diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/libav.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/libav.rs
index 12c5c7b0..7e786f48 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/libav.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/libav.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use ffmpeg_next as ffmpeg;
 use ffmpeg_next::ffi; // = ffmpeg_sys_next
 use ffmpeg_next::format::Pixel;
-use ffmpeg_next::{encoder, Packet};
+use ffmpeg_next::{encoder, Packet, Rational};
 use std::os::raw::c_int;
 
 /// swscale: nearest-neighbour scaler flag (`SWS_POINT`). We never rescale (src dims == dst dims), so
@@ -35,6 +35,36 @@ pub(crate) enum PollOutcome {
     Eof,
 }
 
+/// Apply the shared low-latency rate-control contract to a **not-yet-opened** encoder context: a
+/// fixed frame rate, CBR (target == max bitrate), B-frames off, and a tight ~1-frame VBV/HRD buffer.
+///
+/// The VBV size bounds any single frame. Under CBR with no buffer set, libav's encoders use a loose
+/// default VBV, so a high-motion P-frame can balloon to many times the average; those extra packets
+/// overflow the bounded send queue + kernel socket buffer and get dropped, which the client sees as
+/// framedrops/jitter (and, on the infinite-GOP path, as old/stale frames flashing until the next
+/// RFI). A tight ~1-frame buffer makes the encoder hold frame size roughly constant and absorb motion
+/// as a momentary QP (quality) dip instead — the trade we want. Default = 1 frame of bits
+/// (bitrate/fps); `PUNKTFUNK_VBV_FRAMES` tunes it (larger = better motion quality, bigger bursts).
+///
+/// The caller still owns `set_format` (pixel format) and `gop_size` (GOP policy differs: NVENC's
+/// infinite/intra-refresh wave vs the VAAPI/AMF `i32::MAX`), since those are backend-specific.
+pub(crate) fn apply_low_latency_rc(video: &mut encoder::video::Video, fps: u32, bitrate_bps: u64) {
+    video.set_time_base(Rational(1, fps as i32));
+    video.set_frame_rate(Some(Rational(fps as i32, 1)));
+    video.set_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize);
+    video.set_max_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize);
+    video.set_max_b_frames(0);
+    let vbv_bits = ((bitrate_bps as f64 / fps.max(1) as f64) * crate::encode::vbv_frames_env())
+        .clamp(1.0, i32::MAX as f64);
+    // SAFETY: `video` wraps a freshly-allocated `AVCodecContext` we hold by value and have not opened
+    // yet; `as_mut_ptr()` returns that non-null, aligned, exclusively-owned context. Writing the plain
+    // `rc_buffer_size` int before `open_with` is the supported way to set a field ffmpeg-next exposes
+    // no setter for. Sole owner → no aliasing; synchronous in-bounds scalar write.
+    unsafe {
+        (*video.as_mut_ptr()).rc_buffer_size = vbv_bits as i32;
+    }
+}
+
 /// Drain the encoder for one packet (shared across the NVENC/VAAPI/AMF/QSV libav backends). The
 /// `EncodedFrame`'s only allocation is the `to_vec()` of the bitstream — the same copy each backend
 /// already made — so this stays off any per-frame `dyn`/`Box`/channel path.
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs
index 792ab1f2..152ee532 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs
@@ -16,12 +16,14 @@ use crate::capture::{CapturedFrame, FramePayload, PixelFormat};
 use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
 use ffmpeg::format::Pixel;
 use ffmpeg::util::frame::Video as VideoFrame;
-use ffmpeg::{codec, encoder, Dictionary, Rational};
+use ffmpeg::{codec, encoder, Dictionary};
 use ffmpeg_next as ffmpeg;
 use std::os::raw::c_int;
 use std::ptr;
 
-use super::libav::{pixel_to_av, poll_encoder, PollOutcome, SWS_CS_ITU709, SWS_POINT};
+use super::libav::{
+    apply_low_latency_rc, pixel_to_av, poll_encoder, PollOutcome, SWS_CS_ITU709, SWS_POINT,
+};
 use ffmpeg::ffi; // = ffmpeg_sys_next
 
 /// The swscale *source* pixel format for a captured packed RGB/BGR layout (the real byte order, not
@@ -287,29 +289,8 @@ impl NvencEncoder {
         video.set_width(width);
         video.set_height(height);
         video.set_format(nvenc_pixel); // NVENC converts RGB→YUV internally
-        video.set_time_base(Rational(1, fps as i32));
-        video.set_frame_rate(Some(Rational(fps as i32, 1)));
-        video.set_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize);
-        video.set_max_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize);
-        // VBV/HRD buffer — bound the SIZE of any single frame. Under CBR with no buffer set, NVENC
-        // uses a loose default VBV, so a high-motion P-frame is allowed to balloon to many times the
-        // average; those extra packets overflow the bounded send queue + kernel socket buffer and
-        // get dropped, which the client sees as framedrops/jitter (and, on the infinite-GOP path, as
-        // old/stale frames flashing until the next RFI). A tight ~1-frame buffer makes the encoder
-        // hold frame size roughly constant and absorb motion as a momentary QP (quality) dip instead
-        // — the trade we want. Default = 1 frame of bits (bitrate/fps); PUNKTFUNK_VBV_FRAMES tunes it
-        // (larger = better motion quality but bigger per-frame bursts).
-        let vbv_bits = ((bitrate_bps as f64 / fps.max(1) as f64) * crate::encode::vbv_frames_env())
-            .clamp(1.0, i32::MAX as f64);
-        // SAFETY: `video` is the ffmpeg-next encoder builder wrapping a freshly-allocated
-        // `AVCodecContext` that we hold by value and have not opened yet; `video.as_mut_ptr()` returns
-        // that non-null, properly-aligned, exclusively-owned context. Writing the plain `rc_buffer_size`
-        // int field before `open_with` is the supported way to set a field ffmpeg-next exposes no
-        // setter for. Sole owner → no aliasing; synchronous in-bounds scalar write.
-        unsafe {
-            (*video.as_mut_ptr()).rc_buffer_size = vbv_bits as i32;
-        }
-        video.set_max_b_frames(0);
+                                       // Fixed rate, CBR, no B-frames, ~1-frame VBV — the shared low-latency RC contract.
+        apply_low_latency_rc(&mut video, fps, bitrate_bps);
         // Infinite GOP — NO periodic IDR. A keyframe at 5120x1440 is ~20-40x a P-frame, so a
         // periodic IDR is a recurring multi-millisecond encode+packetize+send spike — the ~2s
         // "freeze". NVENC emits one IDR at stream start, then P-frames only; `forced-idr` (below)
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs
index 8775c830..19c7137e 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ use super::{Codec, EncodedFrame, Encoder};
 use crate::capture::{CapturedFrame, DmabufFrame, FramePayload, PixelFormat};
 use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
 use ffmpeg::format::Pixel;
-use ffmpeg::{codec, encoder, Dictionary, Rational};
+use ffmpeg::{codec, encoder, Dictionary};
 use ffmpeg_next as ffmpeg;
 use std::ffi::{CStr, CString};
 use std::os::fd::AsRawFd;
@@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ use std::os::raw::c_int;
 use std::ptr;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU8, Ordering};
 
