HOW IT WORKS
from device to your overlay
Overlay.live is a platform which allows its users to simply send, receive and display telemetric information from sensor enabled devices. From the the outset Overlay.live has been designed to be as simple to use as possible.
We selected a lightweight and efficient technology base which we have adapted to support requirements such as:
- Multiple users
- Multiple devices
- Multiple data streams and overlays
The result is a near real-time system that is hopefully as simple to use as we imagined it.
What happens when the user connects a device?
As soon as a device comes online, it registers onto our servers, shares its specifics (like a list of its sensors, what the units of that sensor are etc.) and initiates a stream of data from the sensors.
Users can of course monitor the data online from their own dashboard and ultimately, will able to preview and overlay the data onto their video stream.
What kind of data can I overlay?
The system is built to be extremely flexible. Currently (as we are in beta/start-up phase) we do not impose restrictions on the type of data transmitted. The type of data you send is determined by you. It can be raw data as well as pre-processed data which can be directly displayed. This goes from temperature or voltage measurements, humidity levels, atmospheric pressure, speed, acceleration or event GPS coordinates.
Ultimately, we encourage the use of pre-formatted data which can be informative immediately as an overlaid information layer. We entrust users to be respectful of the platform – we do monitor usage, and will sanction against abuse.
How can it be customized?
Users can create as many overlays as they want. Each overlay is independent. You can use multiple overlays at once for your production purposes – reading simultaneously the same or different data.
Right now, we offer some very basic customization options. You can show/hide units, adjust the font, font color and the background color. All in small boxes. We will soon add more advanced display options, such as animated gauges and more – the sky will perhaps be the only limit here.
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How does the data work with my video mixing software?
Today’s professional broadcast industry and online streamers use video production software such as OBS, xSplit, vMix or Tricaster to mix video sources and encode their output as an online stream.
The overlay we provide is a simple web page URL (with transparent background) which can be called-in from within these live production applications. It can then sit on top of the video as an extra layer. It’s simple and extremely effective. All the sensor data received is dynamically refreshed and updated to the latest values from the sensor without ever reloading the overlay page. It’s simple, and extremely effective.
If your production needs require a tighter integration within a self-coded application, we also provide code examples on how to retrieve the sensor data using javascript, python, C++ etc.
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