StreamNotch vs the OBS menu bar icon
The menu bar icon tells you OBS is recording, if you look for it and if the menu bar is visible. It says nothing about your microphone, your stream health or your disk.
| Feature | StreamNotch | The OBS menu bar icon |
|---|---|---|
| Status visible over full-screen appsThe menu bar hides in most full-screen apps and games. | ||
| Shows elapsed time | ||
| Warns about a muted or silent mic | ||
| Catches you talking while muted | ||
| Dropped frames, reconnects and disk space alerts | ||
| Start, stop, scenes and muteThe OBS tray menu can start and stop outputs. | ||
| PriceOBS is free. StreamNotch is a one-time purchase. |
A dot is easy to miss
A red dot in the corner of the menu bar works when you look for it. When a game, a slide deck or an editor is in full screen, the menu bar is hidden, and that is exactly when you are recording. StreamNotch puts a REC or LIVE label and a running timer next to the notch, where it stays visible over full-screen apps.
Recording isn’t the same as recording well
The menu bar dot can’t tell you that your mic is muted, that your microphone has been silent for twenty seconds, that you are dropping frames or that the disk will be full in twelve minutes. StreamNotch watches OBS through its built-in WebSocket server and raises an alert the moment one of these happens.
Use both
StreamNotch doesn’t replace OBS or change its settings. Keep OBS as it is; StreamNotch adds the status and safety layer on top.
Based on publicly documented features as of October 2026.