diff --git a/breadcast-core/src/caststream.rs b/breadcast-core/src/caststream.rs
index de0aa42..da8fa48 100644
--- a/breadcast-core/src/caststream.rs
+++ b/breadcast-core/src/caststream.rs
@@ -52,12 +52,22 @@ impl Default for VideoParams {
             // encodes (`breadcast-core/src/pipeline/mod.rs`), not just what
             // we'd like to send -- this OFFER's resolution is what the
             // receiver allocates its decoder/output surface for. Advertising
-            // 1920x1080 while actually sending 1280x720 frames is a real
+            // a resolution other than what's actually sent is a real
             // protocol mismatch that plausibly explains a receiver decoder
             // corrupting/freezing rather than just looking soft.
-            width: 1280,
-            height: 720,
-            max_bitrate_bps: 8_000_000,
+            width: 1920,
+            height: 1080,
+            // Kept equal to `breadcastd::cast_mirror::MAX_BITRATE_KBPS *
+            // 1000` -- see that constant's doc comment for why 8 Mbps
+            // (this struct's previous value) isn't used here even though
+            // 1080p can look better with more headroom: real hardware
+            // testing showed the AIMD probe pinning to whatever this
+            // ceiling is for the entire session once the estimator reports
+            // (unreliably) that there's room, and 8 Mbps sustained was more
+            // than the previous network+receiver could actually hold,
+            // producing repeated multi-second freezes rather than just
+            // softer video.
+            max_bitrate_bps: 6_000_000,
             max_frame_rate_numerator: 30,
             max_frame_rate_denominator: 1,
         }
diff --git a/breadcast-core/src/pipeline/mod.rs b/breadcast-core/src/pipeline/mod.rs
index 0a6ce94..110fa38 100644
--- a/breadcast-core/src/pipeline/mod.rs
+++ b/breadcast-core/src/pipeline/mod.rs
@@ -150,12 +150,19 @@ pub fn build_video_pipeline_for_streaming(
 ) -> Result<(gst::Pipeline, gst_app::AppSink, gst::Element)> {
     gst::init().context("failed to initialize GStreamer")?;
 
-    // Same 1280x720@30 Main-profile baseline as build_video_pipeline, for
-    // the same reason (see its doc comment) -- broad decoder compatibility
-    // first, revisit upward once a specific device's real ceiling is known.
+    // 1920x1080@30 Main profile -- raised from the earlier 1280x720
+    // baseline (kept in `build_video_pipeline`'s HLS path, which targets a
+    // different, less capable receiver -- see its doc comment) once real
+    // hardware testing showed the actual bottleneck on the *previous*
+    // network wasn't resolution but the encoder being driven well past
+    // what that link/receiver could sustain (see `MAX_BITRATE_KBPS` in
+    // `breadcastd::cast_mirror`). Must stay equal to `VideoParams::default`
+    // in `caststream.rs` -- the OFFER's advertised resolution and what's
+    // actually encoded disagreeing is a protocol-level mismatch, not just
+    // soft video (see that struct's doc comment for what that caused).
     let pipeline_str = "pipewiresrc path=%VIDEO_NODE_ID% do-timestamp=true ! \
          videoconvert ! videoscale ! videorate ! \
-         video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1 ! \
+         video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1920,height=1080,framerate=30/1 ! \
          vah264enc name=venc bitrate=4000 key-int-max=60 rate-control=cbr ! \
          video/x-h264,profile=main ! \
          h264parse name=h264parse config-interval=-1 ! \
diff --git a/breadcastd/src/cast_mirror.rs b/breadcastd/src/cast_mirror.rs
index c5ba59c..f251067 100644
--- a/breadcastd/src/cast_mirror.rs
+++ b/breadcastd/src/cast_mirror.rs
@@ -29,14 +29,23 @@ use crate::daemon::DaemonCommand;
 /// `vah264enc` with, since [`bitrate_control_step`] treats it as the value
 /// already in effect at t=0.
 const INITIAL_BITRATE_KBPS: u32 = 4000;
-/// Never encode below this. 720p30 below roughly 1 Mbps is a wall of
+/// Never encode below this. 1080p30 below roughly 1.5 Mbps is a wall of
 /// blocking artifacts -- if the link genuinely can't carry that, dropping
 /// frames is a better failure mode than shipping unwatchable video.
-const MIN_BITRATE_KBPS: u32 = 1000;
+const MIN_BITRATE_KBPS: u32 = 1500;
 /// Never encode above this, regardless of how much headroom the estimator
 /// reports. Matches `VideoParams::default().max_bitrate_bps`, i.e. what the
-/// OFFER told the receiver to expect.
-const MAX_BITRATE_KBPS: u32 = 8000;
+/// OFFER told the receiver to expect -- see that constant's doc comment for
+/// why this is 6 Mbps and not higher: real hardware testing showed the AIMD
+/// probe below pinning to whatever this ceiling is for the *entire* session
+/// (the estimator it trusts read a suspiciously flat ~20 Mbps almost the
+/// whole time), and 8 Mbps sustained was more than the previous
+/// network+receiver could actually hold without repeated multi-second
+/// freezes. 6 Mbps is a solid target for 1080p30 on its own merits, not
+/// just a defensive number -- revisit upward only with real evidence this
+/// specific link+receiver can sustain more, not just because the estimator
+/// claims there's headroom.
+const MAX_BITRATE_KBPS: u32 = 6000;
 
 pub struct CastMirrorSession {
     pipeline: gst::Pipeline,