diff --git a/clients/apple/README.md b/clients/apple/README.md
index c7c4fed2..27da0c40 100644
--- a/clients/apple/README.md
+++ b/clients/apple/README.md
@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@ Opus audio, cert pinning — lives in the shared Rust **`punktfunk-core`** (stat
 - **Full controller support** — one selected controller forwarded as pad 0, including **DualSense**
   feedback (rumble → CoreHaptics, lightbar, player LEDs, adaptive triggers) and touchpad/motion. The
   virtual pad type auto-resolves from your physical controller.
-- **Mouse & keyboard** — `GCMouse`/`GCKeyboard` capture with click-to-capture and a ⌘⎋ release, plus
-  iPad pointer lock and touch input.
+- **Mouse & keyboard** — `GCMouse`/`GCKeyboard` capture with click-to-capture and a ⌃⌥⇧Q release
+  (the cross-client Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q; ⌘⎋ still works as the macOS/iPad toggle), plus iPad pointer
+  lock and touch input.
 - **Find hosts automatically** — mDNS discovery (`NWBrowser` over `_punktfunk._udp`); first connect
   does a one-time **SPAKE2 PIN pairing** (or TOFU on trusted LANs), then reconnects on a pinned,
   Keychain-stored identity.
@@ -83,7 +84,9 @@ PUNKTFUNK_AUTOCONNECT=<box-ip> PUNKTFUNK_MODE=1280x720x60 swift run PunktfunkCli
 - **`PunktfunkClient`** (the app) — hosts grid with an *On this network* section, add-host sheet,
   the two trust flows (TOFU prompt + SPAKE2 `PairSheet`), the stream view with the HUD, a
   tabbed Settings pane (General / Display / Audio / Controllers / Advanced), and the network speed
-  test. A Scene-level **Stream** menu carries Disconnect (⌘D) and the HUD toggle (⌘⇧S).
+  test. A Scene-level **Stream** menu carries the cross-client shortcut set: Release Mouse (⌃⌥⇧Q),
+  Disconnect (⌃⌥⇧D) and the HUD toggle (⌃⌥⇧S) — the same Ctrl+Alt+Shift combos the Windows and
+  Linux clients reserve, also shown on a 6-second banner at stream start.
   On iOS/iPadOS **and macOS** a connected controller swaps the whole home for the **gamepad UI**
   (`Home/Gamepad*`, `Settings/GamepadSettingsView`): a console-style host carousel (A connect · Y
   library · X settings), a controller-navigable settings screen, an add-host flow with an
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/ContentView.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/ContentView.swift
index f4937733..9f0b8c56 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/ContentView.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/ContentView.swift
@@ -55,6 +55,18 @@ struct ContentView: View {
     /// Wakes a sleeping host and waits for it to come back online before connecting (drives the
     /// "Waking…" overlay). macOS-only in practice — WoL is gated off on iOS/tvOS.
     @StateObject private var waker = HostWaker()
+    #if os(macOS)
+    /// Whether the hosting window is native-fullscreen right now (reported by
+    /// FullscreenController). Drives the session view's safe-area choice: fullscreen goes
+    /// edge-to-edge (behind the notch); windowed respects the top inset so the title bar
+    /// never covers the video.
+    @State private var isFullscreen = false
+    /// Shows the start-of-stream shortcut banner (the Windows client's discoverability
+    /// pattern): raised on every transition to `.streaming`, dropped by the banner's own
+    /// 6-second task. Independent of the stats HUD so the keys are discoverable even with
+    /// statistics off.
+    @State private var showShortcutHint = false
+    #endif
     #if !os(macOS)
     @State private var showSettings = false
     #endif
@@ -89,6 +101,9 @@ struct ContentView: View {
         .onChange(of: model.phase) { _, phase in
             switch phase {
             case .streaming:
+                #if os(macOS)
+                showShortcutHint = true // the 6 s shortcut banner, per session start
+                #endif
                 // A session actually started — remember it on the card ("Connected … ago"
                 // plus the accent ring on the most recent host).
                 guard let host = model.activeHost else { break }
@@ -115,7 +130,7 @@ struct ContentView: View {
             }
         }
         .onDisappear { model.disconnect() } // window closed mid-session (Cmd+N spawns more)
-        // Expose the session to the Scene-level Stream menu (Disconnect ⌘D works even when
+        // Expose the session to the Scene-level Stream menu (Disconnect ⌃⌥⇧D works even when
         // the HUD is hidden). tvOS has no such menu.
         #if !os(tvOS)
         .focusedSceneValue(\.sessionFocus, SessionFocus(
@@ -125,7 +140,12 @@ struct ContentView: View {
         #if os(macOS)
         // Fullscreen only while a session is up (incl. the trust prompt over the blurred stream),
         // windowed on the host list — so the picker isn't forced fullscreen. Opt-out in Settings.
-        .background(FullscreenController(active: fullscreenWhileStreaming && model.connection != nil))
+        // The controller also reports the window's ACTUAL fullscreen state back into
+        // `isFullscreen` (the user can toggle it manually), which drives the session view's
+        // safe-area handling below.
+        .background(FullscreenController(
+            active: fullscreenWhileStreaming && model.connection != nil,
+            isFullscreen: $isFullscreen))
         #endif
         // On the outer Group so the sheet survives the trust-prompt → home transition
         // (the "Pair with PIN instead" path disconnects first — the host's accept loop
@@ -300,13 +320,17 @@ struct ContentView: View {
         #if os(macOS)
         .frame(minWidth: 640, minHeight: 360)
         .background(Color.black)
-        // Fill the whole display in fullscreen, INCLUDING behind the camera housing (notch).
+        // FULLSCREEN fills the whole display, INCLUDING behind the camera housing (notch).
         // Without this the stream is laid out in the safe area below the notch, so an
         // aspect-fit video at the display's native mode scales down and leaves black borders.
         // A fullscreen video behind the notch (a thin top-center strip occluded) is the
-        // expected behavior — same edge-to-edge intent as the iOS/tvOS branches below. Inert
-        // in windowed mode (no notch safe-area inset on a titled window).
-        .ignoresSafeArea()
+        // expected behavior — same edge-to-edge intent as the iOS/tvOS branches below.
+        // WINDOWED keeps the TOP inset: macOS 26 windows extend content under the (glass)
+        // title bar and report its height as top safe area — ignoring it there put the top of
+        // the video (and the HUD) underneath the title bar. The black `.background` above is a
+        // ShapeStyle background, which always extends under every inset, so the strip behind
+        // the title bar stays black rather than showing the video.
+        .ignoresSafeArea(edges: isFullscreen ? .all : [.horizontal, .bottom])
         #elseif os(iOS)
         // Streaming is immersive: edge-to-edge under the status bar and home
         // indicator, both hidden for the session (they return with the hosts grid).
@@ -335,6 +359,9 @@ struct ContentView: View {
                     onCaptureChange: { [weak model] captured in
                         model?.mouseCaptured = captured
                     },
+                    onDisconnectRequest: { [weak model] in
+                        model?.disconnect() // the captured-state ⌃⌥⇧D combo
+                    },
                     onFrame: { [meter = model.meter, latency = model.latency,
                                 split = model.latencySplit, offset = conn.clockOffsetNs] au in
                         meter.note(byteCount: au.data.count)
@@ -356,6 +383,30 @@ struct ContentView: View {
                         StreamHUDView(model: model, connection: conn, placement: placement)
                     }
                 }
+                #if os(macOS)
+                // The start-of-stream shortcut banner (Windows-client parity): the full
+                // reserved key set on a glass pill, bottom-centre, for the first 6 seconds of
+                // every session — independent of the stats HUD, so the keys are discoverable
+                // even with statistics off. The banner's own task drops it (cancelled cleanly
+                // if the session view goes away first).
+                .overlay(alignment: .bottom) {
+                    if captureEnabled && showShortcutHint {
+                        Text("Click the stream to capture · ⌃⌥⇧Q releases the mouse · "
+                            + "⌃⌥⇧D disconnects · ⌃⌥⇧S stats")
+                            .font(.geist(12, relativeTo: .caption))
+                            .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
+                            .padding(.horizontal, 14)
+                            .padding(.vertical, 8)
+                            .glassBackground(Capsule())
+                            .padding(.bottom, 24)
+                            .transition(.opacity)
+                            .task {
+                                try? await Task.sleep(for: .seconds(6))
+                                withAnimation(.easeOut(duration: 0.6)) { showShortcutHint = false }
+                            }
+                    }
+                }
+                #endif
                 #if os(iOS)
                 // Touch users have no menu / ⌘D, so when the HUD (and its Disconnect button)
                 // is hidden, keep a minimal always-reachable exit in a corner. It rides a
@@ -654,23 +705,62 @@ struct ContentView: View {
 }
 
