diff --git a/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.stacking.browser.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.stacking.browser.test.ts
index 6867181ce0..4194b5cca2 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.stacking.browser.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.stacking.browser.test.ts
@@ -95,4 +95,19 @@ describe.skipIf(!hasBrowser)("HDR stacking of content inside an HDR element's ho
       ids.filter((id) => id !== "host"),
     );
   });
+
+  it("puts a timed overlay without an id in a layer above the HDR video", async () => {
+    await page.setContent(PAGE.replace('<div id="title"', '<div class="label" data-start="0"'));
+    const stacking = await queryElementStacking(page, new Set(["hdr"]));
+    const unitId = await page.$eval(
+      ".label",
+      (el, attr) => el.getAttribute(attr),
+      HDR_LAYER_UNIT_ATTR,
+    );
+
+    expect(unitId).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(groupIntoLayers(stacking).map((l) => (l.type === "hdr" ? "hdr" : l.elementIds))).toEqual(
+      [["host"], "hdr", [unitId]],
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.ts b/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.ts
index 359a0a753f..39e194d6f3 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/services/videoFrameInjector.ts
@@ -846,16 +846,18 @@ export async function queryElementStacking(
       }
 
       const hdrElements: Element[] = [];
+      const described = new Set<Element>();
       for (const el of elements) {
         // Report the render id so callers can match these back to the media list.
         // `||`, not `??`: `__hfMediaId` yields "" for an element with neither id.
         const id = window.__hfMediaId?.(el) || el.id;
         if (!id) continue;
         results.push(describe(el, id));
+        described.add(el);
         if (hdrSet.has(id)) hdrElements.push(el);
       }
 
-      // Untimed content that paints above an HDR element (a later sibling of it or of an
+      // Content without its own entry that paints above an HDR element (a later sibling of it or of an
       // ancestor, or one with a higher z-index) is its own layer, so the HDR blit stays under it.
       const lastHdrBelow = new Map<Element, Element>();
       for (const hdrEl of hdrElements) {
@@ -871,10 +873,7 @@ export async function queryElementStacking(
               afterNode = true;
               continue;
             }
-            if (
-              sibling.hasAttribute("data-start") ||
-              sibling.matches("script,style,template,link,meta")
-            )
+            if (described.has(sibling) || sibling.matches("script,style,template,link,meta"))
               continue;
             if (sibling.id.startsWith(prefix) || sibling.id.startsWith(canvasPrefix)) continue;
             const siblingZ = getEffectiveZIndex(sibling);