Last updated: 2026-01-09

For most Brightcove users in the U.S., the best starting point is StreamYard, using our native Brightcove destination to record and stream presenter‑led demos directly into your Brightcove account. If you only need quick internal clips or very specialized local encoding, Brightcove’s own recorder, OBS, or Loom can play a supporting role.

Summary

• StreamYard connects directly to Brightcove as a native destination, so your recordings and live events land in the right library with minimal setup. (StreamYard Help)
• Brightcove’s Screen and Camera Recorder is useful for simple, in‑browser captures when you’re already inside Video Cloud Studio. (Brightcove Support)
• OBS fits teams with Brightcove Live on Enterprise accounts who want an encoder‑style workflow and are comfortable with technical setup. (Brightcove Support)
• Loom is best treated as an async side tool, where you download MP4s and upload them through Brightcove’s Upload module. (Loom Help)

What does “best screen recording software on Brightcove” really mean?

When people search for the “best screen recording software on Brightcove,” they’re usually trying to solve one of three problems:

1. Record a clear, presenter‑led screen demo (with webcam, good audio, and branding) and have it appear in Brightcove without extra steps.
2. Run a live session (webinar, product launch, training) that is recorded and stored in Brightcove for replay.
3. Capture quick internal walkthroughs and upload the useful ones to Brightcove later.

“Best” here is less about raw specs and more about:

• How fast you can get from idea to finished recording
• How many tools you have to juggle
• How reliably it works on a typical laptop without IT help

That’s the lens we’ll use for the rest of this guide.

Why is StreamYard the best default for Brightcove users?

StreamYard connects directly to Brightcove as a destination, so you can broadcast from our browser‑based studio straight into your Brightcove account after entering your Brightcove Client ID and Client Secret once. (StreamYard Help) This is a big deal: your live and pre‑recorded sessions don’t need an extra upload step.

Inside the StreamYard studio, you can:

• Share your screen while staying on camera, with layouts you can swap in real time.
• Control your screen audio and microphone independently, so demos don’t overwhelm your voice.
• Capture local multi‑track recordings of each participant for clean post‑production reuse.
• Produce both landscape and portrait outputs from the same session, which is handy if you repurpose clips for social.
• Add logos, overlays, lower thirds, and other brand elements live instead of in post.
• Keep presenter notes visible only to you while you walk through your demo.
• Let multiple participants share their screens for collaborative product tours.

From a Brightcove perspective, the workflow looks like this:

1. Connect Brightcove once in StreamYard.
2. Enter the studio, set up your layout and overlays.
3. Record or go live.
4. Have the finished video appear in your Brightcove account without manual file moves. (StreamYard Help)

Because StreamYard runs in the browser, most U.S. teams can get started on standard laptops without installing heavy software or tuning encoder settings. Many users find that this “just works” factor matters more than tweaking every encoding knob.

How does StreamYard compare to OBS for Brightcove Live?

OBS Studio is powerful desktop software for video recording and live streaming. Brightcove’s documentation shows how OBS can send RTMP or SRT into Brightcove Live, and notes that this path requires an Enterprise account with access to the Live module. (Brightcove Support)

When OBS can make sense with Brightcove:

• You have Brightcove Enterprise with the Live module enabled.
• You want intense control over scenes, game capture, or highly customized overlays.
• You have the hardware (and time) to configure local encoding, audio routing, and fail‑safes.

Where StreamYard is usually simpler:

• You want to avoid installing and maintaining desktop capture software on every presenter machine.
• You prefer a guided browser studio over tuning bitrates, keyframes, and encoder profiles.
• You care more about reliable, repeatable shows than pushing your GPU to the limit.

You can still reach Brightcove via a classic encoder route from StreamYard using custom RTMP if needed, with some features limited on that type of destination. (StreamYard Help) But for most marketing, education, and customer‑facing teams, the native StreamYard → Brightcove destination is the more approachable option.

A helpful way to think about it:

• Use StreamYard when you want a studio experience with minimal setup and clean Brightcove delivery.
• Use OBS when you specifically need advanced local control and already have Brightcove Live on Enterprise.

When should you rely on Brightcove’s own Screen and Camera Recorder?

Brightcove includes a Screen and Camera Recorder inside Video Cloud Studio. You can access it from the Media module by choosing + Add videos and selecting the Screen and Camera Recorder option. (Brightcove Support)

Key traits:

• Runs directly in the browser, inside Brightcove Studio.
• Designed for straightforward screen + camera captures, not complex shows.
• Supported in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge; mobile recording isn’t supported. (Brightcove Support)

This is handy when:

• You’re already managing content in Brightcove and need a quick one‑off capture.
• Only one person needs to present, and you don’t need multi‑guest layouts or overlays.

Where StreamYard has an edge is in production value and team workflows. Multi‑participant screen sharing, branded overlays, and local multi‑track audio give you more flexibility when those recordings need to serve as flagship content, not just a quick capture.

Does Loom belong in a Brightcove‑centric workflow?

Loom is popular for async screen recordings. For Brightcove, it’s best viewed as an upstream capture tool rather than something that connects directly.

On paid Loom plans, you can upload and import videos into your Loom library, and any video you download from Loom is an MP4 file. (Loom Help) Brightcove’s Upload module accepts file uploads and uses a dynamic ingest process to retrieve and transcode that content into your account. (Brightcove Support)

So the Loom → Brightcove path looks like:

1. Record in Loom.
2. Download the MP4.
3. Upload that MP4 through Brightcove’s Upload module.

This can work if:

• Your team already uses Loom heavily for internal walkthroughs.
• Only a subset of those clips need to live in Brightcove.

For primary Brightcove content, though, this extra download‑and‑upload loop adds friction versus recording directly in a Brightcove‑aware tool like StreamYard.

How do pricing and team workflows compare in practice?

StreamYard’s pricing is structured per workspace rather than per individual user, which often ends up being more cost‑effective for teams than per‑user pricing models. Teams can add multiple presenters and producers into the same workspace without multiplying subscription costs one‑for‑one.

That matters when you think about real‑world Brightcove usage:

• Marketing wants to run product webinars.
• Customer success records training sessions.
• Sales creates tailored demos.

With a workspace‑based model, teams can share the same StreamYard studio setup, overlays, destinations, and Brightcove integration without each person needing their own billing line. This typically reduces friction when you’re trying to scale recording and live sessions across the organization.

Meanwhile, whether you occasionally use OBS for niche workflows or Loom for quick internal clips, those tools can sit alongside StreamYard rather than replacing it.

What we recommend

• Make StreamYard your default for screen recording and live sessions that need to land in Brightcove with good production value and minimal setup.
• Use Brightcove’s Screen and Camera Recorder for simple, single‑presenter captures when you’re already working inside Brightcove Studio.
• Bring in OBS selectively if you have Brightcove Live on Enterprise and truly need encoder‑style control on a well‑provisioned machine.
• Treat Loom as an optional sidekick, using download‑then‑upload when a specific async recording deserves a permanent home in Brightcove.