"Auto-detect video call overlays" - 100% CPU, lags, freezing issue

waydabber · 12-13-2025, 10:41 AM

Hi there,

what does the "Auto-detect video call overlays" feature do (from a technical perspective)? When this is enabled in recent DisplayLink driver versions, some users are reporting 100% CPU usage for the DisplayLink process + stuttering on the DL display when some apps are running. Apparently BetterDisplay (my app) is also known to trigger this issue with the current DisplayLink drivers (indeed, I was able to reproduce the issue).

Right now I advise users to disable the "Auto-detect video call overlays" and/or downgrade the DL driver to v13.x, but if possible, I'd like to offer some sort of workaround in the next BetterDisplay version if possible - if there is anything I can do to improve compatibility, please let me know (unless of course the issue that causes the stuttering and eating up of all CPU resources can be fixed in an upcoming driver version).

I could not pinpoint what exactly causes the problem so far. My suspicion is the app's use of very high-priority NSWindow overlays (at and beyond `CGShieldingWindowLevel` or `kSLSSpaceAbsoluteLevelNotificationCenterAtScreenL ock`) in certain scenarios. Other apps (like Alcove) are mentioned as triggering this issue which probably also use similar techniques. But I am not entirely sure, as I had inconsistent results during testing - sometimes the lag went away, sometimes it came back for no apparent reason and sometimes users reported making the problem go away doing totally unrelated things that sound more like placebo solutions to me (for example downgrading the DL driver and then upgrading again fixes the issue according to some).

Thank you!

12-13-2025, 10:41 AM	#1
waydabber Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2025 Posts: 5	"Auto-detect video call overlays" - 100% CPU, lags, freezing issue Hi there, what does the "Auto-detect video call overlays" feature do (from a technical perspective)? When this is enabled in recent DisplayLink driver versions, some users are reporting 100% CPU usage for the DisplayLink process + stuttering on the DL display when some apps are running. Apparently BetterDisplay (my app) is also known to trigger this issue with the current DisplayLink drivers (indeed, I was able to reproduce the issue). Right now I advise users to disable the "Auto-detect video call overlays" and/or downgrade the DL driver to v13.x, but if possible, I'd like to offer some sort of workaround in the next BetterDisplay version if possible - if there is anything I can do to improve compatibility, please let me know (unless of course the issue that causes the stuttering and eating up of all CPU resources can be fixed in an upcoming driver version). I could not pinpoint what exactly causes the problem so far. My suspicion is the app's use of very high-priority NSWindow overlays (at and beyond `CGShieldingWindowLevel` or `kSLSSpaceAbsoluteLevelNotificationCenterAtScreenL ock`) in certain scenarios. Other apps (like Alcove) are mentioned as triggering this issue which probably also use similar techniques. But I am not entirely sure, as I had inconsistent results during testing - sometimes the lag went away, sometimes it came back for no apparent reason and sometimes users reported making the problem go away doing totally unrelated things that sound more like placebo solutions to me (for example downgrading the DL driver and then upgrading again fixes the issue according to some). Thank you!