MediaMate — Mac download

Version 3.8.4 ships a round of refinements that tighten up the HUD animations and polish the now playing layout. The core workflow for setting it up stays straightforward.

Setting up a custom volume HUD

1. Install MediaMate and grant it accessibility access when prompted.
2. Open the app's settings and select a HUD style for volume. Pick from the compact bar or the minimal indicator.
3. Adjust the keyboard backlight style in the same panel. Match it to the volume HUD or set a separate look.
4. Enable the Now Playing HUD and choose its position on screen. The HUD shows the current track and artist with a small album art thumbnail.
5. Press a volume key. The stock macOS overlay is gone. Your chosen HUD appears instead.

The app swaps out three system overlays — volume, brightness, and keyboard backlight — with a single, consistent design language. The now playing display keeps the current media item visible without pulling focus from your work.

Touch Bar Macs get native-feeling HUDs again

Touch Bar Mac owners — the physical keys that remain (volume, brightness) trigger HUDs that feel native to the machine again. The app's separate mode keeps everything responsive on those models.

People who ride the volume keys during calls — a quick tap shows exactly where you sit without a giant block covering your presenter notes. The compact bar disappears faster than the stock overlay, too.

Anyone running a monitor without DDC support — brightness adjustments through the keyboard still show a clean indicator, even when the display itself doesn't talk back. The visual feedback stays consistent across setups.

Users who keep music running while coding or writing — the now playing HUD sits in a corner, out of the way, and surfaces track changes without an app switch. Album art is large enough to recognise, small enough to ignore.

HazeOver dims windows, MediaMate tames overlays

MediaMate vs. HazeOver — HazeOver dims background windows to focus attention. MediaMate handles system overlays. The tools don't compete; they complement. If your goal is a quieter Mac interface, you run both.

MediaMate vs. Vivid — Vivid doubles screen brightness for outdoor work. MediaMate replaces the brightness HUD. Someone working outside on a MacBook Pro might use Vivid for the panel and MediaMate to see the adjustment level without the stock block.

MediaMate vs. the macOS overlay — the stock HUD is large, centred, and slow to fade. MediaMate gives you placement control, size control, and a design that matches across volume, brightness, and keyboard backlight. The now playing display has no macOS equivalent at all.

A mediamate mac setup feels like a small OS patch — the kind Apple ships two years later. The difference is you get it in version 3.8.4, on your terms.

• macOS 13 Ventura or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel processor