media: prefer hevc freezes over corruption

Cargo.lock

@@ -1652,7 +1652,7 @@ checksum = "09edd9e8b54e49e587e4f6295a7d29c3ea94d469cb40ab8ca70b288248a81db2"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lesavka_client"
-version = "0.21.13"
+version = "0.21.14"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-stream",
@@ -1686,7 +1686,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lesavka_common"
-version = "0.21.13"
+version = "0.21.14"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -1698,7 +1698,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lesavka_server"
-version = "0.21.13"
+version = "0.21.14"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",

client/Cargo.toml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ path                    = "src/main.rs"
 
 [package]
 name                    = "lesavka_client"
-version                 = "0.21.13"
+version                 = "0.21.14"
 edition                 = "2024"
 
 [dependencies]

client/src/app/uplink_media/tests/mod.rs

@@ -185,6 +185,17 @@ use super::*;
         assert!(bundle_has_hevc_recovery_keyframe(&keyframe_bundle));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    /// Keeps capture-gap recovery explicit because dropped encoded HEVC samples can corrupt every following delta frame.
+    fn hevc_capture_gap_enters_recovery_until_keyframe() {
+        let mut waiting = false;
+        note_hevc_capture_gap(false, &mut waiting);
+        assert!(!waiting);
+
+        note_hevc_capture_gap(true, &mut waiting);
+        assert!(waiting);
+    }
+
     /// Verifies the live uplink queue emits one physically bundled HEVC frame and PCM span.
     ///
     /// Inputs: pre-stamped HEVC video plus two nearby audio packets, exactly as

client/src/app/uplink_media/video_keyframes.rs

@@ -73,6 +73,19 @@ fn bundle_has_hevc_recovery_keyframe(bundle: &UpstreamMediaBundle) -> bool {
         .is_some_and(|video| contains_hevc_irap(&video.data))
 }
 
+#[cfg(not(coverage))]
+/// Mark HEVC as needing recovery after capture produced a gap.
+///
+/// Inputs: whether HEVC recovery applies and the mutable wait flag. Output:
+/// updated state. Why: a `None` pull from the camera can mean the capture layer
+/// discarded a stale encoded packet before bundling; after that, sending the
+/// next predictive frame risks black or block-corrupted browser frames.
+fn note_hevc_capture_gap(recover_hevc_after_drops: bool, waiting_for_keyframe: &mut bool) {
+    if recover_hevc_after_drops {
+        *waiting_for_keyframe = true;
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(not(coverage))]
 /// Resolve whether the active upstream camera codec needs HEVC recovery.
 ///

client/src/app/uplink_media/webcam_media_loop.rs

@@ -239,6 +239,11 @@ impl LesavkaClientApp {
                                         }
                                         Err(std::sync::mpsc::TrySendError::Disconnected(_)) => break,
                                     }
+                                } else {
+                                    note_hevc_capture_gap(
+                                        recover_hevc_after_drops,
+                                        &mut waiting_for_hevc_keyframe,
+                                    );
                                 }
                             }
                         })

client/src/input/camera.rs

@@ -205,17 +205,17 @@ mod tests {
                 ("LESAVKA_CAM_HEVC_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL", None::<&str>),
             ],
             || {
-                assert_eq!(hevc_keyframe_interval(30), 3);
-                assert_eq!(hevc_keyframe_interval(2), 2);
+                assert_eq!(hevc_keyframe_interval(30), 1);
+                assert_eq!(hevc_keyframe_interval(2), 1);
             },
         );
         temp_env::with_vars(
             [
                 ("LESAVKA_CAM_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL", Some("5")),
-                ("LESAVKA_CAM_HEVC_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL", Some("1")),
+                ("LESAVKA_CAM_HEVC_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL", Some("2")),
             ],
             || {
-                assert_eq!(hevc_keyframe_interval(30), 1);
+                assert_eq!(hevc_keyframe_interval(30), 2);
             },
         );
     }

client/src/input/camera/capture_pipeline.rs

@@ -352,14 +352,14 @@ fn env_flag_enabled(name: &str) -> bool {
 
 /// Choose the live HEVC keyframe cadence.
 ///
-/// Inputs: target FPS plus optional `LESAVKA_CAM_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL` and
-/// `LESAVKA_CAM_HEVC_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL` overrides. Output: GOP length in
-/// frames. Why: the uplink intentionally drops stale HEVC bundles for
-/// freshness, so short GOPs keep decoder recovery below a human-visible blink.
+/// Inputs: target FPS plus optional `LESAVKA_CAM_HEVC_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL`
+/// override. Output: GOP length in frames. Why: the upstream relay is
+/// freshness-first and may intentionally discard video; defaulting HEVC to
+/// all-intra is less compression-efficient, but it turns packet loss into a
+/// freeze/stutter instead of browser-visible block corruption.
 fn hevc_keyframe_interval(fps: u32) -> u32 {
     let fps = fps.max(1);
-    let generic_default = env_u32("LESAVKA_CAM_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL", fps.min(3));
-    env_u32("LESAVKA_CAM_HEVC_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL", generic_default).clamp(1, fps)
+    env_u32("LESAVKA_CAM_HEVC_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL", 1).clamp(1, fps)
 }
 
 /// Keeps `log_camera_first_packet` explicit because it sits on camera selection, where negotiated profiles must match the server output contract.

common/Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name                    = "lesavka_common"
-version                 = "0.21.13"
+version                 = "0.21.14"
 edition                 = "2024"
 build                   = "build.rs"
 

server/Cargo.toml

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ bench                   = false
 
 [package]
 name                    = "lesavka_server"
-version                 = "0.21.13"
+version                 = "0.21.14"
 edition                 = "2024"
 autobins                = false