-use super::libav::{pixel_to_av, poll_encoder, PollOutcome, SWS_CS_ITU709, SWS_POINT};
+use super::libav::{
+    apply_low_latency_rc, pixel_to_av, poll_encoder, PollOutcome, SWS_CS_ITU709, SWS_POINT,
+};
 use ffmpeg::ffi; // = ffmpeg_sys_next
 
 /// `fourcc(a,b,c,d)` — DRM FourCC packing (`a | b<<8 | c<<16 | d<<24`).
@@ -182,15 +184,9 @@ unsafe fn open_vaapi_encoder_mode(
     video.set_width(width);
     video.set_height(height);
     video.set_format(Pixel::NV12); // sw view; pix_fmt overridden to VAAPI below
-    video.set_time_base(Rational(1, fps as i32));
-    video.set_frame_rate(Some(Rational(fps as i32, 1)));
-    video.set_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize);
-    video.set_max_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize); // == target → vaapi_encode picks CBR when supported
-    let vbv_bits = ((bitrate_bps as f64 / fps.max(1) as f64) * crate::encode::vbv_frames_env())
-        .clamp(1.0, i32::MAX as f64);
-    video.set_max_b_frames(0);
+                                   // Fixed rate, CBR, no B-frames, ~1-frame VBV — the shared low-latency RC contract.
+    apply_low_latency_rc(&mut video, fps, bitrate_bps);
     let raw = video.as_mut_ptr();
-    (*raw).rc_buffer_size = vbv_bits as i32;
     (*raw).gop_size = i32::MAX; // no periodic IDR (forced-IDR via pict_type=I on RFI)
                                 // We hand the encoder BT.709 *limited* NV12 (swscale CSC on the CPU path; scale_vaapi pinned
                                 // to `out_color_matrix=bt709:out_range=limited` on the zero-copy path, with the full-range
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs
index 1c028ea7..265bb8c4 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ use super::{ChromaFormat, Codec, EncodedFrame, Encoder};
 use crate::capture::{dxgi::D3d11Frame, CapturedFrame, FramePayload, PixelFormat};
 use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
 use ffmpeg::format::Pixel;
-use ffmpeg::{codec, encoder, Dictionary, Rational};
+use ffmpeg::{codec, encoder, Dictionary};
 use ffmpeg_next as ffmpeg;
 use std::os::raw::{c_int, c_uint, c_void};
 use std::ptr;
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ use windows::Win32::Graphics::Dxgi::Common::{
 };
 
 use super::libav::{
-    pixel_to_av, poll_encoder, PollOutcome, SWS_CS_BT2020, SWS_CS_ITU709, SWS_POINT,
+    apply_low_latency_rc, pixel_to_av, poll_encoder, PollOutcome, SWS_CS_BT2020, SWS_CS_ITU709,
+    SWS_POINT,
 };
 use ffmpeg::ffi; // = ffmpeg_sys_next
 
@@ -179,15 +180,9 @@ unsafe fn open_win_encoder(
     // Software view of the input layout (NV12 / P010). For the hw paths `pix_fmt` is overridden to
     // D3D11/QSV below; libavcodec still uses this as `sw_pix_fmt`.
     video.set_format(Pixel::from(sw_pix_fmt));
-    video.set_time_base(Rational(1, fps as i32));
-    video.set_frame_rate(Some(Rational(fps as i32, 1)));
-    video.set_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize);
-    video.set_max_bit_rate(bitrate_bps as usize); // target == max → CBR
-    let vbv_bits = ((bitrate_bps as f64 / fps.max(1) as f64) * crate::encode::vbv_frames_env())
-        .clamp(1.0, i32::MAX as f64);
-    video.set_max_b_frames(0);
+    // Fixed rate, CBR, no B-frames, ~1-frame VBV — the shared low-latency RC contract.
+    apply_low_latency_rc(&mut video, fps, bitrate_bps);
     let raw = video.as_mut_ptr();
-    (*raw).rc_buffer_size = vbv_bits as i32;
     (*raw).gop_size = i32::MAX; // no periodic IDR (forced-IDR via pict_type=I on RFI)
     if ten_bit {
         // 10-bit HDR: BT.2020 primaries + SMPTE-2084 (PQ) transfer. The client auto-detects PQ from