 #if os(macOS)
-/// Drives the hosting window in/out of native fullscreen from SwiftUI state. Mounted invisibly in
-/// the view tree; on each `active` change it captures the window and toggles fullscreen only when
-/// the current state differs (so it never fights a toggle already in flight, and never touches a
-/// window the user fullscreened manually unless `active` says otherwise).
+/// Drives the hosting window in/out of native fullscreen from SwiftUI state, and mirrors the
+/// window's ACTUAL fullscreen state back into `isFullscreen` (the user can also toggle it with the
+/// green button / ⌃⌘F — ContentView keys the session view's safe-area handling off the real state,
+/// not the setting). Mounted invisibly in the view tree; on each `active` change it captures the
+/// window and toggles fullscreen only when the current state differs (so it never fights a toggle
+/// already in flight, and never touches a window the user fullscreened manually unless `active`
+/// says otherwise).
 private struct FullscreenController: NSViewRepresentable {
     let active: Bool
+    @Binding var isFullscreen: Bool
+
+    /// Holds the window's fullscreen-transition observers so they're rebound on a window change
+    /// and removed on dismantle.
+    final class Coordinator {
+        var observers: [NSObjectProtocol] = []
+        weak var observedWindow: NSWindow?
+        deinit { observers.forEach(NotificationCenter.default.removeObserver(_:)) }
+    }
+
+    func makeCoordinator() -> Coordinator { Coordinator() }
 
     func makeNSView(context: Context) -> NSView { NSView() }
 
     func updateNSView(_ view: NSView, context: Context) {
         let want = active
+        let isFullscreen = $isFullscreen
+        let coordinator = context.coordinator
         DispatchQueue.main.async {
             guard let window = view.window else { return }
+            observeTransitions(of: window, coordinator: coordinator)
             let isFull = window.styleMask.contains(.fullScreen)
+            if isFullscreen.wrappedValue != isFull { isFullscreen.wrappedValue = isFull }
             if want != isFull { window.toggleFullScreen(nil) }
         }
     }
+
+    /// `willEnter` (not did) so the video goes edge-to-edge while the title bar is already
+    /// animating away; `didExit` so the top inset returns only once the title bar is back —
+    /// no black gap in either direction.
+    private func observeTransitions(of window: NSWindow, coordinator: Coordinator) {
+        guard coordinator.observedWindow !== window else { return }
+        coordinator.observers.forEach(NotificationCenter.default.removeObserver(_:))
+        coordinator.observers.removeAll()
+        coordinator.observedWindow = window
+        let isFullscreen = $isFullscreen
+        for (name, value) in [
+            (NSWindow.willEnterFullScreenNotification, true),
+            (NSWindow.didExitFullScreenNotification, false),
+        ] {
+            coordinator.observers.append(NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(
+                forName: name, object: window, queue: .main
+            ) { _ in
+                isFullscreen.wrappedValue = value
+            })
+        }
+    }
 }
 #endif
 
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/PunktfunkClientApp.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/PunktfunkClientApp.swift
index a723b46d..002af27a 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/PunktfunkClientApp.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/PunktfunkClientApp.swift
@@ -43,8 +43,9 @@ struct PunktfunkClientApp: App {
             // form row labels; views that pick an explicit size/weight use `.geist(…)` directly.
             .font(.geist(17, relativeTo: .body))
         }
-        // The Stream menu (Disconnect ⌘D, Show/Hide Statistics ⌘⇧S) — a real menu bar on
-        // macOS, hardware-keyboard shortcuts on iPad. tvOS has neither.
+        // The Stream menu (Release Mouse ⌃⌥⇧Q, Disconnect ⌃⌥⇧D, Show/Hide Statistics ⌃⌥⇧S —
+        // the cross-client Ctrl+Alt+Shift set) — a real menu bar on macOS, hardware-keyboard
+        // shortcuts on iPad. tvOS has neither.
         #if !os(tvOS)
         .commands { StreamCommands() }
         #endif
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamCommands.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamCommands.swift
index d27db624..013b2263 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamCommands.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamCommands.swift
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 // The app's "Stream" menu (macOS menu bar + iPad hardware-keyboard shortcuts). These live at
-// the Scene level so they keep working when the HUD overlay is hidden — in particular ⌘D
-// disconnect, which used to be reachable only via the HUD's button. The toggle just flips the
+// the Scene level so they keep working when the HUD overlay is hidden. The shortcuts are the
+// CROSS-CLIENT set every punktfunk client reserves — Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q (release the captured
+// mouse) / +D (disconnect) / +S (stats) — and the menu is their discoverable surface on macOS
+// (the Linux client has its GTK Shortcuts window, Windows its start-of-stream banner). While
+// input is CAPTURED these key equivalents never reach the menu (the stream view swallows
+// keys); InputCapture's monitor detects the same combos there and performs the same actions —
+// the menu covers the released state and discoverability. The stats toggle just flips the
 // shared `hudEnabled` setting; ContentView reads the same @AppStorage and reacts.
 //
 // tvOS has no menu bar / hardware-keyboard command surface (disconnect there is the Siri
@@ -38,10 +43,19 @@ struct StreamCommands: Commands {
             Button(hudEnabled ? "Hide Statistics" : "Show Statistics") {
                 hudEnabled.toggle()
             }
-            .keyboardShortcut("s", modifiers: [.command, .shift])
+            .keyboardShortcut("s", modifiers: [.control, .option, .shift])
+            // Reaches the key window's stream view via NotificationCenter — capture is view
+            // state the Scene can't touch directly. (Captured, the combo is handled by
+            // InputCapture's monitor before menus see it; this item is the released-state
+            // path and the shortcut's menu-bar documentation.)
+            Button("Release Mouse") {
+                NotificationCenter.default.post(name: .punktfunkReleaseCapture, object: nil)
+            }
+            .keyboardShortcut("q", modifiers: [.control, .option, .shift])
+            .disabled(session?.isStreaming != true)
             Divider()
             Button("Disconnect") { session?.disconnect() }
-                .keyboardShortcut("d", modifiers: .command)
+                .keyboardShortcut("d", modifiers: [.control, .option, .shift])
                 .disabled(session?.isStreaming != true)
         }
     }
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamHUDView.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamHUDView.swift
index 22f4d6d7..e4793da0 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamHUDView.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Session/StreamHUDView.swift
@@ -64,10 +64,11 @@ struct StreamHUDView: View {
                     .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
             }
             // While captured the cursor is hidden+frozen, so the button is keyboard-only
-            // (⌘⎋ or Cmd+Tab release the cursor; released, it's clickable again).
+            // (⌃⌥⇧Q — the cross-client Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q — or ⌘⎋/Cmd+Tab release the cursor;
+            // released, it's clickable again).
             #if os(macOS)
             Text(model.mouseCaptured
-                ? "⌘⎋ releases the mouse"
+                ? "⌃⌥⇧Q releases the mouse"
                 : "Click the stream to capture input")
                 .font(.geist(11, relativeTo: .caption2))
                 .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
@@ -87,10 +88,16 @@ struct StreamHUDView: View {
                 .font(.geist(12, relativeTo: .caption))
                 .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
             #else
-            // ⌘D lives on the app's Stream menu (so it still works when the HUD is hidden);
-            // this button is the in-overlay, click-to-disconnect affordance.
-            Button("Disconnect (⌘D)") { model.disconnect() }
+            // ⌃⌥⇧D lives on the app's Stream menu (so it still works when the HUD is hidden)
+            // and in InputCapture's monitor while captured; this button is the in-overlay,
+            // click-to-disconnect affordance.
+            #if os(macOS)
+            Button("Disconnect (⌃⌥⇧D)") { model.disconnect() }
                 .font(.geist(12, relativeTo: .caption))
+            #else
+            Button("Disconnect") { model.disconnect() }
+                .font(.geist(12, relativeTo: .caption))
+            #endif
             #endif
         }
         .padding(10)
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView+Sections.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView+Sections.swift
index baa2ef0f..96ecda72 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView+Sections.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView+Sections.swift
@@ -306,6 +306,25 @@ extension SettingsView {
         #endif
     }
 
