Streaming and offering a weekly live show about Microsoft Teams News and Updates with Alex Eggers. We are using Streamyard to broadcast to our 8 Social Media Channels. Nevertheless I enjoy looking left and right which other streaming services are available – next to leaders like OBS and Restream. So today I would like to show how to setup a podcast and video live stream using riverside.fm.

Create a new Podcast

Let\’s get straight to the point: riverside.fm main strength is that they offer separate HD Audio and Video Tracks and you can select it directly in the 1st step after registration when you create a new Podcast:

Externals like guests which are participating in your podcast or video live stream can be added – similar to Streamyard – by sharing a secret link. Then they can just join using a modern browser, also you as a producer would only need a Chrome browser – a major difference to other settings like OBS, Skype, Teams or Zoom. I use Zencastr a lot when recording my Podcasts but you can\’t see your guest, here riverside.fm is filling this gap: Create a podcast but look into the eyes of your interview partner. A show can have 8 streams total. 1 host + 7 guests

If you are focused on increasing quality, listen now : riverside.fm is download raw uncompressed audio tracks of all participants to local drives and uploads automatically to their cloud 🌥. So you as host have access to all files, no need to ask attendees to share local audio tracks like in Zoom (where you would get compressed MP3)

Audio and Video Settings before going live

As mentioned, you can record separate tracks for Audio and Video and also record Audio in 44.1 kHz and 16 bit. I have read that 4K Video Streaming should also be possible but can\’t confirm in my first tests on YouTube. You can also stream to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Switch. Very easy settings and my first streams worked fine and process was seamless.

Settings while you are live

While recording your podcast or streaming a live video you have these options available to configure and change:

• Recordings
• Settings
• Share Screen (your monitor, browser windows or application)
• invite guests
• stop camera
• mute microphone
• start recording
• end podcast
• call ins: send URL Links to people who should join your show
• chat: send text messages to your audiences

Managing your recordings

Very interesting: here you can choose between composed recordings (one MP4 file) or downloading separate tracks in raw studio quality.

Short comparison to Squadcast

• Locally recorded 4k video
• Up to 8 co-hosts
• Extra customizability: Riverside allows the host/producer to monitor audio and video. Within your session, you can oversee audio levels, guest equipment, maximum video resolution.
• Producer Mode – With Riverside, a producer can be “present” (but not recorded/taking up a participant slot) during the show, so that you can focus on directing meaningful, valuable conversation. Screen Sharing
• Live Streaming to External Platforms
• Call-ins: Have listener call in with video for Q&As 

Attention: Different roles can be assigned and not all are recorded

have a look here at different roles like Host, Producer, Guest and Audience.
I made the mistake to invite someone to a podcast as a Producer and wondered why his Audio + Video was not recorded

Recommendation? Next steps?

In Alex Eggers and my weekly Live Stream we are using Streamyard with a Professional Plan (39 US$) which offers 8 hours of live streaming to 8 destinations. Riverside.fm is offering the Audio+Video+Live Package for $49 which has got higher audio and video quality but is limited to only 3 hours and doesn’t include LinkedIn which is very relevant for our Target Group. So as you can imagine it is difficult for us to leave Streamyard.

But you can try out riverside.fm for free without a credit card. Free trial includes all the features. For 30 minutes you record with audio and video, live stream it to your media channels and let your listeners call in. Yearly Plans are cheaper:

Please let me now which experiences you made podcasting to your community, onsite or remotely – or live stream like we do with passion.

Here you find my first podcast recorded with riverside.fm: