Limelight
What is a Stream Overlay?
A stream overlay is the graphic layer added on top of a live broadcast, including webcam borders, on-screen labels, and event alerts.
A stream overlay is everything a viewer sees layered over the main video of a live broadcast: a webcam frame, a username banner, recent-follower alerts, chat boxes, countdowns, and decorative borders. Overlays are composited by the broadcasting software so they become part of the outgoing video that viewers receive.
A stream overlay differs from an on-screen presentation overlay that only the local presenter sees. Stream overlays are baked into the broadcast for the audience, while a local annotation tool may or may not appear in the captured feed depending on how capture is configured.
In streaming and recording, overlays give a channel its identity and surface live information. They are produced inside the broadcast compositor, typically OBS or Streamlabs. Limelight is a different kind of layer: it draws a cursor spotlight, keystroke display, region spotlight, or on-screen text directly on your macOS screen so it appears in whatever you capture, but Limelight does not broadcast, record, or manage stream graphics itself.
Why Limelight
- ▸Includes webcam frames, alerts, labels, and decorative borders
- ▸Composited into the outgoing video so all viewers see it
- ▸Commonly built in OBS Studio, Streamlabs, or browser-source widgets
- ▸Distinct from local-only overlays meant for the presenter alone
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FAQ
- Are stream overlays static or animated?
- Both. Decorative frames are often static images, while alerts and recent-activity panels are animated browser sources driven by live events.
- Can Limelight act as a stream overlay?
- Limelight draws on your live screen, so its highlights appear in a captured feed, but it is not a broadcast graphics tool and does not manage alerts or webcam frames.