+    // macOS-only: iOS/tvOS layers always present on the display's vsync, so the choice only
+    // exists on the Mac (where the layer's own sync must stay off — see MetalVideoPresenter).
+    @ViewBuilder var vsyncSection: some View {
+        #if os(macOS)
+        Section {
+            Toggle("V-Sync", isOn: $vsync)
+        } header: {
+            Text("Presentation")
+        } footer: {
+            Text("Off (default): each frame is shown as soon as it's ready — lowest latency, "
+                + "but frame timing can look uneven and fullscreen may tear. On: frames flip "
+                + "in step with the display's refresh — evenly paced, up to one refresh of "
+                + "added latency. Applies from the next session.")
+                .font(.geist(12, relativeTo: .caption))
+                .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
+        }
+        #endif
+    }
+
     // Stage-2 (Metal/VTDecompressionSession) is the default and only user-visible presenter — it
     // recovers from a wedged decoder, where stage-1's AVSampleBufferDisplayLayer freezes hard on a
     // lost HEVC reference. Stage-1 is kept reachable as a DEBUG-only override for diagnostics, like
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView.swift
index d66ed1d8..7ea6b83c 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkClient/Settings/SettingsView.swift
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ struct SettingsView: View {
     @AppStorage(DefaultsKey.gamepadType) var gamepadType = 0
     @AppStorage(DefaultsKey.bitrateKbps) var bitrateKbps = 0
     @AppStorage(DefaultsKey.presenter) var presenter = "stage2"
+    #if os(macOS)
+    @AppStorage(DefaultsKey.vsync) var vsync = false
+    #endif
     @AppStorage(DefaultsKey.hdrEnabled) var hdrEnabled = true
     @AppStorage(DefaultsKey.enable444) var enable444 = true
     @AppStorage(DefaultsKey.libraryEnabled) var libraryEnabled = false
@@ -106,6 +109,7 @@ struct SettingsView: View {
             Form {
                 presenterSection
                 hdrSection
+                vsyncSection
                 windowSection
                 statisticsSection
             }
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Input/InputCapture.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Input/InputCapture.swift
index dfaa89f4..e1e9fd57 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Input/InputCapture.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Input/InputCapture.swift
@@ -24,8 +24,9 @@
 //
 // Forwarding is gated by `forwarding` (driven by StreamLayerView's capture state): the
 // handlers stay attached for the whole session, but while the user has released capture
-// (⌘⎋, focus loss) nothing reaches the host and key events travel the responder chain
-// normally. Everything held is flushed host-side on each transition to released.
+// (⌃⌥⇧Q — the cross-client Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q — or ⌘⎋, focus loss) nothing reaches the host
+// and key events travel the responder chain normally. Everything held is flushed host-side
+// on each transition to released.
 //
 // GCMouse.current/GCKeyboard.coalesced are process-global singletons with one handler
 // slot each: only one InputCapture can be live per process. `activeCapture` tracks
@@ -108,6 +109,16 @@ public final class InputCapture {
     /// the absolute-vs-relative forwarding lives entirely in StreamLayerView. Main queue.
     public var onToggleCursor: (() -> Void)?
 
+    /// The cross-client combos (Windows/Linux parity: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q/D/S), fired from the macOS
+    /// keyDown monitor only WHILE FORWARDING — that's the state in which the app's menu (which
+    /// carries the same key equivalents for discoverability) can't see them, so the monitor is the
+    /// captured-state delivery path; released, the events pass through and the menu handles them.
+    /// ⌃⌥⇧Q releases the captured mouse/keyboard; ⌃⌥⇧D disconnects; ⌃⌥⇧S toggles the stats
+    /// overlay. Main queue.
+    public var onReleaseCapture: (() -> Void)?
+    public var onDisconnect: (() -> Void)?
+    public var onToggleStats: (() -> Void)?
+
     /// Fired when a newer InputCapture takes the process-global GC handler slots (the
     /// singletons hold ONE handler each): the preempted owner must drop its capture
     /// state — its handlers are gone, so it would otherwise sit "captured" with dead
@@ -215,6 +226,32 @@ public final class InputCapture {
                 self.onToggleCursor?()
                 return nil
             }
+            // The cross-client combos (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q/D/S — the same set every other
+            // punktfunk client reserves), intercepted only while forwarding so the host never
+            // sees the letter (the ⌃⌥⇧ modifiers were already forwarded as they went down;
+            // they're flushed by the release path / released by the user as usual). The letter
+            // is latched (suppressedVK) so its keyUp doesn't leak to the host either. While
+            // NOT forwarding the events pass through and the menu's identical key equivalents
+            // handle them (with the standard menu-flash feedback). keyCodes are kVK_ANSI_* —
+            // physical positions, layout-independent.
+            if self.forwarding, flags == [.control, .option, .shift] {
+                switch event.keyCode {
+                case 12 /* Q */:
+                    self.suppressedVK = 0x51
+                    self.onReleaseCapture?()
+                    return nil
+                case 2 /* D */:
+                    self.suppressedVK = 0x44
+                    self.onDisconnect?()
+                    return nil
+                case 1 /* S */:
+                    self.suppressedVK = 0x53
+                    self.onToggleStats?()
+                    return nil
+                default:
+                    break
+                }
+            }
             return event
         }
         #endif
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Support/DefaultsKeys.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Support/DefaultsKeys.swift
index 94656ae2..47dc1091 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Support/DefaultsKeys.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Support/DefaultsKeys.swift
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ public enum DefaultsKey {
     /// is higher up), so we fold to mono ourselves. Only meaningful for multi-channel devices.
     public static let micChannel = "punktfunk.micChannel"
     public static let presenter = "punktfunk.presenter"
+    /// macOS: V-Sync the stream's presents — each decoded frame flips on the next display vsync
+    /// (evenly paced, no tearing under direct scanout) instead of as soon as the GPU finishes
+    /// (lowest latency — the default, OFF). Resolved once per session;
+    /// PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_MODE=immediate|vsync overrides it for A/B. See Stage2Pipeline's header.
+    public static let vsync = "punktfunk.vsync"
     /// Request a 10-bit BT.2020 PQ (HDR10) stream. On by default; only takes effect when the host
     /// has HDR content AND this display supports HDR — otherwise the stream stays 8-bit SDR.
     public static let hdrEnabled = "punktfunk.hdrEnabled"
@@ -57,7 +62,7 @@ public enum DefaultsKey {
     /// macOS: take the window fullscreen while streaming and restore it on the host list. On by default.
     public static let fullscreenWhileStreaming = "punktfunk.fullscreenWhileStreaming"
     /// Show the streaming statistics overlay (mode/fps/throughput/latency). On by default; toggle
-    /// while streaming with ⌘⇧S (macOS / hardware keyboard).
+    /// while streaming with ⌃⌥⇧S (the cross-client Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S; macOS / hardware keyboard).
     public static let hudEnabled = "punktfunk.hudEnabled"
     /// Which corner the statistics overlay sits in — a `HUDPlacement` raw value
     /// ("topLeading"/"topTrailing"/"bottomLeading"/"bottomTrailing"). Default top-trailing.
@@ -67,3 +72,12 @@ public enum DefaultsKey {
     /// whenever a gamepad is connected. On by default; see `GamepadUIEnvironment.isActive`.
     public static let gamepadUIEnabled = "punktfunk.gamepadUIEnabled"
 }
+
+extension Notification.Name {
+    /// Posted by the app's Stream menu ("Release Mouse", ⌃⌥⇧Q): the key window's stream view
+    /// releases input capture if it holds it. Only reachable while NOT captured (a captured
+    /// session swallows the combo in InputCapture's monitor and the frozen cursor can't click
+    /// menus) — it exists so the menu item is honest whenever it CAN fire, and as the shortcut's
+    /// discoverable menu-bar surface.
+    public static let punktfunkReleaseCapture = Notification.Name("io.unom.punktfunk.release-capture")
+}
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/MetalVideoPresenter.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/MetalVideoPresenter.swift
index b16e9b4e..e94600b1 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/MetalVideoPresenter.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/MetalVideoPresenter.swift
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 // Stage-2 presenter, present half: draw a decoded NV12 / P010 / 4:4:4 CVPixelBuffer into a CAMetalLayer
-// drawable with a Y′CbCr→RGB shader. The hosting view's CADisplayLink drives `render` once per vsync
-// (via Stage2Pipeline.renderTick) with the target present time, so a present can be stamped and the
-// present tail hand-paced. See docs apple-stage2-presenter.md.
+// drawable with a Y′CbCr→RGB shader. The hosting view's CADisplayLink still paces the pipeline once per
+// vsync, but the actual `render` runs on Stage2Pipeline's dedicated RENDER THREAD (the link tick just
+// signals it), so `nextDrawable()`'s blocking never lands on the main thread. See docs
+// apple-stage2-presenter.md.
 //
-// Main-thread only: created during view setup, `render`/`configure` called from the view's CADisplayLink
-// (which fires on the main runloop). The Metal objects + texture cache are touched only here. The one
-// exception is `setHdrMeta`, called from the pump thread — it hops the layer write to main so every
-// CALayer mutation stays on one thread.
+// Threading: created during view setup (main); `render`/`configure` run on the render thread — the
+// layer's drawable/format/colour mutations all happen there (CAMetalLayer is designed for dedicated
+// render threads; only the layer's GEOMETRY — frame/contentsScale — is touched from main, in
+// SessionPresenter.layout, which also pushes the resulting pixel size here via `setDrawableTarget`
+// so the render thread never reads layer geometry cross-thread). `setHdrMeta` (pump thread) and
+// `setDrawableTarget` (main) only write lock-guarded staging state the render thread drains.
 
