Export pipeline
The codec you pick decides how big your file is, how long the render takes, and where the result will actually play. This guide walks through every export option in OVRLEY, i.e. transparent overlays vs final videos, H.264 vs H.265 vs ProRes vs QT RLE, so you can pick the right one for your purpose.
Before you think about codecs, decide what you actually want to export. This single choice changes which codecs are available and how you should use them. The main question is if you plan to do heavy editing work in a video editor, such as cutting or footage color grading, or if you want a single file ready to upload.
OVRLEY exposes a focused set of codecs rather than every encoder FFmpeg supports. Each one exists because it solves a specific delivery problem. Here is what each does well, where it falls short, and when to reach for it.
Decision guide
You cannot optimize all three at once. A codec that plays everywhere is usually not the fastest or the smallest. A codec that is tiny might not play on your phone. A codec that is fast might produce enormous files. Here is how to think about the tradeoff before you pick.
See the benchmarks Choose codec based on what happens after the export.
MOST USERS SHOULD START HERE
If you are uploading to YouTube, Instagram or other social media, or simply want a file that plays everywhere, choose H.264. It offers the broadest compatibility and is supported by virtually all hardware encoders and devices.
WHEN FILE SIZE MATTERS
Choose H.265 when you need smaller files without giving up visual quality; ideal for 4K exports, long recordings, and cloud storage, but some older devices and software may not support it as reliably - make sure your target audience can play it.
WHEN THE OVERLAY IS NOT THE FINAL VIDEO
If your video needs more time in the oven, and the overlay will be imported into Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, ProRes 4444 preserves maximum quality and transparency. Expect large files in exchange for a smooth post-production.
Our own benchmark data show how OVRLEY performs on exporting a real 10-minute clip. using different settings. Toggle between full video and transparent overlay exports, and between 1080p and 4K, to see how codec choice changes render time and file size.
Hardware acceleration
OVRLEY splits the export into two phases. The overlay frames are first drawn on the CPU and this is where widget layout, font rendering, and the overlay compositor run. Each frame is then sent to the encoder and this is where hardware acceleration makes a difference: instead of encoding each frame on CPU and blocking the first step, OVRLEY can send raw frames directly to a chip on your GPU/iGPU that is dedicated and optimized for encoding.
Hardware acceleration often cuts encode time by a factor of 3–5x for H.264 and H.265. The catch is that not every combination of codec, hardware generation, driver, and operating system exposes a working option. OVRLEY does not guess, but it tests every potential encoder at launch with a "fake" synthetic frame. If that test frame fails, the option is disabled in the UI entirely, so you never pick an encoder that would crash.
On NVIDIA GPU, NVENC/CUDA requires driver v610 or newer because FFmpeg needs a recent version of the NVENCODE API. On Intel, Quick Sync is only available on CPUs that include the media engine, typically Core processors from Haswell onward. AMD AMF is supported on every modern RX GPU, but its support depends on Ryzen CPU model or generation. On Linux, VAAPI can work if NVENC/AMF is not supported. If you are on macOS, VideoToolbox is available on pretty much every modern machine.
What about hardware-acceleration for Prores? FFmpeg recently added support for Vulkan acceleration, but it is a very new feature. It is either still not optimized very well or I was not able to configure it properly — it always performed worse than CPU-only ProRes. In any case, Vulkan is enabled in OVRLEY so you can give it a try, but don't expect it to be faster.
Each encoder targets specific hardware and the availability depends on your GPU or CPU generation, drivers, and operating system.
A few habits that make exports faster and more predictable.
Do not export the entire activity unless you need it all. Trim to the section you actually want because shorter clips render much faster and smaller.
Export at the same resolution as your source footage; upscaling slows down the render without much benefits for overlays.
Before a long render, try out avaiable hardware-accelerated encoders on shorter clips. If your preferred codec is CPU-only, expect longer export times.
It controls how often widgets refresh relative to the video. It is a tradeoff between render speed and smoothness, but can be great for less dynamic metrics.
OVRLEY is built for local telemetry overlay work: design the overlay, choose the export mode and render with the codec that matches your delivery target. Everything stays on your machine.
Free, local, and built for action camera footage.