diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 23f92b0..d92a661 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ Common HTTP input args:
 - `-loglevel ${FFMPEG_LOG_LEVEL}`
 - `-nostats`
 - `-seekable ${FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE}`
+- HTTP reconnect options when `FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT=1` and the input is HTTP(S)
 - `-re`
 - `-i <inputUrl>`
 
@@ -97,15 +98,17 @@ Audio output:
 
 - Maps `0:a:0?`
 - Disables video with `-vn`
-- Converts to stereo 48 kHz MP3 with `libmp3lame`
-- Uses `session.options.audioBitrate`, default `160k`
+- Converts to MP3 with `libmp3lame`
+- Uses `session.options.audioBitrate`, default `64k`
+- Uses `session.options.audioChannels`, default `1`
+- Uses `session.options.audioSampleRate`, default `44100`
 - Outputs to `pipe:1`
 
 Frame output:
 
 - Maps `0:v:0`
 - Disables audio with `-an`
-- Applies `fps=<fps>,scale=w='min(<width>,iw)':h=-2:flags=bicubic:out_range=pc,format=yuvj420p`
+- Applies `fps=<fps>,scale=w='min(<width>,iw)':h=-2:flags=fast_bilinear:out_range=pc,format=yuvj420p`
 - Encodes `mjpeg`
 - Uses `-pix_fmt yuvj420p`, `-color_range pc`, `-q:v <quality>`
 - Outputs `image2pipe` to either `pipe:1` or `pipe:3`
@@ -171,22 +174,33 @@ Runtime:
 - `FFMPEG_PATH`: ffmpeg binary path, default `ffmpeg`.
 - `FFMPEG_LOG_LEVEL`: ffmpeg log level, default `warning`.
 - `FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE`: HTTP input seekable option, default `0`.
+- `FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT`: enable ffmpeg HTTP reconnect options for HTTP inputs, default `1`.
+- `FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_DELAY_MAX`: max ffmpeg reconnect delay, default `2`.
+- `FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_MAX_RETRIES`: max ffmpeg reconnect retries, default `4`.
+- `FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_ON_HTTP_ERROR`: HTTP status list for reconnect, default `5xx`.
 - `PLAYBACK_CONNECTION_MODE`: `split`, `relay`, or `single`.
 - `RECENT_URLS_PATH`: recent URL JSON path.
 - `RECENT_URL_LIMIT`: recent URL count, default `12`.
 - `FAVORITES_PATH`: favorites JSON path.
 - `FAVORITES_LIMIT`: favorites count, default `50`.
-- `JPEG_QUALITY`: default JPEG quality, fallback `7`, clamped `2..18`; lower is better for ffmpeg `-q:v`.
-- `MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES`: server-side WebSocket JPEG frame backlog cap, default `2097152`.
+- `DEFAULT_FPS`: default frame rate, fallback `8`, clamped `1..30`.
+- `DEFAULT_FRAME_WIDTH`: default maximum frame width, fallback `480`, clamped `160..1920`.
+- `JPEG_QUALITY`: default JPEG quality, fallback `12`, clamped `2..18`; lower is better for ffmpeg `-q:v`.
+- `DEFAULT_AUDIO_BITRATE`: default MP3 audio bitrate, fallback `64k`.
+- `DEFAULT_AUDIO_CHANNELS`: default MP3 audio channels, fallback `1`, clamped `1..2`.
+- `DEFAULT_AUDIO_SAMPLE_RATE`: default MP3 audio sample rate, fallback `44100`, clamped `22050..48000`.
+- `MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES`: server-side WebSocket JPEG frame backlog cap, default `524288`.
 - `MAX_AUDIO_QUEUE_BYTES`: single-mode audio output queue cap, default `16777216`.
 - `MAX_RELAY_BRANCH_QUEUE_BYTES`: relay per-branch compressed-input queue cap, default `16777216`.
 
 Session playback options are accepted by `POST /api/session` even though the UI hides them:
 
-- `fps`: default `24`, clamped `1..30`.
-- `width`: default `960`, clamped `160..1920`.
+- `fps`: default `8`, clamped `1..30`.
+- `width`: default `480`, clamped `160..1920`.
 - `quality`: defaults to `JPEG_QUALITY`, clamped `2..18`; lower is better for ffmpeg `-q:v`.
-- `audioBitrate`: default `160k`, accepts two or three digits followed by `k`.
+- `audioBitrate`: default `64k`, accepts two or three digits followed by `k`.
+- `audioChannels`: default `1`, clamped `1..2`.
+- `audioSampleRate`: default `44100`, clamped `22050..48000`.
 