 #if canImport(Metal) && canImport(QuartzCore)
 import CoreGraphics
@@ -144,14 +147,23 @@ public final class MetalVideoPresenter {
     private var textureCache: CVMetalTextureCache?
 
     /// Current layer configuration — switched in `configure(hdr:)` when a frame's HDR-ness differs.
-    /// Main-thread only (read + written from `render`/`configure`, all on the display-link runloop).
+    /// Render-thread confined once the pipeline runs (Stage2Pipeline.start's one pre-thread
+    /// `configure` call is ordered before the thread starts, so it doesn't race).
     private var hdrActive = false
     /// Last HDR mastering grade received via `setHdrMeta` (the host's 0xCE). Cached so a mid-session
     /// SDR→HDR flip's `configureColor` re-applies the real grade instead of clobbering it back to the
     /// bare reference-white anchor (an out-of-order race otherwise: `setHdrMeta` and the flip both write
-    /// `edrMetadata`). Main-thread only.
+    /// `edrMetadata`). Render-thread confined (drained from `pendingHdrMeta` at the top of `render`).
     private var lastHdrMeta: PunktfunkConnection.HdrMeta?
 
+    /// Cross-thread staging, all under `stagingLock`: the pump thread parks a fresh 0xCE grade in
+    /// `pendingHdrMeta` and the main thread parks the layout-derived drawable pixel size in
+    /// `drawableTarget`; the render thread drains both at the top of `render`, so every layer
+    /// format/colour mutation stays on the one thread that also calls `nextDrawable()`.
+    private let stagingLock = NSLock()
+    private var pendingHdrMeta: PunktfunkConnection.HdrMeta?
+    private var drawableTarget: CGSize = .zero
+
     #if DEBUG
     /// Last logged "decoded→drawable" signature, so the diagnostic logs only on a size/HDR change.
     private var lastSizeSig = ""
@@ -191,12 +203,18 @@ public final class MetalVideoPresenter {
         layer.framebufferOnly = true
         layer.isOpaque = true
         #if os(macOS)
-        // The display link already paces exactly one present per vsync. Leaving the layer's own vsync
-        // wait on means `commandBuffer.present` ALSO blocks for the hardware vsync, so `nextDrawable()`
-        // stalls the MAIN thread until a drawable frees — windowed, the WindowServer's looser
-        // compositing hides it; FULLSCREEN's tighter path serializes the main thread to the display and
-        // the stall surfaces as bad judder. Disabling the layer-level sync lets present return promptly
-        // (the display link is the pacing source) — the fix for the fullscreen stutter. macOS-only.
+        // displaySyncEnabled MUST stay false on macOS. It has flip-flopped, so the full history:
+        // sync ON was tried twice and starves the drawable pool both times — on macOS 26 a synced
+        // present only reaches glass when the WindowServer composites the window, and its FramePacing
+        // path does not treat our out-of-band image-queue presents as damage, so with a static scene
+        // the ONLY recurring damage is the 1 Hz stats HUD update: presents queue, all drawables stay
+        // held, `nextDrawable()` sleeps (sampled: ~70% of the render thread inside
+        // CAMetalLayerPrivateNextDrawableLocked → usleep), and the stream turns into a ~1 fps
+        // slideshow with normal-LOOKING stats (each rare frame is fresh, newest-wins ring). The
+        // 94fb7d1b fullscreen judder was the same starvation biting the then-main-thread render.
+        // With sync OFF the flip is immediate; the vsync alignment that sync was supposed to give
+        // (the HUD-off direct-scanout pacing fix) comes from scheduling the present at the display
+        // link's target time instead (`present(at:)` — see `render`).
         layer.displaySyncEnabled = false
         #endif
         // The drawable is rendered at the LAYER's pixel size (set per-frame in `render`), so the
@@ -226,11 +244,12 @@ public final class MetalVideoPresenter {
         self.layer = layer
     }
 
-    /// Configure the layer + active pipeline for an SDR or HDR session. MAIN THREAD ONLY. Called once at
-    /// session start and again per-frame from `render` (idempotent — the guard makes a same-state call a
-    /// no-op), so a mid-session HDR toggle (the host re-inits its encoder; the decoded `frame.isHDR`
-    /// flips) reconfigures here automatically. HDR uses an rgba16Float drawable + BT.2020 PQ colour space
-    /// + EDR with a 203-nit reference-white anchor; SDR uses the plain 8-bit sRGB path.
+    /// Configure the layer + active pipeline for an SDR or HDR session. Called once at session start
+    /// (main, before the render thread exists) and again per-frame from `render` on the RENDER THREAD
+    /// (idempotent — the guard makes a same-state call a no-op), so a mid-session HDR toggle (the host
+    /// re-inits its encoder; the decoded `frame.isHDR` flips) reconfigures here automatically. HDR uses
+    /// an rgba16Float drawable + BT.2020 PQ colour space + EDR with a 203-nit reference-white anchor;
+    /// SDR uses the plain 8-bit sRGB path.
     public func configure(hdr: Bool) {
         guard hdr != hdrActive else { return }
         hdrActive = hdr
@@ -273,36 +292,65 @@ public final class MetalVideoPresenter {
     #endif
 
     /// Update the HDR mastering metadata (drained from the host's 0xCE datagram) to refine the system
-    /// tone-map from the real grade. Called from the PUMP thread, so the layer write is hopped to MAIN
-    /// (every CALayer mutation stays on one thread). The grade is cached so a later SDR→HDR
-    /// `configureColor` re-applies it; the `edrMetadata` write is gated on `hdrActive` (setting it on an
-    /// SDR layer is harmless but pointless, and the flip will apply it anyway).
+    /// tone-map from the real grade. Called from the PUMP thread — the grade is only PARKED here (lock-
+    /// guarded); the render thread applies it at the top of the next `render`, keeping every layer
+    /// colour mutation on the one thread that also vends drawables.
     public func setHdrMeta(_ meta: PunktfunkConnection.HdrMeta) {
-        DispatchQueue.main.async { [weak self] in
-            guard let self else { return }
-            self.lastHdrMeta = meta
-            // tvOS has no edrMetadata — the cached grade is still kept above (harmless), it just can't
-            // be applied to the layer there. macOS/iOS refine the system tone-map from the real grade.
-            #if !os(tvOS)
-            if self.hdrActive { self.layer.edrMetadata = self.makeEDR(meta) }
-            #endif
-        }
+        stagingLock.lock()
+        pendingHdrMeta = meta
+        stagingLock.unlock()
     }
 
-    /// Draw one decoded frame to the next drawable and present it. MAIN THREAD (the display link).
-    /// `isHDR` selects the 10-bit BT.2020 PQ path vs the 8-bit BT.709 path and is reconciled with the
+    /// Park the drawable pixel size the shader should render at: the metal layer's laid-out frame ×
+    /// contentsScale, both owned by the MAIN thread (SessionPresenter.layout pushes it on every layout/
+    /// backing change). The render thread reads this instead of the layer's geometry so it never
+    /// touches main-owned CALayer state. Zero until the first layout → `render` falls back to the
+    /// decoded frame size.
+    public func setDrawableTarget(_ size: CGSize) {
+        stagingLock.lock()
+        drawableTarget = size
+        stagingLock.unlock()
+    }
+
+    /// Draw one decoded frame to the next drawable and present it. RENDER THREAD (Stage2Pipeline's;
+    /// `nextDrawable()` may block up to a frame — that wait belongs here, never on main). `isHDR`
+    /// selects the 10-bit BT.2020 PQ path vs the 8-bit BT.709 path and is reconciled with the
     /// layer config via `configure`. Returns true on success; false when there's no drawable yet, a
     /// texture couldn't be made, or Metal errored — the caller then doesn't stamp a present (and can
     /// requeue the frame). `onPresented` fires once the drawable actually reached glass, with the
     /// `CLOCK_REALTIME` instant from the drawable's `presentedTime` — or nil when the system reports
     /// none (a dropped drawable). It runs on a Metal callback thread; keep the handler thread-safe.
+    ///
+    /// `presentAtMediaTime` (a `CACurrentMediaTime`-basis host time — the display link's
+    /// `targetTimestamp`) schedules the flip ON the vsync instead of "as soon as the GPU finishes":
+    /// with the layer's own sync disabled (mandatory on macOS — see init) an immediate present hits
+    /// glass mid-refresh whenever the layer is direct-scanout promoted (fullscreen, no HUD), which
+    /// is the "frametimes are off with the stats HUD closed" report. nil presents immediately
+    /// (`PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_MODE=immediate` — the pre-fix behavior, kept as a diagnostic A/B).
     @discardableResult
     public func render(
         _ pixelBuffer: CVPixelBuffer, isHDR: Bool = false,
+        presentAtMediaTime: CFTimeInterval? = nil,
         onPresented: ((Int64?) -> Void)? = nil
     ) -> Bool {
+        // Drain the cross-thread staging (see `stagingLock`): the layout-derived drawable size and
+        // any freshly-arrived HDR grade, both applied from this thread.
+        stagingLock.lock()
+        let targetFromLayout = drawableTarget
+        let newHdrMeta = pendingHdrMeta
+        pendingHdrMeta = nil
+        stagingLock.unlock()
+
         // Reconcile the layer with the decoded frame's HDR-ness (handles a mid-session SDR↔HDR flip).
         configure(hdr: isHDR)
+        if let newHdrMeta {
+            self.lastHdrMeta = newHdrMeta
+            // tvOS has no edrMetadata — the cached grade is still kept (a later HDR flip's
+            // configureColor is where it matters there). macOS/iOS refine the live tone-map now.
+            #if !os(tvOS)
+            if hdrActive { layer.edrMetadata = makeEDR(newHdrMeta) }
+            #endif
+        }
 
         // P010/x444 store 10-bit luma/chroma in 16-bit samples → R16/RG16; NV12/444v is 8-bit → R8/RG8.
         // Derived from the actual decoded buffer so a 4:4:4 (full chroma plane) frame just works.
@@ -319,22 +367,18 @@ public final class MetalVideoPresenter {
                 pixelBuffer, plane: 1, format: tenBit ? .rg16Unorm : .rg8Unorm, cache: textureCache)
         else { return false }
 
-        // Size the drawable to the LAYER's pixels (bounds × contentsScale, both set by the hosting
-        // view's layout) so the Catmull-Rom shader performs the decoded→on-screen scale in one pass:
+        // Size the drawable to the LAYER's pixels (its laid-out frame × contentsScale, pushed here by
+        // SessionPresenter.layout via `setDrawableTarget` — not read off the layer, whose geometry the
+        // main thread owns) so the Catmull-Rom shader performs the decoded→on-screen scale in one pass:
         // a native-mode session stays exactly 1:1 (the kernel reduces to the identity texel), and a
         // window bigger than the host's mode gets bicubic luma instead of the compositor's bilinear.
-        // Before the first layout (empty bounds) fall back to the decoded size. drawableSize does NOT
+        // Before the first layout (zero target) fall back to the decoded size. drawableSize does NOT
         // track bounds (defaults to 0), so set it BEFORE nextDrawable; re-set only on a change
         // (layout / Reconfigure / HDR flip — and every frame of a live resize, which is fine).
         let decodedSize = CGSize(
             width: CVPixelBufferGetWidth(pixelBuffer), height: CVPixelBufferGetHeight(pixelBuffer))
-        let scale = layer.contentsScale
-        let boundsSize = layer.bounds.size
-        let targetSize = (boundsSize.width > 0 && boundsSize.height > 0)
-            ? CGSize(
-                width: (boundsSize.width * scale).rounded(),
-                height: (boundsSize.height * scale).rounded())
-            : decodedSize
+        let targetSize = (targetFromLayout.width > 0 && targetFromLayout.height > 0)
+            ? targetFromLayout : decodedSize
         if layer.drawableSize != targetSize { layer.drawableSize = targetSize }
         #if DEBUG
         logSizeIfChanged(decoded: decodedSize, drawable: targetSize)
@@ -374,7 +418,13 @@ public final class MetalVideoPresenter {
             }
             #endif
         }
-        commandBuffer.present(drawable) // present at the next vsync — lowest latency
+        // Scheduled on the vsync when the pipeline gave us the link's target (see the doc comment);
+        // immediate otherwise. A target already in the past presents immediately — same thing.
+        if let presentAtMediaTime {
+            commandBuffer.present(drawable, atTime: presentAtMediaTime)
+        } else {
+            commandBuffer.present(drawable)
+        }
         // Hold the CVMetalTextures + source pixel buffer (its IOSurface) alive until the GPU finishes
         // sampling — releasing them at scope exit could free the backing mid-read.
         commandBuffer.addCompletedHandler { _ in _ = (luma, chroma, pixelBuffer) }
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/SessionPresenter.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/SessionPresenter.swift
index ae305e2d..ff337a75 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/SessionPresenter.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/SessionPresenter.swift
@@ -68,10 +68,13 @@ final class SessionPresenter {
             baseLayer.addSublayer(metal)
             metalLayer = metal
             stage2 = pipeline
+            // The link is the vsync CLOCK + putBack-retry nudge, not the presentation trigger
+            // (frame arrival is — see Stage2Pipeline's header). timestamp→targetTimestamp is the
+            // link's own report of the current refresh period (tracks VRR rate changes).
             let proxy = DisplayLinkProxy { [weak self] link in
                 self?.stage2?.renderTick(
-                    targetPresentNs: Stage2Pipeline.realtimeNs(
-                        forDisplayLinkTimestamp: link.targetTimestamp))
+                    targetMediaTime: link.targetTimestamp,
+                    period: link.targetTimestamp - link.timestamp)
             }
             let link = makeDisplayLink(proxy, #selector(DisplayLinkProxy.tick(_:)))
             link.add(to: .main, forMode: .common)
@@ -127,6 +130,11 @@ final class SessionPresenter {
         metalLayer.contentsScale = contentsScale
         metalLayer.frame = fit
         CATransaction.commit()
+        // Hand the resulting pixel size to the render thread (it must not read layer geometry
+        // cross-thread) — this is what the presenter sizes its drawable to.
+        stage2?.setDrawableTarget(CGSize(
+            width: (fit.width * contentsScale).rounded(),
+            height: (fit.height * contentsScale).rounded()))
     }
 
