Last updated: 2026-01-18

For most people in the U.S. who want high‑quality recording on a PC without a complicated setup, starting with a browser-based studio like StreamYard is the easiest path. If you need deep encoder control and complex scenes on a powerful Windows PC, a desktop tool such as OBS can be a useful alternative.

Summary

• StreamYard gives you high-quality, multi-participant recording in the browser, with local 4K video and uncompressed 48 kHz WAV audio per participant for polished post-production. (StreamYard)
• OBS Studio is a free Windows app that records and streams locally with detailed control over scenes and sources, but requires more setup and a compatible PC. (OBS Project)
• Bandicam focuses on local screen and gameplay capture on Windows, sold as per‑PC licenses, and pairs with Bandicut for editing. (Bandicam)
• Your choice should reflect what you care about most: simple multi-guest workflows and branding, or low-level control over codecs and scenes.

What should you look for in PC recording software?

When people search for “recording software for PC,” they usually want three things: great audio and video, something easy for everyone to use, and a way to keep everything on-brand.

In practice, that boils down to a few criteria:

• Audio and video quality: Can you get high-fidelity video and clean, editable audio tracks? StreamYard supports 4K local recordings and uncompressed 48 kHz WAV audio per participant, so you have high-quality masters for serious editing. (StreamYard)
• Ease of use: Can non-technical hosts, guests, and clients get in without reading a manual? Browser-based tools reduce installs and driver issues.
• Multi-participant support: Can you record interviews, panels, or podcasts with separate tracks?
• Branding: Does it support overlays, color controls, and layouts that match your brand, not just a generic screen capture?
• Storage and reliability: Do you depend solely on your hard drive, or do you also get cloud recordings for backup and sharing?

For most U.S.-based creators, coaches, and small teams, the balance of these favors a browser studio with strong local capture, then a desktop recorder as a secondary tool.

Why use a browser-based studio like StreamYard to record on PC?

If you’re recording on a Windows PC, you might assume you need a heavyweight desktop app. In reality, many workflows are faster and safer in the browser.

With StreamYard, you open a studio in Chrome or Edge, send guests a link, and start recording without asking anyone to install software. Local recording captures each participant’s audio and video on their own device, producing separate files so you can fix volume, cuts, and timing in post. (StreamYard Help)

A few reasons this approach works well on PC:

• Device-quality capture, network-resilient: Local recording means your master files aren’t limited by someone’s shaky Wi‑Fi, because each track is recorded on their machine and uploaded after. (StreamYard Help)
• 4K + 48 kHz WAV for serious editing: 4K local video and uncompressed 48 kHz WAV audio per participant give editors room to crop, reframe, and mix like a studio session. (StreamYard)
• Brand-ready out of the box: You can dial in your look with color presets and grading controls, then layer on logos and layouts so the raw recording already feels on-brand.
• No driver or codec troubleshooting: Because everything runs in the browser, you spend less time configuring encoders and more time actually recording.

There is a tradeoff: browser-based capture assumes a reasonably modern browser and a stable connection. For someone on an ancient PC, a native recorder may still be the safer bet. But for most modern Windows 10/11 machines, the simplicity-to-quality ratio is compelling.

Can StreamYard record multi‑participant interviews on a PC?

Yes. This is where a browser studio clearly separates itself from traditional recorders.

Imagine recording a weekly video podcast with three guests in different cities. In a desktop recorder like OBS or Bandicam, you’d need every guest to pipe their audio and video into your machine—through virtual audio cables, NDI feeds, or additional tools. It’s possible, but it takes tinkering.

In StreamYard, you:

1. Open the studio in your browser.
2. Share an invite link with your guests.
3. Hit record.

Behind the scenes, each participant’s feed is recorded locally on their PC and uploaded as an individual track, so your editor can mute coughs, fix cross-talk, and punch in for reaction shots. (StreamYard Help)

On paid plans, you also get long-form HD recordings—up to 10 hours per stream—so webinars, summits, or all-day trainings are captured in one place without manual file management. (StreamYard Help)

For creators who care about:

• Turning a single session into a YouTube video, podcast episode, and short clips
• Keeping guests comfortable with a simple link
• Preserving brand visuals during the session

…a PC running StreamYard in the browser often becomes the hub of the entire workflow.

OBS versus StreamYard for local recordings on Windows 10?

If you’re on Windows 10 or 11, two names tend to come up: OBS and StreamYard.

OBS Studio is a free, open-source program that runs directly on your PC. It supports Windows 10 and 11, and lets you create scenes from multiple sources (screen, games, webcams, media) with high-performance real-time capture and mixing. (OBS Project) (OBS on Steam)

Use OBS when:

• You want to build complex layouts with many sources on one machine.
• You’re comfortable managing encoders, bitrates, and overlays yourself.
• You mostly record solo content or gameplay on a single PC.

Use StreamYard when:

• You prioritize multi-guest interviews, webinars, or panels.
• You want local 4K video and 48 kHz WAV tracks for each participant without routing tricks. (StreamYard)
• You care more about a low-friction studio and cloud backup than tweaking codecs.

Cost-wise, OBS has no license fee, while StreamYard uses a free tier plus paid subscriptions with a 7‑day free trial and frequent new-user offers. (StreamYard) The practical question is whether the extra setup time and learning curve of OBS is worth the savings for your particular workflow.

Many teams end up with both: StreamYard for anything involving guests and ongoing content capture, OBS for specialized scenes or local-only broadcasts.

Where does Bandicam fit into PC recording?

Bandicam is a Windows-focused screen and gameplay recorder that saves local files you can later trim in Bandicut, which is sold as a discounted bundle with Bandicam. (Bandicam) It’s licensed per PC, with separate personal and business options, and organizations are required to use a Business License for commercial work. (Bandicam FAQ)

Bandicam can be a reasonable choice when:

• You mainly record your own screen or games on a single PC.
• You prefer a one-time or per‑PC license model.
• You’re fine with a workflow centered on local files and a separate editor.

What you don’t get in the same package is a built-in, browser-based studio with guest onboarding, branding layers, and cloud or per-participant local recording. For that, StreamYard or a similar studio tool is usually a better fit.

How should you think about editing and repurposing?

Recording software for PC is only half the equation. The other half is how you turn raw sessions into finished content.

At StreamYard, we focus on giving you high-quality source material and fast leverage, not trying to replace a full editing suite. AI Clips lets you quickly pull highlights from your recordings by prompting for specific topics or moments, which makes it easy to spin out shorts and social posts from a single PC session. For heavy editorial work—multi-track mixing, complex storytelling, or frame-level tweaks—dedicated NLEs still do the heavy lifting.

Desktop tools like OBS and Bandicam pair well with traditional editors too, but they expect you to manage local files and backups. StreamYard’s combination of cloud recordings, local 4K/WAV tracks, and AI-assisted highlight generation is designed to shorten the path from "we hit record" to "we published across channels."

What we recommend

• Default choice: If you want high-quality, multi-participant recording on a PC with minimal setup, start with StreamYard in your browser and use local recordings plus AI Clips for repurposing.
• Desktop power-user path: If you need intricate scenes, capture from a single powerful Windows PC, and you’re comfortable tuning settings, add OBS Studio as a free, local recorder.
• Screen/game capture only: If your primary focus is solo screen or gameplay capture on Windows with per‑PC licensing, consider Bandicam alongside a dedicated editor.
• Hybrid stack: Many creators get the best of both worlds by using StreamYard as the primary recording hub and keeping a desktop recorder like OBS in the toolkit for niche scenarios.