diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/goLive/prepareStream.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/goLive/prepareStream.ts
index f29d92f..b446745 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/goLive/prepareStream.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/goLive/prepareStream.ts
@@ -206,9 +206,19 @@ export function prepareStream(
     : spawn(FFMPEG_BIN, args, { stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "pipe"] });
 
   if (proc.stdin && !isUrl) {
-    input.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => proc.stdin?.write(chunk));
-    input.on("end", () => proc.stdin?.end());
-    input.on("error", () => proc.stdin?.destroy());
+    // Race guard: the merge ffmpeg may have already exited (transient 403
+    // or stream death) before this function attaches its listeners — the
+    // input's 'end'/'error' events then fire into the void and the encoder
+    // stdin NEVER receives EOF, leaving an encoder that waits forever and a
+    // screen share that shows a black tile with zero frames. Check the
+    // terminal state eagerly and EOF the encoder immediately.
+    if (input.readableEnded || input.destroyed) {
+      proc.stdin.end();
+    } else {
+      input.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => proc.stdin?.write(chunk));
+      input.on("end", () => proc.stdin?.end());
+      input.on("error", () => proc.stdin?.destroy());
+    }
   }
 
   proc.stdout?.pipe(output);
@@ -319,14 +329,81 @@ export async function playStream(
     }
   };
 
-  return new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
-    vStream.once("finish", () => {
-      cleanup();
+  // First-frame watchdog: if the encoder never delivers a single frame
+  // (dead merge input, empty stream, codec mismatch), fail fast instead of
+  // "playing" a black tile forever. The demuxer resolves with fallback
+  // metadata even when no frame ever arrives, so this timeout is the only
+  // place that detects "started but nothing flowing".
+  let firstFrameTimer: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
+  let gotFirstFrame = false;
+  const firstFrame = new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+    firstFrameTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+      if (!gotFirstFrame) {
+        cleanup();
+        reject(
+          new Error(
+            "No video frames within 10s of stream start — input stream failed",
+          ),
+        );
+      }
+    }, 10000);
+    video.stream.once("data", () => {
+      gotFirstFrame = true;
+      if (firstFrameTimer) clearTimeout(firstFrameTimer);
       resolve();
     });
+  });
+
+  return new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+    let settled = false;
+    const settle = (fn: () => void) => () => {
+      if (settled) return;
+      settled = true;
+      if (firstFrameTimer) clearTimeout(firstFrameTimer);
+      fn();
+    };
+
+    vStream.once("finish", () => {
+      settle(() => {
+        cleanup();
+        if (!gotFirstFrame) {
+          reject(new Error("Screen video stream ended without any frame"));
+        } else {
+          resolve();
+        }
+      })();
+    });
     vStream.once("error", () => {
-      cleanup();
-      resolve();
+      settle(() => {
+        cleanup();
+        if (!gotFirstFrame) {
+          reject(new Error("Screen video stream errored before first frame"));
+        } else {
+          resolve();
+        }
+      })();
+    });
+    // The stream may end without ever producing a frame (input was
+    // silently dead) — surface that instead of resolving "successfully".
+    video.stream.once("end", () => {
+      settle(() => {
+        cleanup();
+        if (!gotFirstFrame) {
+          reject(new Error("Screen video stream ended before any frame"));
+        } else {
+          resolve();
+        }
+      })();
+    });
+    // Watchdog timeout: no frame arrived within 10s — fail fast instead of
+    // "playing" a black tile forever. cleanup() kills the encoder so the
+    // vStream finish/error handlers above still fire, but the settled guard
+    // ensures this rejection wins.
+    firstFrame.catch((err) => {
+      settle(() => {
+        cleanup();
+        reject(err);
+      })();
     });
   });
 }
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/mediaSource.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/mediaSource.ts
index 338ec21..ffd275d 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/mediaSource.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/mediaSource.ts
@@ -522,6 +522,12 @@ async function resolveScreenInput(
     );
     const videoUrl = video?.url as string | undefined;
     const audioUrl = audio?.url as string | undefined;
+    // yt-dlp returns the exact HTTP headers needed to fetch each signed DASH
+    // URL (User-Agent etc.). Passing them to the merge ffmpeg prevents
+    // transient YouTube 403s ("Server returned 403 Forbidden") that kill the
+    // stream before it starts.
+    const videoHeaders =
+      (video?.http_headers as Record<string, string> | undefined) ?? {};
 
     if (
       typeof videoUrl === "string" &&
@@ -529,7 +535,7 @@ async function resolveScreenInput(
       typeof audioUrl === "string" &&
       audioUrl.length > 0
     ) {
-      return mergeScreenStreams(videoUrl, audioUrl);
+      return mergeScreenStreams(videoUrl, audioUrl, videoHeaders);
     }
   }
 