     /// Stop the active pump/pipeline (≤ one poll timeout; stage-2 joins its pump) and detach the
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/Stage2Pipeline.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/Stage2Pipeline.swift
index 6634ca16..f2ae7df2 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/Stage2Pipeline.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Video/Stage2Pipeline.swift
@@ -1,25 +1,60 @@
-// Stage-2 presenter orchestrator: a pump thread pulls AUs → VideoDecoder; the decoder's async output
-// drops the newest decoded frame into a 1-slot ring; the hosting view's display link calls `renderTick`
-// once per vsync to draw + present the newest ready frame and stamp the unified latency stages
-// (end-to-end capture→on-glass, plus the decode and display stage terms —
-// design/stats-unification.md). Mirrors StreamPump's lifecycle (one per start; cancel is permanent).
+// Stage-2 presenter orchestrator. GOAL ARCHITECTURE (the result of the 2026-07 pacing saga —
+// read this before touching presentation):
 //
-// Threading: the pump runs on its own thread; the decoder callback on a VT thread; `renderTick` +
-// `start`/`stop` on the MAIN thread (the view's CADisplayLink fires there). Only the ring (lock-guarded)
-// and the decoder/presenter (internally locked / main-hopped) cross threads.
+//   net pump ──► VideoDecoder (VT async) ──► newest-wins 1-slot ring ──► RENDER THREAD ──► CAMetalLayer
+//
+// • The render thread is woken by FRAME ARRIVAL (the decoder callback signals it), never gated on
+//   the display link: on macOS the WindowServer's damage tracking / FramePacing does not count our
+//   out-of-band presents, so anything display-link-gated stalls exactly when the rest of the screen
+//   goes quiet (adaptive-sync displays idle the link down). A decoded frame is always presented
+//   promptly. The display link remains only as (a) a vsync CLOCK (phase + period, for the opt-in
+//   V-Sync policy below), (b) a retry tick for a frame that couldn't get a drawable (`putBack`),
+//   and (c) the iOS ProMotion rate hint.
+// • The layer's own displaySyncEnabled stays FALSE on macOS — synced presents starve the drawable
+//   pool outright (see MetalVideoPresenter's init for the post-mortem).
+// • Present policy is a USER SETTING (DefaultsKey.vsync; PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_MODE=immediate|vsync
+//   overrides it for A/B), resolved once per session in start():
+//     – V-Sync OFF (default): present immediately — lowest latency, the long-proven behavior.
+//     – V-Sync ON: present(at: next vsync) predicted from the link's last phase/period, at most one
+//       period ahead by construction, falling back to immediate when the link data is stale — a
+//       schedule can never sit far in the future holding drawables hostage.
+// • Rendering lives on its own thread so any `nextDrawable()` wait lands off-main (input, SwiftUI).
+//
+// The render thread also stamps the unified latency stages (end-to-end capture→on-glass + decode and
+// display stage terms — design/stats-unification.md). Mirrors StreamPump's lifecycle (one per start;
+// cancel is permanent). PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_DEBUG=1 prints per-second pacing stats (see
+// PresentDebugStats).
+//
+// Threading: the pump runs on its own thread; the decoder callback on a VT thread; the render loop on
+// the render thread; `renderTick` + `start`/`stop` on the MAIN thread (the view's CADisplayLink fires
+// there). Only the ring (lock-guarded), the vsync clock (lock-guarded), and the decoder/presenter
+// (internally locked / staged) cross threads.
 
 #if canImport(Metal) && canImport(QuartzCore)
 import AVFoundation
 import Foundation
 import QuartzCore
 
+/// PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_DEBUG=1: the render thread prints a once-per-second line with the decode
+/// (ring-submit) rate, present rate, failed/empty wakes and the slowest render call — for
+/// diagnosing pacing regressions without instruments. Plain print: the unbundled CLI client's
+/// stdout is the cheapest reliable capture channel.
+let presentDebug = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_DEBUG"] == "1"
+
 /// Newest-ready 1-slot ring: the decoder overwrites (drops the older undisplayed frame — lowest
 /// latency, no smoothing buffer), the display link takes-and-clears. Sendable; lock-guarded.
 private final class ReadyRing: @unchecked Sendable {
     private let lock = NSLock()
     private var frame: ReadyFrame?
+    /// Ring submissions since the last `drainSubmitted` — the decode rate for the
+    /// PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_DEBUG stat line.
+    private var submitted = 0
     func submit(_ f: ReadyFrame) {
-        lock.lock(); frame = f; lock.unlock()
+        lock.lock(); frame = f; submitted += 1; lock.unlock()
+    }
+    func drainSubmitted() -> Int {
+        lock.lock(); defer { lock.unlock() }
+        let n = submitted; submitted = 0; return n
     }
     func take() -> ReadyFrame? {
         lock.lock(); defer { lock.unlock() }
@@ -37,6 +72,86 @@ private final class ReadyRing: @unchecked Sendable {
     }
 }
 
+/// The display's vsync grid as last reported by the display link (target timestamp + period,
+/// `CACurrentMediaTime` basis), written on main by `renderTick`, read by the render thread to
+/// schedule V-Sync-mode presents. A shared box (like `ReadyRing`) so neither thread captures the
+/// pipeline itself. Sendable; lock-guarded.
+private final class VsyncClock: @unchecked Sendable {
+    private let lock = NSLock()
+    private var target: CFTimeInterval = 0
+    private var period: CFTimeInterval = 0
+
+    func set(target t: CFTimeInterval, period p: CFTimeInterval) {
+        lock.lock(); target = t; period = p; lock.unlock()
+    }
+
+    /// The next vsync at or after `now`, extrapolated from the last reported phase/period — by
+    /// construction less than one period ahead, so a scheduled present can never sit far in the
+    /// future holding its drawable. nil (⇒ present immediately) when the link has reported nothing
+    /// yet, its period is nonsense, or its data is STALE (an idle/suspended link on an
+    /// adaptive-sync display — exactly the case where scheduling onto its grid stalls the stream).
+    func nextVsync(after now: CFTimeInterval) -> CFTimeInterval? {
+        lock.lock(); defer { lock.unlock() }
+        guard period > 0.0005, target > 0, now - target < 0.25 else { return nil }
+        if target >= now { return target }
+        return target + ceil((now - target) / period) * period
+    }
+}
+
+/// PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_DEBUG=1 aggregation: one printed line per second from the render thread with
+/// the decode rate, render outcomes, the slowest render call (≈ nextDrawable wait) and the deltas
+/// between system-reported on-glass times (vsync-aligned presents show clean refresh-period
+/// multiples; immediate flips scatter). Lock-guarded — `presented` lands on a Metal callback thread.
+private final class PresentDebugStats: @unchecked Sendable {
+    private let lock = NSLock()
+    private var last = CACurrentMediaTime()
+    private var ok = 0, failed = 0, empty = 0, dropped = 0
+    private var maxRenderMs = 0.0
+    private var lastGlassNs: Int64 = 0
+    private var glassDeltasMs: [Double] = []
+
+    func emptyWake() { lock.lock(); empty += 1; lock.unlock() }
+
+    func renderReturned(ok rendered: Bool, tookMs: Double) {
+        lock.lock()
+        if rendered { ok += 1 } else { failed += 1 }
+        maxRenderMs = max(maxRenderMs, tookMs)
+        lock.unlock()
+    }
+
+    func presented(atNs: Int64?) {
+        lock.lock()
+        if let atNs {
+            if lastGlassNs > 0 { glassDeltasMs.append(Double(atNs - lastGlassNs) / 1e6) }
+            lastGlassNs = atNs
+        } else {
+            dropped += 1
+        }
+        lock.unlock()
+    }
+
+    func flushIfDue(ring: ReadyRing) {
+        lock.lock()
+        let now = CACurrentMediaTime()
+        guard now - last >= 1 else { lock.unlock(); return }
+        last = now
+        let decoded = ring.drainSubmitted()
+        let deltas = glassDeltasMs.sorted()
+        let p50 = deltas.isEmpty ? 0 : deltas[deltas.count / 2]
+        let dMax = deltas.last ?? 0
+        let line = String(
+            format: "pf-present decoded=%d ok=%d fail=%d empty=%d dropped=%d "
+                + "maxRenderMs=%.1f glassDeltaMs p50=%.2f max=%.2f n=%d",
+            decoded, ok, failed, empty, dropped, maxRenderMs, p50, dMax, deltas.count)
+        ok = 0; failed = 0; empty = 0; dropped = 0
+        maxRenderMs = 0
+        glassDeltasMs.removeAll(keepingCapacity: true)
+        lock.unlock()
+        print(line)
+        fflush(stdout) // stdout is a pipe when captured — flush per line or nothing shows
+    }
+}
+
 public final class Stage2Pipeline {
     private let ring = ReadyRing()
     private let presenter: MetalVideoPresenter
@@ -54,6 +169,19 @@ public final class Stage2Pipeline {
     private let pumpStopped = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
     private var pumpJoinable = false
 
+    /// Render-thread plumbing. `renderSignal` wakes the render thread — signalled by the DECODER
+    /// callback on every frame (the primary trigger: presentation must never be gated on the
+    /// display link, see the header) and by each display-link tick (the `putBack` retry + the
+    /// vsync-clock refresh). Signals coalesce harmlessly (an extra wake finds an empty ring and
+    /// goes back to sleep). `vsyncClock` is the link's last phase/period for V-Sync-mode
+    /// scheduling. Lock-guarded boxes — the render thread, like the pump thread, must not capture
+    /// `self`, or a missed stop() would leak a spinning pipeline. `renderStopped`/`renderJoinable`
+    /// mirror the pump's bounded join.
+    private let renderSignal = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
+    private let vsyncClock = VsyncClock()
+    private let renderStopped = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
+    private var renderJoinable = false
+
     /// The Metal layer the hosting view installs + sizes.
     public var layer: CAMetalLayer { presenter.layer }
 
