How to add a telemetry overlay to a GoPro video
A complete walkthrough: drop in your GoPro MP4, let GaugeReel auto-read the embedded GPMF telemetry, sync and design animated speed, GPS and g-force gauges, then export a transparent overlay you composite over your clip in any editor.
What you need
One desktop app and a GoPro clip that carries telemetry. GaugeReel is a free download for Windows and macOS.
For embedded GPS telemetry, use an original MP4 from a GPS-equipped GoPro with GPS enabled and a satellite lock. HERO12 Black has no GPS receiver; the available streams vary by model and recording. For GPS-less footage, including HERO12, pair a GPX or Garmin FIT track from a watch, bike computer or phone, then align it with your footage using the data offset. Your original clip is never edited or re-encoded.
Add telemetry to a GoPro video in six steps
From the raw MP4 to a finished, composited clip — the exact path GaugeReel is built around.
Import your GoPro MP4
Drop the clip straight off the camera into GaugeReel and it auto-scans the embedded GPMF telemetry — GPS position, speed, altitude, 3-axis accelerometer and gyro — with no separate extractor app or spreadsheet.
- Reads GPMF in the MP4
- GPS · speed · altitude
- Accel & gyro streams
- No extractor app
Sync the gauges to the footage
Preview a visible start, stop or turn and adjust the data offset until the gauges match the footage. Check another point later in the clip; use stretch if the timing drifts. Check external FIT/GPX activities carefully because their recording may start well before your video.
- Match a visible event
- Manual offset & stretch
- Sync-to anchors
- Per-source alignment
Pick a gauge layout
Choose an activity profile — Runner, Cyclist or Car / Moto — so a ready-made instrument cluster lands on the canvas, or start blank and add gauges from the searchable catalogue.
- Activity profiles
- Speed · GPS · g-force
- Searchable catalogue
- Save your own layout
Customize the gauges
Open the inspector and edit each gauge in depth — the data field and units, decimals and smoothing, fonts, colors, gradients, bars and backplate — until the overlay matches your edit.
- Field & units
- Decimals & smoothing
- Fonts, colors, gradients
- Per-gauge control
Export a transparent overlay
Render the gauges as a transparent PNG sequence or an alpha-video format included in your plan. Chroma-key MP4 is another option: remove its colored background in your editor. Route/map gauges require Basic or Premium.
- PNG sequence alpha
- ProRes 4444 / VP9
- Chroma-key MP4
- GPU hardware encode
Composite it over your clip
Drop the exported layer onto a track above your GoPro footage in Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut, After Effects or CapCut and the gauges sit cleanly over the action — your original clip is never re-encoded.
- Premiere · DaVinci
- Final Cut · After Effects
- CapCut
- Footage untouched
Gauges only — your GoPro clip stays untouched
GaugeReel never re-encodes your footage. It renders just the instruments to a layer with a real alpha channel, so when you drop it onto a track above your GoPro clip the gauges sit cleanly over the action. That is the broadcast-style approach pro editors use — and it keeps every pixel of your original video intact.
Want the full rundown on GoPro models, supported streams and compositing? See the GoPro telemetry overlay overview.
GoPro telemetry questions, answered
The specifics of getting telemetry off your GoPro and onto your footage.
Import the original GoPro MP4 into GaugeReel, the desktop app from gaugereel.net, to scan any embedded GPMF telemetry. Available streams depend on the camera and recording. For HERO12 or footage without GPS, add a recorded GPX or Garmin FIT track. Choose a gauge layout, sync it to the footage, then export a transparent overlay for your video editor.
Another question? zoniixyt@gmail.com
Put telemetry on your GoPro footage.
Free to download. No account required to export your first GoPro overlay.