Guide‐Stream Menu
A standalone companion window that lets you control MPV-SW-Capture from outside — without the in-game overlay ever appearing on screen. Originally designed for streamers who want full control over their capture while keeping the video output clean for their audience, but useful for anyone who prefers to manage their options from an external window.
📦 Not included in the base ZIP. The Stream Menu is distributed as part of the Extra Tools package. You can get it either by downloading the
TOOLS_*.zipfrom the releases page and extracting it manually, or by enabling "Install Extra Tools with Install / Update All?" in the Installer and clicking Install / Update ALL.
The Stream Menu is a separate external window that talks to MPV-SW-Capture in real time. It does not sit on top of your capture window, and it does not draw anything on the video itself — everything happens in its own window.
It gives you access to the most-used controls of MPV-SW-Capture without needing to open the internal overlay menu:
- Audio: Volume and Audio Boost sliders, with live values.
- Recording: REC status panel with countdown, elapsed time, and progress bar.
- Toggles: Lock Menu, Hide OSD Messages, Auto ICC, Fullscreen, Always on Top, Fill Screen, Fit Full 16:9 to Bezel.
-
Menu dropdowns: Shaders, Shapes, Crops and Bezels — read live from
menu.conf, with an Apply button next to each one. - Window position: A 9-slot grid (corners, edges, center) for quick snapping.
- Actions: Take Screenshot, Record Video, Info Stream, Show Internal Menu, Clean ALL.
- Folders: Open Recordings and Open Screenshots with one click.
-
Tools: Open the
tools\folder, and create a desktop shortcut for quick access. - Focus MPV: Brings the capture window to the foreground, even if minimized or behind other windows.
- Language switcher: Cycles through available languages on the fly.
💡 Why external? Because the internal overlay menu shows up on the captured video. Streamers need to change shaders, crops or audio levels while recording or streaming, without the menu appearing in the broadcast. The Stream Menu solves exactly that — and it's equally handy for anyone who just wants their options within reach at all times.
- MPV-SW-Capture must be running in the background.
- The Stream Menu needs to find the root folder of MPV-SW-Capture. It does so by walking two folders up from its own location, which is why it must stay inside
data\script\.
There are two ways to open the Stream Menu the first time:
-
From the Tools folder: open the
tools\folder inside MPV-SW-Capture and run the Stream Menu launcher from there. - From MPV-SW-Capture: right-click to open the internal menu, go to TOOLS → Open Stream Menu.
Both do the same thing: launch the Stream Menu hidden (no console window) and connect it to the running MPV-SW-Capture instance.
Once the Stream Menu is open, follow these four steps in order every time you start MPV-SW-Capture. They take a couple of seconds and prevent the two most common on-stream mistakes.
- Open the Stream Menu.
- Verify MPV-SW-Capture is running. If it's not, click Open MPV to launch it.
- Press the Lock Menu button until it turns yellow. This locks the internal overlay so it can't be opened by accident with a right-click during your stream.
- Press the Hide OSD Messages button until it turns light blue. This hides all on-screen messages so they never appear in the captured video.
⚠️ Repeat this every time MPV-SW-Capture starts. Lock Menu and Hide OSD Messages are not persisted between sessions — they reset on every launch. Treating them as part of your startup routine guarantees a clean, distraction-free stream.
💡 Extra safety bonus: while Hide OSD Messages is active, the RECORD VIDEO button in the internal menu is automatically disabled. This prevents accidental recording without visual feedback.
Exception — Stream Menu: the Stream Menu's own Record button still works even when Hide OSD Messages is on. This is intentional: the Stream Menu shows its own REC panel with a live counter and progress bar, so you always have visual confirmation that a recording is in progress. If you record regularly while keeping Hide OSD Messages active, use the Stream Menu to start and stop recording.
In the bottom-left corner of the window you'll see a small dot and a status text:
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 🔴 Disconnected | MPV-SW-Capture is not running, or the connection is unavailable. |
| 🟢 Connected | The Stream Menu is talking to MPV-SW-Capture and can send commands. |
If it stays red after opening MPV-SW-Capture, close and reopen the Stream Menu. The connection is established automatically once MPV-SW-Capture is running.
- Volume slider (0–100%): adjusts MPV's playback volume in real time.
- Audio Boost slider (100–400%): amplifies the capture card's audio beyond the standard range.
Both sliders sync with MPV — if you change the value from the internal menu or the Hover Volume Sidebar, the Stream Menu reflects it within a second.