@@ -74,6 +202,7 @@ public final class Stage2Pipeline {
         self.displayMeter = displayMeter
         let ring = ring
         let recovery = recovery
+        let renderSignal = renderSignal
         self.decoder = VideoDecoder(
             onDecoded: { frame in
                 // Decode stage = received→decoded, both client CLOCK_REALTIME (offset 0 — no
@@ -82,6 +211,8 @@ public final class Stage2Pipeline {
                 decodeMeter?.record(
                     ptsNs: UInt64(frame.receivedNs), atNs: frame.decodedNs, offsetNs: 0)
                 ring.submit(frame)
+                // FRAME ARRIVAL is the render trigger (never the display link — see the header).
+                renderSignal.signal()
             },
             // Async decode failure (a bad P-frame referencing a lost/corrupt IDR): the pump resets to
             // re-gate on the next IDR, and we ask the host to send one now (infinite GOP — it wouldn't
@@ -176,34 +307,89 @@ public final class Stage2Pipeline {
         thread.qualityOfService = .userInteractive
         pumpJoinable = true
         thread.start()
-    }
 
-    /// MAIN thread, once per vsync. Present the newest ready frame (if any). The latency stamps
-    /// use the drawable's ACTUAL on-glass instant (`addPresentedHandler`/`presentedTime` — the
-    /// handler fires on a Metal callback thread; the meters are thread-safe), falling back to
-    /// `targetPresentNs` — the display link's target present instant, already converted to
-    /// `CLOCK_REALTIME` (see `realtimeNs(forDisplayLinkTimestamp:)`) — when the system reports
-    /// no presented time (a dropped drawable). A frame that could not be rendered (no drawable
-    /// yet) goes back into the ring so the next tick retries it.
-    public func renderTick(targetPresentNs: Int64) {
-        guard let frame = ring.take() else { return }
-        let offsetNs = offsetNs
+        // The render thread: one present per display-link signal. It owns every layer format/colour/
+        // drawable interaction (see MetalVideoPresenter's threading notes); with displaySyncEnabled on,
+        // nextDrawable's up-to-a-frame wait lands here instead of on main. The 100 ms timed wait is
+        // only the stop-flag poll for a session whose link stopped ticking.
+        let ring = ring
         let endToEndMeter = endToEndMeter
         let displayMeter = displayMeter
-        let rendered = presenter.render(frame.pixelBuffer, isHDR: frame.isHDR) { presentedNs in
-            let atNs = presentedNs ?? targetPresentNs
-            // End-to-end = capture→on-glass, measured directly (skew-corrected via the
-            // connect-time clock offset) — the HUD headline.
-            endToEndMeter?.record(ptsNs: frame.ptsNs, atNs: atNs, offsetNs: offsetNs)
-            // Display stage = decoded → on-glass. Both instants are client CLOCK_REALTIME,
-            // so no skew offset applies.
-            displayMeter?.record(ptsNs: UInt64(frame.decodedNs), atNs: atNs, offsetNs: 0)
+        let offsetNs = offsetNs
+        let renderSignal = renderSignal
+        let renderStopped = renderStopped
+        // Present policy — the user's V-Sync setting (default OFF = immediate, the long-proven
+        // lowest-latency behavior); PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_MODE=immediate|vsync overrides it for A/B.
+        // Resolved once per session.
+        let presentMode = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["PUNKTFUNK_PRESENT_MODE"]
+        let vsyncEnabled = presentMode == "vsync"
+            || (presentMode != "immediate"
+                && UserDefaults.standard.bool(forKey: DefaultsKey.vsync))
+        let debugStats = presentDebug ? PresentDebugStats() : nil
+        let vsyncClock = vsyncClock
+        let renderThread = Thread {
+            defer { renderStopped.signal() }
+            while !token.isStopped {
+                if renderSignal.wait(timeout: .now() + .milliseconds(100)) == .timedOut {
+                    debugStats?.flushIfDue(ring: ring)
+                    continue
+                }
+                guard !token.isStopped, let frame = ring.take() else {
+                    debugStats?.emptyWake()
+                    debugStats?.flushIfDue(ring: ring)
+                    continue
+                }
+                // V-Sync ON: flip on the next predicted vsync (< one period out, stale link ⇒
+                // immediate — see VsyncClock). OFF: flip as soon as the GPU finishes.
+                let presentAt = vsyncEnabled
+                    ? vsyncClock.nextVsync(after: CACurrentMediaTime()) : nil
+                let renderStarted = CACurrentMediaTime()
+                let rendered = presenter.render(
+                    frame.pixelBuffer, isHDR: frame.isHDR, presentAtMediaTime: presentAt
+                ) { presentedNs in
+                    // Fallback stamp for a dropped drawable (no system presentedTime): "now" on
+                    // the Metal callback, converted to the CLOCK_REALTIME the meters live in.
+                    let atNs = presentedNs
+                        ?? Stage2Pipeline.realtimeNs(forDisplayLinkTimestamp: CACurrentMediaTime())
+                    // End-to-end = capture→on-glass, measured directly (skew-corrected via the
+                    // connect-time clock offset) — the HUD headline.
+                    endToEndMeter?.record(ptsNs: frame.ptsNs, atNs: atNs, offsetNs: offsetNs)
+                    // Display stage = decoded → on-glass. Both instants are client CLOCK_REALTIME,
+                    // so no skew offset applies.
+                    displayMeter?.record(ptsNs: UInt64(frame.decodedNs), atNs: atNs, offsetNs: 0)
+                    debugStats?.presented(atNs: presentedNs)
+                }
+                debugStats?.renderReturned(
+                    ok: rendered, tookMs: (CACurrentMediaTime() - renderStarted) * 1000)
+                if !rendered { ring.putBack(frame) }
+                debugStats?.flushIfDue(ring: ring)
+            }
         }
-        if !rendered { ring.putBack(frame) }
+        renderThread.name = "punktfunk-stage2-render"
+        renderThread.qualityOfService = .userInteractive
+        renderJoinable = true
+        renderThread.start()
     }
 
-    /// Stop the pump (≤ one poll timeout) and drop the decode session. MAIN THREAD; idempotent. Does not
-    /// close the connection. A restart needs a fresh Stage2Pipeline (the stop is permanent).
+    /// MAIN thread, once per display-link tick: refresh the vsync clock (V-Sync-mode scheduling)
+    /// and nudge the render thread. The nudge is NOT the presentation trigger — frame arrival is
+    /// (see the header) — it only retries a frame a transient `nextDrawable` failure put back into
+    /// the ring, which matters under the host's infinite GOP where a static scene sends no
+    /// replacement frame.
+    public func renderTick(targetMediaTime: CFTimeInterval, period: CFTimeInterval) {
+        vsyncClock.set(target: targetMediaTime, period: period)
+        renderSignal.signal()
+    }
+
+    /// Forward the layout-derived drawable pixel size to the presenter (MAIN thread — see
+    /// `MetalVideoPresenter.setDrawableTarget`).
+    public func setDrawableTarget(_ size: CGSize) {
+        presenter.setDrawableTarget(size)
+    }
+
+    /// Stop the pump + render thread (≤ one poll timeout each) and drop the decode session. MAIN
+    /// THREAD; idempotent. Does not close the connection. A restart needs a fresh Stage2Pipeline
+    /// (the stop is permanent).
     public func stop() {
         token.stop()
         // Join the pump (bounded: ≤ one nextAU poll + an in-flight decode) before resetting the decoder,
@@ -213,11 +399,22 @@ public final class Stage2Pipeline {
             pumpJoinable = false
             _ = pumpStopped.wait(timeout: .now() + 0.5)
         }
+        // Wake + join the render thread (bounded: it may sit in `nextDrawable` for up to ~a frame; a
+        // timed-out join is fine — the loop exits at its next stop-flag check, and a final present on
+        // the detached layer is harmless).
+        if renderJoinable {
+            renderJoinable = false
+            renderSignal.signal()
+            _ = renderStopped.wait(timeout: .now() + 0.5)
+        }
         decoder.reset()
         recovery.bind(nil) // stop requesting keyframes once the session is torn down
     }
 
