diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py b/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py
index 72eafc7b..ae61a6c9 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py
@@ -196,26 +196,30 @@ def _ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id: int, phase: str, *, now=time.monotonic):
     """`on_progress` for run_ffmpeg: persist a progress row write at most once per interval and only
     when the whole-percent value changed (the bar shows integers), plus a separate once-per-interval
     heartbeat while the percent is stuck (so a slow re-encode isn't mistaken for a stall)."""
-    # Two independent 1/interval budgets so a heartbeat never consumes the progress-write slot — a
-    # percent change right after a heartbeat must still write immediately, not wait out the interval.
+    # Progress writes have their OWN 1/interval budget so a heartbeat can never delay a real write (the
+    # round-1 concern). The heartbeat, in turn, is gated on `last_touch` — the last DB write OR beat —
+    # so a progress write (which already refreshes updated_at) suppresses a redundant heartbeat that
+    # same interval, keeping active downloads at ~1 write/interval, not two.
     allow_write = _rate_limiter(_DB_WRITE_INTERVAL_S, now=now)
-    allow_beat = _rate_limiter(_DB_WRITE_INTERVAL_S, now=now)
     state = {"pct": -1}
+    last_touch: dict = {"t": None}  # monotonic time of the last DB write/heartbeat
 
     def write(pct: float) -> None:
         whole = int(pct)
-        if whole == state["pct"]:
-            # Same integer percent, but ffmpeg IS still working — a slow re-encode (AV1/VP9 -> H.264
-            # or a crop on the CPU-only host) can sit on one percent for minutes. Heartbeat the row's
-            # updated_at (on its OWN budget) so the stall watchdog doesn't kill a live job as "stalled"
-            # (B-sub-4), without rewriting the unchanged bar or delaying the next real write.
-            if allow_beat():
-                _touch_job(job_id)
+        if whole != state["pct"]:
+            if allow_write():
+                state["pct"] = whole
+                _set_job(job_id, progress=whole, phase=phase)
+                last_touch["t"] = now()
             return
-        if not allow_write():
-            return
-        state["pct"] = whole
-        _set_job(job_id, progress=whole, phase=phase)
+        # Same integer percent, but ffmpeg IS still working — a slow re-encode (AV1/VP9 -> H.264 or a
+        # crop on the CPU-only host) can sit on one percent for minutes. Heartbeat updated_at so the
+        # stall watchdog doesn't kill a live job (B-sub-4) — but only if no write/beat already touched
+        # the row this interval, so a progressing download doesn't pay a redundant write.
+        t = now()
+        if last_touch["t"] is None or t - last_touch["t"] >= _DB_WRITE_INTERVAL_S:
+            _touch_job(job_id)
+            last_touch["t"] = t
 
     return write
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_ffmpeg_callbacks.py b/backend/tests/test_ffmpeg_callbacks.py
index b351f03c..069e70bc 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_ffmpeg_callbacks.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_ffmpeg_callbacks.py
@@ -60,6 +60,21 @@ class TestProgressWriter:
         assert [w["progress"] for w in writes] == [10]  # progress never rewritten
         assert touches == [7, 7, 7]  # …but each interval heartbeats the watchdog
 
+    def test_no_redundant_heartbeat_when_a_progress_write_just_happened(self, monkeypatch):
+        """A progress write already refreshes updated_at, so an unchanged-percent call in the SAME
+        interval must NOT also heartbeat — that would be a redundant DB write (~2x during an active
+        download). The heartbeat only fires once no write/beat touched the row for an interval."""
+        writes, touches = [], []
+        clock = {"t": 1000.0}
+        monkeypatch.setattr(pipeline, "_set_job", lambda job_id, **f: writes.append(f))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(pipeline, "_touch_job", lambda job_id: touches.append(job_id))
+        write = pipeline._ffmpeg_progress_writer(7, "processing", now=lambda: clock["t"])
+        write(6.0)  # progress write at t=1000 → refreshes updated_at
+        clock["t"] += 0.3
+        write(6.4)  # same percent, SAME interval → the write already touched the row, so no heartbeat
+        assert [w["progress"] for w in writes] == [6]
+        assert touches == []
+
 
 class TestCancelPoll:
     def test_asks_once_then_reuses_the_answer(self, monkeypatch):