From 561daf588c832a0c7cded314a37d0723709a0da0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Charlie Fish <contact@charlie.fish>
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2026 18:16:39 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Restore stable stream for automatic quality

---
 apps/frontend/app/_player/Player.tsx       |  9 +++++----
 apps/frontend/tests/player/Player.test.tsx | 12 ++++++------
 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/apps/frontend/app/_player/Player.tsx b/apps/frontend/app/_player/Player.tsx
index b302061..95de54a 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/app/_player/Player.tsx
+++ b/apps/frontend/app/_player/Player.tsx
@@ -317,8 +317,8 @@ interface AirPlayAvailabilityEvent extends Event {
 
 /**
  * Build the master playlist URL for a channel; respects the optional
- * `quality` pin by appending `?profile=<profile>`. `auto` requests the
- * multivariant graph so hls.js can change renditions before buffer exhaustion.
+ * `quality` pin by appending `?profile=<profile>`. `auto` retains the proven
+ * single-stream browser conversion; explicit quality choices remain available.
  */
 function buildSrc(
 	channelId: string,
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ function buildSrc(
 	viewerId?: string
 ): string {
 	const base = `/api/v1/stream/${encodeURIComponent(channelId)}/master.m3u8`;
-	const profile = !quality || quality === "auto" ? "auto" : quality;
+	const profile = !quality || quality === "auto" ? "original-quality" : quality;
 	const search = new URLSearchParams({ profile });
 	if (viewerId) {
 		search.set("viewerId", viewerId);
@@ -378,7 +378,8 @@ function buildViewerReleaseUrl(
 	quality: PlayerQuality,
 	viewerId: string
 ): string {
-	const query = new URLSearchParams({ profile: quality });
+	const profile = quality === "auto" ? "original-quality" : quality;
+	const query = new URLSearchParams({ profile });
 	return `/api/v1/stream/${encodeURIComponent(channelId)}/viewers/${encodeURIComponent(viewerId)}/release?${query.toString()}`;
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/frontend/tests/player/Player.test.tsx b/apps/frontend/tests/player/Player.test.tsx
index ad192e1..1c5f8bb 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/tests/player/Player.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/frontend/tests/player/Player.test.tsx
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ describe("Player", () => {
 				([source]) => source as string
 			);
 			expect(sources).toHaveLength(1);
-			expectLiveSource(sources[0]!, CHANNEL_ID, "auto");
+			expectLiveSource(sources[0]!, CHANNEL_ID, "original-quality");
 			expect(
 				new URL(sources[0]!, "http://localhost").searchParams.get("viewerId")
 			).toBe(clientViewerId);
@@ -169,11 +169,11 @@ describe("Player", () => {
 		const instance = fakeInstances[0]!;
 		expect(instance.attachMedia).toHaveBeenCalled();
 		const source = instance.loadSource.mock.calls[0]?.[0] as string;
-		const viewerId = expectLiveSource(source, CHANNEL_ID, "auto");
+		const viewerId = expectLiveSource(source, CHANNEL_ID, "original-quality");
 
 		unmount();
 		expect(sendBeacon).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-			`/api/v1/stream/${CHANNEL_ID}/viewers/${viewerId}/release?profile=auto`
+			`/api/v1/stream/${CHANNEL_ID}/viewers/${viewerId}/release?profile=original-quality`
 		);
 	});
 
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ describe("Player", () => {
 		expectLiveSource(
 			fakeInstances[0]?.loadSource.mock.calls[0]?.[0] as string,
 			CHANNEL_ID,
-			"auto"
+			"original-quality"
 		);
 		expect(screen.queryByTestId("player-error")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
 	});
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ describe("Player", () => {
 
 		await waitFor(() => expect(FakeHls.isSupported).toHaveBeenCalled());
 		expect(fakeInstances).toHaveLength(0);
-		expectLiveSource(video.src, CHANNEL_ID, "auto");
+		expectLiveSource(video.src, CHANNEL_ID, "original-quality");
 	});
 
 	it("explains when neither HLS playback engine is supported", async () => {
@@ -554,7 +554,7 @@ describe("Player", () => {
 				instance.loadSource.mock.calls.length - 1
 			]?.[0] as string,
 			"00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000002",
-			"auto"
+			"original-quality"
 		);
 	});