Scoreboard software vs overlay: why browser graphics aren't matchday tools

An overlay is built for a browser tab, not a stadium screen

Tools like KeepTheScore, or a scoreboard widget dropped into OBS as a browser source, exist to add a scoreline to a video stream. They render at whatever resolution the streaming software asks for, usually a 16:9 web frame designed for YouTube or Facebook. That's the correct job for a stream overlay.

Stadium scoreboard software has a different job: it drives the screen the crowd in the building is actually looking at. ArenaCue Scoreboard sends score, clock, match events and sponsor rotation to the LED, TV or projector inside the venue — the same screen whether or not anyone is streaming the match at all.

• Overlay: renders inside a browser, feeds a video encoder
• Scoreboard software: renders on the venue's own display hardware
• Overlay: assumes someone is watching a stream
• Scoreboard software: assumes people are in the stands

Offline matchday: one is fragile, the other isn't

A browser-based overlay depends on the browser staying open, the page staying loaded, and usually a live connection to whatever service is hosting the widget. If the venue's internet drops mid-match — not unusual in older buildings or temporary outdoor setups — the overlay can freeze, reset or simply stop updating on stream.

Matchday control in ArenaCue Scoreboard runs locally on the matchday PC. One operator runs the match from that machine; the score, clock and events are held and updated locally, so a dropped connection during play doesn't take the scoreboard down with it. Internet is only needed for activation and periodic licence checks, not for running the game.

• Overlay: live browser session, no local fallback
• Scoreboard software: local matchday control on the operator's PC
• Overlay: a connection drop can break the graphic mid-match
• Scoreboard software: internet is needed for licence checks, not for matchday control

16:9 web frames don't fit LED walls, ribbons or stands

Overlay tools output a fixed 16:9 frame because that's what video players expect. Stadium screens rarely match that shape. A perimeter LED ribbon is a long, thin strip. A stand-mounted screen might be a wide LED wall with its own pixel pitch and resolution. A scoreboard widget designed for a video frame has no concept of any of that — it was never meant to drive physical hardware.

This is also where scoreboard software and LED boarding software split into two separate jobs. ArenaCore Scoreboard drives the main match display — score, clock, events, sponsor rotation on the screen the crowd watches for the result. LED Boarding is a separate app with its own licence, built to drive perimeter, ribbon and stand LED through zones and playlists. Neither one is a browser tab pretending to be a stadium screen.

• Overlay output: fixed 16:9, made for video players
• Scoreboard software: matches the venue's screen, LED, TV or projector
• LED Boarding: zones and playlists for perimeter, ribbon and stand LED, licensed separately from Scoreboard

Sponsor seconds need proof, not a graphic that disappears with the stream

Sponsor contracts around a stadium screen are usually sold in seconds of visibility per match phase — pre-match, halftime, full-time. An overlay tool has no way to prove any of that happened. It shows a logo in a browser while a stream is live, with no log, no timestamp, nothing a sponsor's marketing team can check against the invoice.

Scoreboard software built for venues treats sponsor rotation as a core function, not an afterthought. Rotation distributes each sponsor's agreed seconds automatically across match phases and logs every completed clip, so a club can show a sponsor exactly what ran and when — independent of whether the match was streamed at all.

• Overlay: sponsor logo lives only inside the stream, no log
• Scoreboard software: rotation logs every completed sponsor clip
• Overlay: no record if the match wasn't streamed
• Scoreboard software: proof-of-play works whether or not there's a livestream

Different tools for the stream, the stadium screen, and the concourse TVs

It's worth being clear about what each ArenaCue product actually does, because none of them are stream overlays. ArenaCue Scoreboard drives the match display — the LED, TV or projector the crowd watches. ArenaCue LED Boarding is a separate Windows app with its own subscription, driving perimeter and ribbon LED through zones and playlists. ArenaCue Signage is a third, separate product entirely: a cloud dashboard for always-on screens in the cafeteria, entrance or concourse, priced from €29 per screen per month excl. VAT and checked out in its own dashboard, not through Scoreboard.

Club Scoreboard runs €99/month excl. VAT self-serve via Stripe, and LED Boarding runs €149/month excl. VAT — each its own licence, each its own subscription. A stream overlay costs nothing because it's doing a much smaller job: it's not running a physical scoreboard, not managing sponsor rotation with proof-of-play, and not built to survive a dropped connection mid-match.

• Scoreboard: match display, score, clock, events, sponsor rotation, proof-of-play
• LED Boarding: perimeter and ribbon LED, zones and playlists, separate licence
• Signage: always-on concourse and entrance TVs, cloud dashboard, from €29/screen/month excl. VAT

When an overlay is still the right call

None of this means overlay tools are bad — they're built for a real job. If the only screen that matters is the one inside a livestream, and there's no physical scoreboard, sponsor contract or LED wall in the building, a browser overlay is a fine, lightweight choice. It's when a club needs to run an actual venue screen, log sponsor time, or keep matchday alive without depending on a live connection that the two categories stop being interchangeable.

Conclusion

A stream overlay and stadium scoreboard software aren't competing for the same job. One decorates a video frame for people watching online; the other runs the physical screen, the sponsor rotation and the offline matchday for the people in the building. Clubs that need both a stream and a working stadium screen usually end up running separate tools for each — because that's what each tool was actually built to do.

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