 ## Docker Notes
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 65b58e9..0a16026 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -47,9 +47,9 @@ Recently played URLs and favorites are stored globally by the backend. In Docker
 docker logs -f frame-stream-player
 ```
 
-The app sets `FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE=0` by default so `ffmpeg` reads stream inputs sequentially and avoids extra HTTP range connections. If a specific VOD file requires seeking for metadata, set `FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE=-1` to restore ffmpeg's automatic behavior.
+The app sets `FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE=0` by default so `ffmpeg` reads stream inputs sequentially and avoids extra HTTP range connections. If a specific VOD file requires seeking for metadata, set `FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE=-1` to restore ffmpeg's automatic behavior. For ffmpeg-owned HTTP inputs, reconnect handling is enabled by default with `FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT=1`.
 
-JPEG frames are dropped when the browser WebSocket falls behind instead of letting stale frames queue indefinitely. Tune the server-side backlog cap with `MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES`; the default is `2097152`.
+JPEG frames are dropped when the browser WebSocket falls behind instead of letting stale frames queue indefinitely. Tune the server-side backlog cap with `MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES`; the default is `524288`.
 
 In single mode, audio output from `ffmpeg` is buffered before it is written to the browser so short HTTP backpressure pauses are less likely to stall frame generation. Tune the cap with `MAX_AUDIO_QUEUE_BYTES`; the default is `16777216`.
 
@@ -69,10 +69,10 @@ Relay mode uses bounded per-worker input queues so one branch can briefly lag wi
 
 The UI intentionally hides these settings, but the backend still supports them through `POST /api/session`.
 
-- Frame rate defaults to `24fps`. Lower it if the client cannot keep up.
-- Max width defaults to `960px`. Lower it first if bandwidth or image decode is the bottleneck.
-- JPEG quality uses ffmpeg's `-q:v` scale, where lower is better. Set the default with `JPEG_QUALITY`; `7` is the fallback, `2` is high quality, and `18` is rough but lighter.
-- Audio defaults to MP3 at `160k`.
+- Frame rate defaults to `8fps`. Set `DEFAULT_FPS` higher only when clients and links can keep up.
+- Max width defaults to `480px`. Set `DEFAULT_FRAME_WIDTH` higher for better detail at the cost of bandwidth and browser image decode work.
+- JPEG quality uses ffmpeg's `-q:v` scale, where lower is better. Set the default with `JPEG_QUALITY`; `12` is the low-bandwidth fallback, `2` is high quality, and `18` is rough but lighter.
+- Audio defaults to mono MP3 at `64k`. Tune with `DEFAULT_AUDIO_BITRATE`, `DEFAULT_AUDIO_CHANNELS`, and `DEFAULT_AUDIO_SAMPLE_RATE`.
 
 ## Tradeoffs
 
diff --git a/docker-compose-example.yml b/docker-compose-example.yml
index dfd3218..2a5d632 100644
--- a/docker-compose-example.yml
+++ b/docker-compose-example.yml
@@ -15,8 +15,17 @@ services:
       PLAYBACK_CONNECTION_MODE: relay
       FFMPEG_LOG_LEVEL: warning
       FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE: "0"
-      JPEG_QUALITY: "7"
-      MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES: "2097152"
+      FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT: "1"
+      FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_DELAY_MAX: "2"
+      FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_MAX_RETRIES: "4"
+      FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_ON_HTTP_ERROR: "5xx"
+      DEFAULT_FPS: "8"
+      DEFAULT_FRAME_WIDTH: "480"
+      JPEG_QUALITY: "12"
+      DEFAULT_AUDIO_BITRATE: "64k"
+      DEFAULT_AUDIO_CHANNELS: "1"
+      DEFAULT_AUDIO_SAMPLE_RATE: "44100"
+      MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES: "524288"
       MAX_AUDIO_QUEUE_BYTES: "16777216"
       MAX_RELAY_BRANCH_QUEUE_BYTES: "16777216"
       RECENT_URLS_PATH: /app/data/recent-urls.json
