Last updated: 2026-01-15

For most U.S. government agencies, the simplest path to high-quality, policy-friendly podcast recording is to standardize on StreamYard’s browser-based studio with local and cloud recording, then pair it with your preferred publishing and archiving tools. If your procurement process is centered on formal SOC 2 reports and tight firewall rules, you can also evaluate Riverside alongside StreamYard to see which matches those specific controls.

Summary

• StreamYard gives agencies a browser-based studio with 4K local recordings, 48 kHz WAV audio per participant, and automatic recording for live and on-demand workflows.
• Government teams can keep guest friction low (no software installs), apply consistent branding, and pull quick AI-generated clips for social and internal comms.
• StreamYard runs on Google Cloud infrastructure where provider data centers hold ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and SOC 1/2 certifications, which can support security review discussions. (StreamYard Security Overview)
• Riverside is a viable recording-focused alternative, particularly where SOC 2 Type II documentation or specific firewall whitelisting is a procurement requirement. (Riverside SOC 2 announcement)

What does a government agency actually need from podcast recording software?

When you strip away buzzwords, most public-sector podcast teams care about the same core things:

• High-quality, reliable audio and video that still works when a guest’s Wi‑Fi is less than perfect.
• Ease of use for hosts, subject-matter experts, and external guests who may be on locked-down devices.
• Automatic recording so nothing gets lost when you go live or run a long interview.
• Custom branding to reflect your agency identity and avoid consumer-style visuals.
• Simple in-app clip creation to quickly pull highlights for social, town halls, or internal briefings.

StreamYard is built around this exact checklist: a browser-based studio for live and recorded sessions, with local multi-track recording per participant and automatic cloud recording on paid plans. (StreamYard local recording docs)

Because StreamYard intentionally focuses on recording, live production, and repurposing—not RSS hosting—it also fits neatly into existing government workflows where publishing, archiving, and records management live in separate systems.

Why is StreamYard a strong default for government podcast workflows?

Most agency podcasts fall into one of three patterns:

1. Public-facing shows explaining programs or policy.
2. Stakeholder/partner series with interviews and panels.
3. Internal shows for employees, leadership updates, or training.

For all three, you usually need the same studio behavior: hit record (or go live), capture clean separate files per speaker, then send the assets through your established compliance and publishing path.

On StreamYard, local recordings capture individual audio and video on each participant’s device and then provide separate WAV files per participant for post-production. (StreamYard local recording docs) This means:

• Glitches in the live call don’t have to appear in the final podcast.
• Editors can tweak each person’s volume or noise level separately.
• You can keep a high-fidelity master for archiving while still publishing compressed versions.

On paid plans, there is no monthly cap on total local recording hours, so recurring briefings and long-form interviews can be recorded without tracking a global hour quota. (StreamYard local recording docs) For agencies that record frequently, that predictability is often more important than squeezing out the last bit of theoretical quality.

How does security and compliance factor in for agencies?

Security reviews are where government workflows often differ from private-sector podcasts.

At StreamYard, we host infrastructure on Google Cloud. Provider data centers hold ISO 27001, PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1, and SOC 1 and SOC 2 certifications, which supports risk assessments focused on data center and platform controls. (StreamYard Security Overview) Organizations signing up with a corporate email domain are routed to our Business plan, which includes advanced admin and security features tailored for professional use. (StreamYard paid plan features)

Riverside, by contrast, specifically highlights SOC 2 Type II compliance for its own platform and makes full reports available to enterprise customers under NDA. (Riverside SOC 2 announcement) For agencies whose procurement processes start with "show us your SOC 2 report," that may be an attractive path.

Two key nuances for public-sector teams:

• FedRAMP status for either platform is not documented in the cited sources. If you need FedRAMP authorization, you should treat it as an open question to verify directly with vendors.
• Data residency guarantees (for U.S.-only storage) are not clearly spelled out on the pages referenced here; you’ll want to raise this during vendor security review if it’s a requirement.

In practice, many state, local, and independent federal programs adopt a risk-based approach: use StreamYard (often on Business) for recording and production, then store final masters and transcripts in existing systems of record that already meet agency-specific compliance baselines.

How does StreamYard compare to Riverside for agency podcast recording?

