Recommended resources
The freely available resources this lesson will direct you to.
Hello! Last time, you arranged for the room to hear the remote guest through headphones while keeping that playback out of the shared microphone. Now you will check the devices at both ends before recording. The aim is not simply to get everyone into the studio: it is to confirm that Riverside is using the intended camera, microphone, and listening devices, so the editor receives the material you planned to capture.
Allow about 35–40 minutes if the equipment and remote guest are available. You can complete the room-side checks first and finish the guest-side checks together when they arrive.
Know what Riverside’s device check can—and cannot—confirm
Riverside’s pre-join screen lets each person select a camera, microphone, and speaker (the playback output), indicate whether they are using headphones, and preview their picture. Selecting a device is only the first check. You still need to confirm that its sound reaches the right place and that the resulting picture and audio are usable.
Watch Riverside’s short walkthrough of the waiting area and the remote guest’s equivalent check.
Step-by-Step Guide: Record High-Quality Video & Audio with Riverside
Riverside’s “Step-by-Step Guide: Record High-Quality Video & Audio with Riverside” shows where device selection happens before anyone enters the studio.
Watch the waiting area for the camera, microphone, playback, and headphone choices. Then watch the guest view to see that the remote guest must make those choices on their own device too. Focus on which physical device each menu should represent in your setup, rather than copying the presenter’s equipment.
A useful distinction is selected, working, and suitable. A menu can show the correct microphone while it is muted. A speaker test can play through the computer while one of three room listeners has an unplugged headphone. A camera can produce a picture that cuts someone out of the group shot. Treat the pre-join screen as the start of a check, not its final result.
Check the room’s Windows setup before joining
Begin with the physical setup you have already prepared: the shared microphone connected to the Windows computer; the selected playback output feeding all three headphones; and the phone positioned for the group shot. Keep the computer powered, and confirm that the connection and available recording storage you checked earlier are still adequate. Do not change recording settings or rearrange the room unless a check reveals a problem.
At Riverside’s device check, work through these items deliberately:
- Microphone: Select the external shared microphone, or the audio interface receiving it—not the laptop’s built-in microphone. Speak from each of the three seats at normal conversation level. Use any microphone test shown on your screen, and listen for a missing or unexpectedly weak voice.
- Speaker: Select the output connected to the headphone distribution setup. If a Test control appears, use it and confirm that each of the three listeners hears it through their own headphones. No test sound should come from the laptop or phone speaker.
- Camera: Check the preview of the intended group camera. All three people should remain visible in their normal speaking positions. If the phone supplies video to the computer as a camera input, select that input here; do not also join the phone as another studio participant without a reason.
- Headphones and permissions: Indicate that headphones are being used when the room is listening through them. If the browser asks for microphone or camera permission, allow access to the devices Riverside needs. If a device does not appear, check its connection and permission, then reopen its selection menu.
If the phone joins Riverside separately to provide the group shot, its check is different: it needs a working camera image, but it must not add a second room microphone or play the guest aloud. Verify its microphone and speaker state as well as its picture. If you use an iOS phone’s “Use as a second camera” option, check the resulting feed and audio state rather than assuming that option has configured everything automatically.
The Riverside guest guide shows the numbered computer joining steps and, separately, the mobile lobby controls. Read the mobile portion only if your room camera joins through the Riverside mobile app or your remote guest will join by phone.
Riverside’s Help Center lays out what a participant sees before joining, including permissions, device menus, the preview, and mobile camera and microphone controls. Use it to distinguish the computer check from a phone that joins the studio separately.
Read the numbered computer steps immediately above “Join a studio as a guest using your phone,” from clicking Join session through opening the studio tab. The permission and device steps are the ones to locate on your own screen. Also note step 8’s instruction to leave the browser open until the recording has uploaded. If a phone will join the studio, go to “Join a studio as a guest using your phone.” Read from the lobby preview and name step through the final upload instruction: the mobile steps. Pay particular attention to the separate camera and microphone controls and the iOS-only second-camera option.
Guide the remote guest through their own check
The guest’s earlier invitation told them how to arrive; now confirm what their setup actually does. Ask them to open the invitation in their supported computer browser, or in the Riverside app if they are joining by phone. Before they enter, have them allow the required permissions, select the camera they intend to use, select their intended microphone, and choose the playback device connected to their headphones. They should indicate that they are using headphones only if they actually are.
Ask the guest to describe what they see in their preview and to speak into the selected microphone. Once they join, listen to a few sentences at normal speaking volume, not just “Can you hear me?” A working level indicator or an audible voice is useful evidence, but it does not tell you whether their chosen microphone sounds clear throughout a sentence. Likewise, ask them to confirm that they hear the room through their headphones rather than a loudspeaker.
If their camera is blank or their voice is absent, ask them to check the relevant permission, physical connection, mute control, and selected device. Change one thing at a time, then test again. If they cannot enter immediately and see “Waiting for host to accept,” admit them before treating the delay as a device failure.
After everyone is inside, Riverside also provides an opportunity to inspect participants’ device choices. Watch this short portion for where to look; your guest can correct their own selection if it is wrong.
How to Record Remote Guests in High Quality
Riverside’s “How to Record Remote Guests in High Quality” briefly shows the participant settings available once people are in the studio. It adds an important second check after the pre-join menus.
In “How to Record Remote Guests in High Quality,” skip to participant settings. Notice where the presenter checks a guest’s microphone and video source. The video mentions a host-requested device change for a particular business tier; otherwise, tell the guest which selection to change on their own device and verify the result together.
Make a final go/no-go decision together
The previous lesson’s playback test now becomes part of a whole-session check. With everyone in the studio but before starting the intended recording, ask each in-room speaker to say a full sentence from their usual seat, then ask the guest to do the same. Confirm the guest hears all three room voices, all three listeners hear the guest, and the guest does not hear their own voice returning. Check that the group shot and guest picture are present and stable.
Use this compact acceptance check rather than relying on “everyone is connected”:
| Check | Ready when… |
|---|---|
| Room audio | The external shared microphone captures all three voices; no unintended computer or phone microphone is contributing. |
| Listening | All three room listeners hear the guest through headphones, and the guest hears the room without echo. |
| Video | The intended group camera shows all three speakers; the guest’s selected camera shows the guest. |
| Recording readiness | Devices remain connected, power and connection are stable, and each recording device has room for its local recording and upload. |
If a check fails, pause the start and correct it. A guest who has not yet joined or tested their equipment is pending, not “passed.” If you make a short Riverside test recording to verify the result, allow its uploads to finish before judging the available tracks. Ask the guest not to close their browser or app prematurely; Riverside’s guest instructions specify waiting for its upload-complete confirmation.
What to carry forward
Riverside’s pre-session check has two layers: choose the intended devices before joining, then prove the complete room-and-guest arrangement works together inside the studio. For this session, the essential safeguards are one active shared room microphone, one group camera, headphone playback that reaches all three listeners, and a remote guest whose microphone, camera, and headphones have been checked rather than assumed.
Next, you will operate the recording itself: watching track, connection, and upload indicators and responding when something changes mid-session.