diff --git a/public/app.js b/public/app.js
index 9cd1d74..e4bbf7b 100644
--- a/public/app.js
+++ b/public/app.js
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ const elements = {
 
 const context = elements.canvas.getContext('2d', { alpha: false });
 const FRAME_LATE_GRACE_SECONDS = 0.25;
-const MAX_PENDING_FRAME_QUEUE_SECONDS = 2;
-const MAX_DECODED_FRAME_QUEUE_SECONDS = 3;
-const MIN_PENDING_FRAME_QUEUE = 12;
-const MIN_DECODED_FRAME_QUEUE = 24;
+const MAX_PENDING_FRAME_QUEUE_SECONDS = 1.5;
+const MAX_DECODED_FRAME_QUEUE_SECONDS = 1.5;
+const MIN_PENDING_FRAME_QUEUE = 6;
+const MIN_DECODED_FRAME_QUEUE = 8;
 const IMAGE_DECODE_TIMEOUT_MS = 3000;
 const FRAME_STALL_CHECK_MS = 1000;
 const FRAME_STARTUP_STALL_RESET_MS = 10000;
diff --git a/server/index.js b/server/index.js
index 411e2f8..cb35923 100644
--- a/server/index.js
+++ b/server/index.js
@@ -14,13 +14,17 @@ const publicDir = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'public');
 
 const app = express();
 const server = createServer(app);
-const wss = new WebSocketServer({ noServer: true });
+const wss = new WebSocketServer({ noServer: true, perMessageDeflate: false });
 
 const PORT = Number(process.env.PORT ?? 3000);
 const FFMPEG_PATH = process.env.FFMPEG_PATH ?? 'ffmpeg';
 const FFPROBE_PATH = process.env.FFPROBE_PATH ?? 'ffprobe';
 const FFMPEG_LOG_LEVEL = process.env.FFMPEG_LOG_LEVEL ?? 'warning';
 const FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE = process.env.FFMPEG_INPUT_SEEKABLE ?? '0';
+const FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT = parseBoolean(process.env.FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT, true);
+const FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_DELAY_MAX = clampInteger(process.env.FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_DELAY_MAX, 2, 0, 30);
+const FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_MAX_RETRIES = clampInteger(process.env.FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_MAX_RETRIES, 4, 0, 20);
+const FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_ON_HTTP_ERROR = process.env.FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_ON_HTTP_ERROR ?? '5xx';
 const PLAYBACK_CONNECTION_MODE = parsePlaybackConnectionMode(process.env.PLAYBACK_CONNECTION_MODE ?? process.env.PLAYBACK_MODE);
 const RECENT_URLS_PATH = process.env.RECENT_URLS_PATH ?? path.join(__dirname, '..', 'data', 'recent-urls.json');
 const RECENT_URL_LIMIT = clampInteger(process.env.RECENT_URL_LIMIT, 12, 1, 50);
@@ -29,7 +33,7 @@ const FAVORITES_LIMIT = clampInteger(process.env.FAVORITES_LIMIT, 50, 1, 200);
 const SESSION_TTL_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000;
 const METADATA_PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS = 8 * 1000;
 const PLAYBACK_READY_TIMEOUT_MS = 15 * 1000;
-const MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES = clampInteger(process.env.MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES, 2 * 1024 * 1024, 128 * 1024, 64 * 1024 * 1024);
+const MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES = clampInteger(process.env.MAX_WS_BUFFER_BYTES, 512 * 1024, 128 * 1024, 64 * 1024 * 1024);
 const MAX_AUDIO_QUEUE_BYTES = clampInteger(process.env.MAX_AUDIO_QUEUE_BYTES, 16 * 1024 * 1024, 256 * 1024, 128 * 1024 * 1024);
 const MAX_RELAY_BRANCH_QUEUE_BYTES = clampInteger(process.env.MAX_RELAY_BRANCH_QUEUE_BYTES, 16 * 1024 * 1024, 512 * 1024, 256 * 1024 * 1024);
 const RELAY_BRANCH_PAUSE_BYTES = Math.floor(MAX_RELAY_BRANCH_QUEUE_BYTES / 2);
@@ -37,10 +41,12 @@ const JPEG_SOI = Buffer.from([0xff, 0xd8]);
 const JPEG_EOI = Buffer.from([0xff, 0xd9]);
 
 const defaults = {
-  fps: 24,
-  width: 960,
-  quality: clampInteger(process.env.JPEG_QUALITY, 7, 2, 18),
-  audioBitrate: '160k',
+  fps: clampInteger(process.env.DEFAULT_FPS, 8, 1, 30),
+  width: clampInteger(process.env.DEFAULT_FRAME_WIDTH, 480, 160, 1920),
+  quality: clampInteger(process.env.JPEG_QUALITY, 12, 2, 18),
+  audioBitrate: parseAudioBitrate(process.env.DEFAULT_AUDIO_BITRATE, '64k'),
+  audioChannels: clampInteger(process.env.DEFAULT_AUDIO_CHANNELS, 1, 1, 2),