When a recording starts (from either the internal menu or the Record button here), a status panel appears above the divider with:
- A REC label with elapsed / total time in
MM:SSformat. - A progress bar that fills up as the recording advances.
- A hint that reminds you the window cannot be closed until the recording (and its post-processing) finishes.
If you try to close the Stream Menu during a recording or its post-processing, it will refuse to close until the operation completes. This is intentional — closing mid-record would leave temporary files orphaned on disk.
| Toggle | What it does |
|---|---|
| Lock Menu | Locks the internal overlay so accidental right-clicks don't open it. |
| Hide OSD | Hides all on-screen messages. The internal menu's RECORD VIDEO is disabled while this is on, for safety. The Stream Menu's Record button still works. |
| Auto ICC | Cycles the ICC profile auto-detection. |
| Fullscreen | Toggles fullscreen on the capture window. |
| On Top | Keeps the capture window above other windows. |
| Fill Screen | Stretches the current image to fill the whole window (turns off aspect ratio). |
| Fit Full | Fits the 16:9 content inside the currently selected bezel frame. |
Active toggles are highlighted so you can see their state at a glance.
The 3×3 grid snaps the capture window to one of nine positions:
↖ ↑ ↗
← ■ →
↙ ↓ ↘
Press any cell to move the window there instantly.
Four dropdowns give you quick access to the same content as the internal menu:
- SHADER
- SHAPES
- CROPS
- BEZELS
Select an entry, then click Apply to send it to MPV-SW-Capture. The dropdowns read their items directly from menu.conf, so they always match what the internal menu offers.
- Screenshot: captures the current frame, including all active effects.
- Record: starts or stops a recording (same behavior as the internal RECORD VIDEO button, and works even if Hide OSD Messages is active).
- Info Stream: toggles the stats overlay (resolution, FPS, resource usage).
- Show Menu: toggles the internal overlay menu remotely.
- Clean ALL: clears all shaders, shapes, crops and bezels, and resets window settings.
-
Open Recordings: opens
_record\in Windows Explorer. -
Open Screenshots: opens
_screenshots\in Windows Explorer.
Both are preserved during a Clean Install, so your files never get lost.
Click Create Shortcut to generate a desktop shortcut named "MPV-SW-Capture Stream Menu" for easy access.
Double-click the shortcut and the Stream Menu opens silently — no Windows security warning, no intermediate dialogs, no console window. It's the cleanest way to launch it after the first setup.
💡 Pro tip — use it as an all-in-one launcher. Once you have the desktop shortcut, you don't need to open anything else first. From the Stream Menu itself you can launch MPV-SW-Capture with a single click using Open MPV. That means the entire workflow — starting the capture, locking the menu, hiding OSD messages — can be done from one place.
The Focus MPV button in the header does exactly what its name says: it brings the MPV-SW-Capture window to the foreground, even if it's minimized or hidden behind other applications.
This is useful when:
- You minimized the capture to work on something else and want it back instantly.
- The window lost focus while you were configuring OBS.
- A game or full-screen app stole focus and you can't find the capture window.
Close it with the X on the title bar or by pressing Escape. It will refuse to close while a recording or its post-processing is in progress — this is by design, to prevent orphaned temp files.
If MPV-SW-Capture is closed, the Stream Menu can be closed freely. It also clears any stale recording state on its own when the connection drops.
- Keep the Stream Menu open on a secondary monitor if you have one, so it never overlaps the captured video.
- Enable Always on Top on the capture window, and keep the Stream Menu behind it — you get quick access without cluttering the view.
- The Stream Menu does not replace the internal menu. It's a companion. Everything in the internal menu that isn't here (advanced options, per-console bezel tabs, etc.) is still available via right-click on the capture window.
| I want to… | Click |
|---|---|
| Change audio level | Move the Volume or Audio Boost slider |
| Start / stop a recording | Record |
| Take a screenshot | Screenshot |
| Move the window to a corner | The 3×3 position grid |
| Apply a bezel / shader / crop / shape | Pick from the dropdown → Apply |
| Snap the capture to the front | Focus MPV in the header |
| Launch MPV-SW-Capture | Open MPV |
| Close MPV-SW-Capture | Close MPV |
| Open the recordings folder | Open Recordings |
| Create a desktop shortcut | Create Shortcut |
| Switch language | Click the EN / ES / JP button in the header |
| Toggle the internal menu remotely | Show Menu |
| Reset everything | Clean ALL |
| Lock the internal menu | Lock Menu (turns yellow) |
| Hide on-screen messages | Hide OSD (turns light blue) |