diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
index 84abe7e0..999c2bcc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
@@ -61,16 +61,28 @@ import { useScrollFade } from "../lib/useScrollFade";
 const FINISH_MARGIN = 10;
 
 // Force a high starting resolution. YouTube decides quality at player-CREATION time from the
-// iframe's INTERNAL viewport size, then latches it (a later resize neither upgrades nor downgrades —
-// measured 2026-07-31). A windowed-size embed (~900×500) is stuck at ~360–480p, which is why the
-// video used to open low and needed a manual fullscreen + gear trip to 1080p. So we create the
-// iframe at this large FIXED logical size and CSS `transform: scale()` it DOWN to fit the visible
-// box: a CSS transform does NOT change the iframe's internal viewport, so YouTube still sees
-// 1920×1080 and starts at 1080p — latched for the whole session, even while it paints small.
-// 16:9 to match the `aspect-video` stage. Revert lever: set FORCE_HD_LOGICAL_SIZE = false to fall
-// back to the old responsive 100%/100% sizing (kept easy to pull in case a restrictive network —
-// e.g. behind a VPN — overrides the size hint; the trick can only help or be neutral, never worse).
+// iframe's INTERNAL viewport size, then latches it. A windowed-size embed (~900×500) is stuck at
+// ~360–480p, which is why the video used to open low and needed a manual fullscreen + gear trip to
+// 1080p.
+//
+// Two phases (see applyHdPhase1 / switchToHdNative / the quality poll):
+//   1. Create the iframe at this large FIXED logical size and CSS `transform: scale()` it DOWN to fit
+//      the visible box. A CSS transform does NOT change the iframe's internal viewport, so YouTube
+//      still sees 1920×1080 and latches 1080p — even while it paints small. (Its own controls, incl.
+//      the gear, also paint scaled-down in the windowed box — the one downside of phase 1 alone.)
+//   2. Once 1080p has actually latched, drop to NATIVE responsive sizing (setSize) so YouTube renders
+//      its controls at full size.
+//
+// ⚠️ CONDITIONAL / UNDER OBSERVATION (2026-07-31): phase 2 is NOT proven safe everywhere. In dev, on
+// ONE `was_live` stream, quality dropped hd1080 → large (480p) ~2s after going native (YouTube
+// re-caps to the now-small internal viewport); on the author's own machine/connection it HELD 1080p
+// on a normal VOD. So it's environment-/video-dependent and is being watched in prod. Two levers:
+//   • HD_DROP_TO_NATIVE = false → skip phase 2, keep phase 1 forever = GUARANTEED 1080p (the viewport
+//     stays 1920), at the cost of the scaled-down controls. The safe fallback if phase 2 downgrades.
+//   • FORCE_HD_LOGICAL_SIZE = false → disable the whole trick, back to responsive 100%/100% sizing.
+// 16:9 to match the `aspect-video` stage.
 const FORCE_HD_LOGICAL_SIZE = true;
+const HD_DROP_TO_NATIVE = true;
 const HD_W = 1920;
 const HD_H = 1080;
 
@@ -281,6 +293,9 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
   const videoBoxRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
   // Rescales the HD iframe into videoBoxRef; set up once (ResizeObserver) and also called on ready.
   const fitPlayerRef = useRef<(() => void) | null>(null);
+  // HD phase: false = phase 1 (fixed 1920×1080 iframe scaled down, to latch 1080p); true = phase 2
+  // (native responsive sizing, so YouTube's own controls render full-size once 1080p has latched).
+  const hdNativeRef = useRef(false);
   const playerRef = useRef<YTPlayer | null>(null);
   const autoMarkedRef = useRef(false);
   // Bound consecutive unplayable items so an auto-advancing queue (esp. loop=all) can't spin over a
@@ -441,6 +456,42 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
   // 100). We overlay a friendly message + "Open on YouTube" instead of YouTube's bare error.
   const [playerError, setPlayerError] = useState<number | null>(null);
 