+  audioSampleRate: clampInteger(process.env.DEFAULT_AUDIO_SAMPLE_RATE, 44100, 22050, 48000),
 };
 
 const sessions = new Map();
@@ -363,7 +369,9 @@ function parsePlaybackOptions(body) {
     fps: clampInteger(body?.fps, defaults.fps, 1, 30),
     width: clampInteger(body?.width, defaults.width, 160, 1920),
     quality: clampInteger(body?.quality, defaults.quality, 2, 18),
-    audioBitrate: parseAudioBitrate(body?.audioBitrate),
+    audioBitrate: parseAudioBitrate(body?.audioBitrate, defaults.audioBitrate),
+    audioChannels: clampInteger(body?.audioChannels, defaults.audioChannels, 1, 2),
+    audioSampleRate: clampInteger(body?.audioSampleRate, defaults.audioSampleRate, 22050, 48000),
   };
 }
 
@@ -394,16 +402,32 @@ function clampInteger(value, fallback, min, max) {
   return Math.min(max, Math.max(min, Math.round(parsed)));
 }
 
+function parseBoolean(value, fallback) {
+  if (value === undefined || value === '') {
+    return fallback;
+  }
+
+  if (['1', 'true', 'yes', 'on'].includes(String(value).toLowerCase())) {
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  if (['0', 'false', 'no', 'off'].includes(String(value).toLowerCase())) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return fallback;
+}
+
 function clampNumber(value, min, max) {
   return Math.min(max, Math.max(min, value));
 }
 
-function parseAudioBitrate(value) {
+function parseAudioBitrate(value, fallback = '64k') {
   if (typeof value !== 'string') {
-    return defaults.audioBitrate;
+    return fallback;
   }
 
-  return /^\d{2,3}k$/i.test(value) ? value.toLowerCase() : defaults.audioBitrate;
+  return /^\d{2,3}k$/i.test(value) ? value.toLowerCase() : fallback;
 }
 
 function formatSessionPayload(session) {
@@ -1654,7 +1678,7 @@ function sendFramePacket(websocket, timestamp, jpeg, onError) {
   const packet = Buffer.allocUnsafe(packetBytes);
   packet.writeDoubleLE(timestamp, 0);
   copyJpegFrame(jpeg, packet, 8);
-  websocket.send(packet, { binary: true }, (error) => {
+  websocket.send(packet, { binary: true, compress: false }, (error) => {
     if (error) {
       onError(error);
     }
@@ -1728,9 +1752,9 @@ function buildPlaybackArgs(session, inputUrl) {
     '0:a:0?',
     '-vn',
     '-ac',
-    '2',
+    String(session.options.audioChannels),
     '-ar',
-    '48000',
+    String(session.options.audioSampleRate),
     '-codec:a',
     'libmp3lame',
     '-b:a',
@@ -1751,9 +1775,9 @@ function buildAudioArgs(session, inputUrl, inputOptions) {
     '0:a:0?',
     '-vn',
     '-ac',
-    '2',
+    String(session.options.audioChannels),
     '-ar',
-    '48000',
+    String(session.options.audioSampleRate),
     '-codec:a',
     'libmp3lame',
     '-b:a',
@@ -1790,17 +1814,40 @@ function buildInputArgs(inputUrl, { seekable = true, startTime = 0 } = {}) {
     args.push('-ss', formatFfmpegSeconds(startTime));
   }
 
+  if (FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT && isHttpInputUrl(inputUrl)) {
+    args.push(
+      '-reconnect',
+      '1',
+      '-reconnect_on_network_error',
+      '1',
+      '-reconnect_streamed',
+      '1',
+      '-reconnect_delay_max',
+      String(FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_DELAY_MAX),
+      '-reconnect_max_retries',
+      String(FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_MAX_RETRIES),
+    );
+
+    if (FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_ON_HTTP_ERROR) {
+      args.push('-reconnect_on_http_error', FFMPEG_HTTP_RECONNECT_ON_HTTP_ERROR);
+    }
+  }
+
   args.push('-re', '-i', inputUrl);
   return args;
 }
 
+function isHttpInputUrl(inputUrl) {
+  return inputUrl.startsWith('http://') || inputUrl.startsWith('https://');
+}
+
 function formatFfmpegSeconds(seconds) {
   return clampNumber(seconds, 0, Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER).toFixed(3);
 }
 
 function buildFrameOutputArgs(session, outputUrl) {
   const { fps, quality, width } = session.options;
-  const videoFilter = `fps=${fps},scale=w='min(${width},iw)':h=-2:flags=bicubic:out_range=pc,format=yuvj420p`;
+  const videoFilter = `fps=${fps},scale=w='min(${width},iw)':h=-2:flags=fast_bilinear:out_range=pc,format=yuvj420p`;
 
   return [
     '-an',