Both StreamYard and Riverside offer local multi-track recording per participant and are capable of very high-quality audio and video. Riverside supports per-user tracks up to 4K with uncompressed WAV audio, which is well suited to recording-focused workflows. (Riverside product overview)

However, the trade-offs that matter most to agencies tend to be around usage limits, workflow, and network environment—not raw specs:

• Recording hours and limits
  On StreamYard paid plans, local recording is effectively unlimited month-to-month (within storage limits), which avoids juggling monthly multi-track quotas. (StreamYard local recording docs) Riverside caps multi-track hours by plan (for example, 5 or 15 hours per month), which can require more careful planning for busy comms teams. (Riverside pricing)

• Live-first vs recording-first
  StreamYard is built around live-first multistreaming—your sessions can stream to multiple destinations and auto-record for later podcast use on paid plans. (StreamYard streaming and recording limits) Riverside, while offering live features, positions itself more as a recording and editing environment.

• Network and firewall behavior
  For agencies with strict firewalls, Riverside provides specific guidance to whitelist *.riverside.fm and open particular TCP and UDP ports. (Riverside firewall requirements) This can work well where IT is ready to configure those rules, but it is an additional coordination step.

If your primary need is to run regular live briefings, town halls, and Q&A sessions that are automatically recorded and then repurposed into podcasts, StreamYard’s live-first design and hour flexibility typically map more directly to that mission.

How does StreamYard handle quality, branding, and clips for public-sector shows?

For government agencies, perception matters as much as raw specs. You need your podcast episodes, live streams, and short clips to look intentional, not like a casual video chat.

At StreamYard, we support 4K local recordings for high-fidelity masters, uncompressed 48 kHz WAV audio per participant, and color presets and grading controls so your team can dial in a consistent look across episodes. (StreamYard pricing page) For many agency use cases—especially when the final output is audio-only or 1080p video—this level of quality is more than sufficient.

Visual consistency is handled through custom branding: overlays, backgrounds, lower thirds, and logo placement that align with your agency’s identity and accessibility guidelines. Once your template is set, hosts can run sessions without rebuilding the look from scratch each time.

For rapid repurposing, our AI Clips feature is optimized for speed and intent. You can prompt StreamYard to surface key moments and generate short clips for social media, stakeholder newsletters, or internal portals, without pretending to replace full post-production tools. This keeps day-to-day workflows light while still leaving room for editors to do deeper work in their preferred NLE.

How should agencies think about accessibility, captions, and distribution?

Many public-sector teams are rightly focused on ADA and Section 508 requirements. Vendors targeting government video highlight automatic captions as a key feature because they help agencies meet accessibility expectations. (Castify public sector positioning)

In a StreamYard-centered workflow, you typically:

1. Record and/or stream your session in StreamYard.
2. Generate transcripts and, on paid plans, access them directly in the product, with downloads available on higher tiers for downstream use. (StreamYard transcripts docs)
3. Use those transcripts to drive captions and alternate formats in your existing platforms (YouTube, internal video portals, or specialized government publishing tools).

For distribution, StreamYard deliberately does not act as an all-in-one podcast host. Instead, you pair it with dedicated podcast hosts that manage RSS feeds, distribution to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and analytics. This modular approach usually fits government procurement better: each part of the stack can be evaluated, contracted, and archived according to role.

What procurement and governance questions should agencies ask?

When your team is preparing a requirements document or RFP for podcast recording software, consider including:

• Hosting and data location details (cloud provider, region options, backup policies).
• Available security documentation (SOC reports, penetration tests, data flow diagrams).
• Admin and access controls (SSO options, role-based permissions, audit logs).
• Network requirements (ports, firewall rules, bandwidth expectations).
• Accessibility support (transcripts, caption workflows, support for downstream captioning tools).
• Integration fit with your existing archiving, content management, and analytics tools.

StreamYard’s Business plans are tailored for organizations that need admin controls and security features beyond what individual creators usually require, making them a natural starting point for agency teams. (StreamYard paid plan features) Riverside can be evaluated alongside StreamYard where internal policy specifically calls for a vendor’s own SOC 2 Type II report or where IT prefers its network configuration model.

What we recommend

• Use StreamYard as your default browser-based studio for government podcasts, town halls, and recorded briefings, leveraging local multi-track recording and automatic cloud backups.
• Pair StreamYard with your existing publishing and archiving stack for RSS distribution, accessibility, and records management rather than replacing those systems.
• If your procurement process centers on SOC 2 reports and firewall specifics, shortlist Riverside alongside StreamYard and let security evaluation guide the final call.
• Start small with a pilot series, refine your templates and clip workflow in StreamYard, then formalize your setup into agency-wide guidance once you’re confident in the results.