-    deinit { token.stop() }
+    deinit {
+        token.stop()
+        renderSignal.signal() // wake the render thread so it can observe the stop and exit
+    }
 
     /// Convert a `CADisplayLink.targetTimestamp` (CACurrentMediaTime basis) to a `CLOCK_REALTIME`
     /// nanosecond instant — the present clock the AU pts + skew offset live in. Projects to the target
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamView.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamView.swift
index 27a428d4..d245a943 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamView.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamView.swift
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@
 //
 // The view also owns the input-capture state machine (Moonlight-style): capture is a
 // deliberate, reversible state — engaged when the stream starts and when the user clicks
-// into the video, released by ⌘⎋ or focus loss, and NEVER engaged by mere app
-// activation (the click that activates the window may be a title-bar drag or a resize —
-// warping the cursor there is exactly the intrusiveness this design removes). While
-// released, nothing is forwarded to the host and the local cursor is free.
+// into the video, released by ⌃⌥⇧Q (the cross-client Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q), ⌘⎋, or focus
+// loss, and NEVER engaged by mere app activation (the click that activates the window may
+// be a title-bar drag or a resize — warping the cursor there is exactly the intrusiveness
+// this design removes). While released, nothing is forwarded to the host and the local
+// cursor is free.
 //
 // macOS-first (NSViewRepresentable); the iOS variant is the same layer under
 // UIViewRepresentable.
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ public struct StreamView: NSViewRepresentable {
     private let connection: PunktfunkConnection
     private let captureEnabled: Bool
     private let onCaptureChange: ((Bool) -> Void)?
+    private let onDisconnectRequest: (() -> Void)?
     private let onFrame: (@Sendable (AccessUnit) -> Void)?
     private let onSessionEnd: (@Sendable () -> Void)?
     private let endToEndMeter: LatencyMeter?
@@ -93,14 +95,17 @@ public struct StreamView: NSViewRepresentable {
     /// `captureEnabled: false` disables input capture entirely while UI (e.g. a trust
     /// prompt) is layered over the stream; flipping it to true auto-engages capture
     /// once. `onCaptureChange` (main thread) reports engage/release — drive the HUD's
-    /// "click to capture" / "⌘⎋ releases" hint with it. The meters record the unified latency
-    /// stages when the stage-2 presenter is active (design/stats-unification.md):
-    /// `endToEndMeter` capture→on-glass, `decodeMeter` received→decoded, `displayMeter`
-    /// decoded→on-glass.
+    /// "click to capture" / "⌃⌥⇧Q releases" hint with it. `onDisconnectRequest` (main
+    /// thread) fires on the reserved ⌃⌥⇧D combo while captured — the owner ends the
+    /// session (released, the same combo reaches the Stream menu instead). The meters
+    /// record the unified latency stages when the stage-2 presenter is active
+    /// (design/stats-unification.md): `endToEndMeter` capture→on-glass, `decodeMeter`
+    /// received→decoded, `displayMeter` decoded→on-glass.
     public init(
         connection: PunktfunkConnection,
         captureEnabled: Bool = true,
         onCaptureChange: ((Bool) -> Void)? = nil,
+        onDisconnectRequest: (() -> Void)? = nil,
         onFrame: (@Sendable (AccessUnit) -> Void)? = nil,
         onSessionEnd: (@Sendable () -> Void)? = nil,
         endToEndMeter: LatencyMeter? = nil,
@@ -110,6 +115,7 @@ public struct StreamView: NSViewRepresentable {
         self.connection = connection
         self.captureEnabled = captureEnabled
         self.onCaptureChange = onCaptureChange
+        self.onDisconnectRequest = onDisconnectRequest
         self.onFrame = onFrame
         self.onSessionEnd = onSessionEnd
         self.endToEndMeter = endToEndMeter
@@ -120,6 +126,7 @@ public struct StreamView: NSViewRepresentable {
     public func makeNSView(context: Context) -> StreamLayerView {
         let view = StreamLayerView()
         view.onCaptureChange = onCaptureChange
+        view.onDisconnectRequest = onDisconnectRequest
         view.captureEnabled = captureEnabled
         view.endToEndMeter = endToEndMeter
         view.decodeMeter = decodeMeter
@@ -130,6 +137,7 @@ public struct StreamView: NSViewRepresentable {
 
     public func updateNSView(_ view: StreamLayerView, context: Context) {
         view.onCaptureChange = onCaptureChange
+        view.onDisconnectRequest = onDisconnectRequest
         view.captureEnabled = captureEnabled
         view.endToEndMeter = endToEndMeter
         view.decodeMeter = decodeMeter
@@ -189,6 +197,10 @@ public final class StreamLayerView: NSView {
     /// Reports engage/release on the main thread.
     public var onCaptureChange: ((Bool) -> Void)?
 
+    /// Fired (main thread) when the captured-state ⌃⌥⇧D combo asks to end the session — the
+    /// view can't do that itself (the connection's owner disconnects).
+    public var onDisconnectRequest: (() -> Void)?
+
     /// Main-thread only. False = input capture disabled outright (UI layered over the
     /// stream); flipping to true auto-engages once.
     public var captureEnabled = true {
@@ -215,6 +227,16 @@ public final class StreamLayerView: NSView {
         ) { [weak self] _ in
             self?.releaseCapture()
         })
+        // The Stream menu's "Release Mouse" item (⌃⌥⇧Q's discoverable menu-bar surface). Only
+        // the key window's stream may act — same ownership rule as the ⌘⎋ toggle. (While
+        // captured the combo never reaches the menu — InputCapture's monitor handles it — so
+        // in practice this fires only as a not-captured no-op; wired for honesty.)
+        appObservers.append(NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(
+            forName: .punktfunkReleaseCapture, object: nil, queue: .main
+        ) { [weak self] _ in
+            guard let self, self.window?.isKeyWindow == true else { return }
+            self.releaseCapture()
+        })
     }
 
     public required init?(coder: NSCoder) { fatalError("not used") }
@@ -562,6 +584,24 @@ public final class StreamLayerView: NSView {
         // (see the cursorVisible resolution below): toggling it on under gamescope's relative-only
         // input traps the pointer. Restore this body when absolute/synthetic-cursor support lands.
         capture.onToggleCursor = {}
+        // The cross-client combos (⌃⌥⇧Q/D/S — Ctrl+Alt+Shift on the other clients), delivered by
+        // the monitor only while captured; the same key-window ownership rule as ⌘⎋ throughout.
+        capture.onReleaseCapture = { [weak self] in
+            guard let self, self.window?.isKeyWindow == true else { return }
+            self.releaseCapture()
+        }
+        capture.onDisconnect = { [weak self] in
+            guard let self, self.window?.isKeyWindow == true else { return }
+            self.onDisconnectRequest?()
+        }
+        capture.onToggleStats = { [weak self] in
+            guard self?.window?.isKeyWindow == true else { return }
+            // Flip the shared setting directly — every @AppStorage reader (the HUD's visibility,
+            // the menu item's title) observes UserDefaults, so this is the same as the menu path.
+            let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
+            let current = defaults.object(forKey: DefaultsKey.hudEnabled) as? Bool ?? true
+            defaults.set(!current, forKey: DefaultsKey.hudEnabled)
+        }
         capture.start()
         inputCapture = capture
 
diff --git a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamViewIOS.swift b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamViewIOS.swift
index 8c32aabf..db90a414 100644
--- a/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamViewIOS.swift
+++ b/clients/apple/Sources/PunktfunkKit/Views/StreamViewIOS.swift
@@ -54,10 +54,15 @@ public struct StreamView: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
     private let decodeMeter: LatencyMeter?
     private let displayMeter: LatencyMeter?
 
+    /// `onDisconnectRequest` exists for call-site parity with the macOS StreamView (the
+    /// captured-state ⌃⌥⇧D combo is detected by the macOS NSEvent monitor only); on iOS a
+    /// hardware keyboard reaches Disconnect through the Stream menu's key equivalent instead,
+    /// so the parameter is accepted and unused here.
     public init(
         connection: PunktfunkConnection,
         captureEnabled: Bool = true,
         onCaptureChange: ((Bool) -> Void)? = nil,
+        onDisconnectRequest: (() -> Void)? = nil,
         onFrame: (@Sendable (AccessUnit) -> Void)? = nil,
         onSessionEnd: (@Sendable () -> Void)? = nil,
         endToEndMeter: LatencyMeter? = nil,