+  // Put the HD iframe into phase 1 (fixed 1920×1080, scaled to fit) so YouTube (re)latches 1080p from
+  // a full-HD internal viewport. Called on player-ready and when a NEW video is loaded into the same
+  // player (a description link) — otherwise the new clip would start at the native box's low quality.
+  const applyHdPhase1 = () => {
+    if (!FORCE_HD_LOGICAL_SIZE) return;
+    hdNativeRef.current = false;
+    const f = playerRef.current?.getIframe?.();
+    if (f) {
+      // Anchor the fixed-HD iframe top-left of its box so the scale-transform (fitPlayerRef) fits it
+      // in; `maxWidth:none` guards against a global iframe { max-width:100% } reset.
+      f.style.position = "absolute";
+      f.style.top = "0";
+      f.style.left = "0";
+      f.style.width = `${HD_W}px`;
+      f.style.height = `${HD_H}px`;
+      f.style.maxWidth = "none";
+      f.style.transformOrigin = "0 0";
+    }
+    fitPlayerRef.current?.();
+  };
+  // Once 1080p has latched (see the quality poll), drop to native responsive sizing so YouTube renders
+  // its own controls — the gear especially — at full size. Gated by HD_DROP_TO_NATIVE (see the note at
+  // the top): if phase 2 proves to downgrade in the wild, flip that off to keep phase 1 forever.
+  const switchToHdNative = () => {
+    const f = playerRef.current?.getIframe?.();
+    if (!f) return;
+    hdNativeRef.current = true;
+    f.style.position = "";
+    f.style.top = "";
+    f.style.left = "";
+    f.style.transform = "none";
+    f.style.transformOrigin = "";
+    f.style.maxWidth = "";
+    fitPlayerRef.current?.(); // now runs the native setSize branch
+  };
+
   const loadVideo = (id: string, start: number | null) => {
     const p = playerRef.current;
     if (!p || typeof p.loadVideoById !== "function") return;
@@ -448,6 +499,9 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
     const startSeconds = start != null ? start : id === active.id ? resumeAt : 0;
     setPlayerError(null);
     p.loadVideoById({ videoId: id, startSeconds: startSeconds || 0 });
+    // Re-latch 1080p for the newly-loaded clip: back to phase 1 (the quality poll flips it to native
+    // once 1080p lands). Without this a description-link video would inherit the native box's low pick.
+    applyHdPhase1();
     currentIdRef.current = id;
     setCurrentVideoId(id);
     setLiveData(null);
@@ -765,6 +819,16 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
       const bw = box.clientWidth;
       const bh = box.clientHeight;
       if (!bw || !bh) return;
+      if (hdNativeRef.current) {
+        // Phase 2: native responsive sizing — the iframe IS the box, so YouTube's controls render
+        // at full size. Set the inline size explicitly too: phase 1 left an inline 1920×1080px on the
+        // element, which would otherwise override setSize's attributes and keep it overflowing.
+        f.style.width = `${bw}px`;
+        f.style.height = `${bh}px`;
+        if (p && typeof p.setSize === "function") p.setSize(bw, bh);
+        return;
+      }
+      // Phase 1: latch 1080p — scale the fixed 1920×1080 iframe DOWN to fit, letterbox-`contain`.
       const k = Math.min(bw / HD_W, bh / HD_H);
       const cx = (bw - HD_W * k) / 2;
       const cy = (bh - HD_H * k) / 2;
@@ -785,6 +849,8 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
     let cancelled = false;
     const id = active.id;
     autoMarkedRef.current = false;
+    // A fresh player starts in HD phase 1 (scaled), regardless of what the previous video ended on.
+    hdNativeRef.current = false;
     setPlayerError(null);
 
     // Auto-watch only applies to the active item — not to other videos the player
@@ -850,21 +916,9 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
           // Keep keyboard focus on the modal, not the iframe, so shortcuts work right away, and
           // restore the remembered volume — a fresh player always starts at 100.
           onReady: () => {
-            // Anchor the fixed-HD iframe top-left of its box so the transform-scale (fitPlayerRef)
-            // fits it in; `maxWidth:none` guards against a global iframe { max-width:100% } reset.
-            if (FORCE_HD_LOGICAL_SIZE) {
-              const f = playerRef.current?.getIframe?.();
-              if (f) {
-                f.style.position = "absolute";
-                f.style.top = "0";
-                f.style.left = "0";
-                f.style.width = `${HD_W}px`;
-                f.style.height = `${HD_H}px`;
-                f.style.maxWidth = "none";
-                f.style.transformOrigin = "0 0";
-              }
-              fitPlayerRef.current?.();
-            }
+            // Start in phase 1 (fixed-HD iframe scaled to fit) so YouTube latches 1080p; the quality
+            // poll below flips to native sizing once it lands.
+            applyHdPhase1();
             focusModal();
             applyVolume(volumeRef.current, false);
           },
@@ -907,6 +961,18 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
 
     // Periodic checkpoint so progress (and auto-watch) survive a crash/refresh.
     const timer = window.setInterval(persist, 5000);
+    // HD phase 2 trigger: once the (phase-1, scaled) player has actually latched 1080p, drop to native
+    // sizing so YouTube's controls render full-size. Only at hd1080+. Gated by HD_DROP_TO_NATIVE — the
+    // conditional/under-observation switch (see the note up top): a video that never reaches 1080p, a
+    // constrained network, or HD_DROP_TO_NATIVE=false all keep phase 1 (the guaranteed-1080p fallback).
+    // Re-arms automatically after a description-link load (applyHdPhase1 resets the flag).
+    const HD_NATIVE_QUALITIES = new Set(["hd1080", "hd1440", "hd2160"]);
+    const hdPoll = window.setInterval(() => {
+      if (!FORCE_HD_LOGICAL_SIZE || !HD_DROP_TO_NATIVE || hdNativeRef.current) return;
+      const p = playerRef.current;
+      const q = p && typeof p.getPlaybackQuality === "function" ? p.getPlaybackQuality() : "";
+      if (HD_NATIVE_QUALITIES.has(q)) switchToHdNative();
+    }, 700);
     // Save on page unload too (F5/close/navigate): effect cleanup doesn't run on a full reload, so
     // without this the resume point lags up to 5s (a seek right before F5 would be lost). A keepalive
     // beacon so the POST survives the unload. Only for the library item we opened with — a navigated
@@ -927,6 +993,7 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
     return () => {
       cancelled = true;
       window.clearInterval(timer);
+      window.clearInterval(hdPoll);
       window.removeEventListener("pagehide", onHide);
       // Final flush, then refresh the feed + playlists so resume bars reflect this session.
       Promise.resolve(persist()).finally(() => {
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/youtube.ts b/frontend/src/lib/youtube.ts
index adc9ce75..2e696f62 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/youtube.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/youtube.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ export interface YTPlayer {
   getDuration(): number;
   getVideoData(): YTVideoData;
   getIframe(): HTMLIFrameElement;
+  // Current latched playback quality (e.g. "hd1080") — used to detect when to drop the HD-latch
+  // iframe from its scaled-up size to native sizing. `setPlaybackQuality` is deliberately NOT typed:
+  // YouTube retired it (a hard no-op) — see [[reference-yt-iframe-api-remote-control-map]].
+  getPlaybackQuality(): string;
+  setSize(width: number, height: number): void;
   getVolume(): number;
   isMuted(): boolean;
   setVolume(volume: number): void;