Podcasters Share Best and Worst Platforms for Interviews

So many people need remote recording for co-hosts and guests. Yet in the 20+ years of podcasting once we get a solid solution, they upgrade the software and we're back to always having a backup "Just in case." So I reached out to my audience to see what they used and they chimed in.

The History

Blog Talk Radio (now gone) was an EASY choice but sounded like the phone. There was Skype (also gone), but everyone needed an account, and for the technically challenged, it was intimidating. Squadcast came on with a winning strategy with a firm understanding of what podcasters needed. Make it simple. Make it reliable.

Then Video Entered the Picture

Then tools like Squadcast added video, and while I never had an issue I know people who spoke of "Drift" where the audio didn't line up with the video (making it look like a bad Godzilla movie). There are tools like Evmux (browser based), Ecamm (Mac Only), Descript (browser based), and Streamyard (brwoser based).

Text Based Editing

When Descript entered the picture with text based editing (you edit the transcript, and it edits the audio) it became impressive after a few years. They purchased Squadcast, but haven't implemented all the tech from Squadcast (like being able to schedule a future episode in their "Rooms.").

All in One Solutions

This is one of the symptoms of a "All in one" solution. They do most things about 75%, but the details in that last 25 is what makes the difference. Riverisde started as remote recording, added text based editing, clip generation, and recently podcast hosting (the podcast hosting is very basic see video as of May 2026).

It May Not Be All Riverside's Fault

I wrote a blog post about all the things podcasters could do to be ready to make great recordings with Riverside.

If you want Riverside to work, don’t overcomplicate it:

• Solid internet
• Updated browser
• Decent computer
• Enough disk space
• Don’t rush the upload

That’s it.

Do those things, and suddenly Riverside becomes “magically reliable.”

What I Use For Live Streaming and Recording

Before moving to a Mac computer, I use Streamyard, and loved it. When I got a Mac Mini, I switched to Ecamm. It's amazing and much you have more control over how things look. If you have a Streamdeck, you can do some pretty magical things. Worth that said, I'm considering going back to Streamyard even though it's $5 more a month (I used Ecamm for making recording for the School of Podcasting, but I now do those in Tella).

What is The Most Reliable?

For me, after talking with the School of Podcasting members and now hearing from the audience I would say Ecamm (mac only) and Streamyard (browser based).

That doesn't mean Riverside, Evmux, Squadcast are not reliable, but I feel Ecamm and Streamyard are more reliable. They also are primarily focused on one thing RECORDING (although streamyard just added clip generation).

So What If I Don't Want an All In One?

Then you record with something like Ecamm or Streamyard, if you need clips, there is Opus Clip. There is free video software like Davinci Resolve, and free audio editing like Audacity.

Thanks to The Contributors

Frank Bravo From Your Tech Makeover

Todd the Gator from Gaurdian Downcast

Chris From Cool Cars with Chris

Ed from the Days Dumpster Fire

Tim from My Solo MS Journey

Mentioned In This Episode

Streamyard

Ecamm

Riverside

Descript

EvMux

Cleanfeed

Zencastr

OBS Project

VDO Ninja

Podtrack P4Next

Zoom H6

Samson Q2U Microphone

Opus Clip

Boomer Bunker

War Room Online Journal

Takeaways:

• Remote recording can be a total pain if you don't have solid internet; trust me, I know.
• Zoom works great for audio-only shows but struggles with video quality when the internet hiccups.
• Streamyard's simplicity makes remote recording a breeze; just send a link and boom, done!
• Clean Feed is solid for high-quality audio, especially for those who want to keep it simple.
• For video, Riverside sounds fancy but can be hit or miss; make sure it meets your needs first.
• Discord is free and surprisingly powerful for remote recordings, even if you're not a gamer.

Mentioned in this episode:

Live Appearances

I love to meet people when I'm on the road. I'm going to be at Empowered Podcasting Conference in Charlotte NC Podcast Movement in NYC Podindy in Indianapolis In. For more information and links, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/where To have me speak at your event, reach out at schoolofpodcasting.com/contacnt

Where Will I Be?

Question of the Month: The Smallest Amount of Downloads

We all want a bigger audience. We all put a lot of work into our shows. With this in mind, what is the smallest amount of downloads you would do the show for? If it drops below a number would you stop, or put effort into finding out why? Does the size of your audience matter? Go to schoolofpodcasting.com/question by August 28th (and don't forget to say a little bit about your show and your website address so I can link to it in the notes)

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Podpage is Now Included with Blubrry Hosting

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