@@ -542,41 +548,61 @@ async function resolveScreenInput(
  * Merge a video-only URL and an audio-only URL into a single NUT stream using
  * a child ffmpeg process. Both URLs come from the same yt-dlp run, so they
  * share the same signature/expiry and are consumed immediately.
+ *
+ * Fail-fast contract: if the merge process exits non-zero BEFORE producing any
+ * output bytes (e.g. transient YouTube 403), the returned Readable is
+ * destroyed with an error so the caller can retry — otherwise the screen
+ * share would "start" with a dead input and stream a black tile forever.
  */
-function mergeScreenStreams(videoUrl: string, audioUrl: string): Readable {
+function mergeScreenStreams(
+  videoUrl: string,
+  audioUrl: string,
+  httpHeaders?: Record<string, string>,
+): Readable {
   logger.info("Merging video+audio DASH streams into a single NUT input");
 
-  const ffmpeg = spawn(
-    "ffmpeg",
-    [
-      "-hide_banner",
-      "-loglevel",
-      "error",
-      "-reconnect",
-      "1",
-      "-reconnect_streamed",
-      "1",
-      "-reconnect_delay_max",
-      "5",
-      "-i",
-      videoUrl,
-      "-i",
-      audioUrl,
-      "-map",
-      "0:v:0",
-      "-map",
-      "1:a:0",
-      "-c:v",
-      "copy",
-      "-c:a",
-      "copy",
-      "-f",
-      "nut",
-      "pipe:1",
-    ],
-    { stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"] },
+  const args = [
+    "-hide_banner",
+    "-loglevel",
+    "error",
+    "-reconnect",
+    "1",
+    "-reconnect_streamed",
+    "1",
+    "-reconnect_delay_max",
+    "5",
+  ];
+  // Pass the browser-like headers yt-dlp attached to the signed URLs. Without
+  // a proper User-Agent YouTube sometimes answers 403 to ffmpeg's plain
+  // Lavf/… agent and the whole stream dies before producing a frame.
+  const headerStr = Object.entries(httpHeaders ?? {})
+    .map(([k, v]) => `${k}: ${v}`)
+    .join("\r\n");
+  if (headerStr) {
+    args.push("-headers", headerStr);
+  }
+  args.push(
+    "-i",
+    videoUrl,
+    "-i",
+    audioUrl,
+    "-map",
+    "0:v:0",
+    "-map",
+    "1:a:0",
+    "-c:v",
+    "copy",
+    "-c:a",
+    "copy",
+    "-f",
+    "nut",
+    "pipe:1",
   );
 
+  const ffmpeg = spawn("ffmpeg", args, {
+    stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+  });
+
   // Track so cleanup() can terminate the merge during graceful shutdown.
   activeProcesses.add(ffmpeg);
   ffmpeg.once("exit", () => {
@@ -592,12 +618,15 @@ function mergeScreenStreams(videoUrl: string, audioUrl: string): Readable {
     }
   });
 
+  let producedData = false;
+
   ffmpeg.on("error", (err) => {
     const msg =
       err.message === "spawn ffmpeg ENOENT"
         ? "FFmpeg not found! Install ffmpeg in the container."
         : err.message;
     logger.error({ error: msg }, "Screen stream merge ffmpeg error");
+    stream.destroy(new Error(msg));
   });
 
   ffmpeg.on("exit", (code) => {
@@ -606,10 +635,23 @@ function mergeScreenStreams(videoUrl: string, audioUrl: string): Readable {
       { code, stderr: stderr.slice(-500) || undefined },
       "Screen stream merge ffmpeg exited",
     );
+    // Fail fast: a merge that dies before emitting ANY bytes cannot feed the
+    // encoder — destroy the stream with an error so the caller retries with a
+    // fresh resolution instead of streaming a silent black tile.
+    if (code !== 0 && !producedData && !stream.destroyed) {
+      stream.destroy(
+        new Error(
+          `Screen stream merge failed before producing data (exit ${code})${stderr ? `: ${stderr.slice(-300)}` : ""}`,
+        ),
+      );
+    }
   });
 
   const stream = ffmpeg.stdout;
   stream.setMaxListeners(32);
+  stream.once("data", () => {
+    producedData = true;
+  });
   return stream;
 }
 
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/screenShareController.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/screenShareController.ts
index 62bbada..768b5d8 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/screenShareController.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/screenShareController.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { PassThrough, type Readable } from "node:stream";
 import type { Client } from "discord.js-selfbot-v13";
 import { createChildLogger } from "@/shared/logger/index";
 import {
@@ -54,6 +55,114 @@ export class ScreenShareController {
     return this.active !== null;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Resolve the screen-share input with retry + first-byte validation.
+   *
+   * Transient YouTube 403s kill the merge ffmpeg BEFORE it produces any
+   * output; without validation the stream would "start" with a dead input
+   * and show a black tile forever. So after getDirectScreenInput resolves we
+   * tee the stream through a PassThrough and wait for the FIRST readable
+   * byte (or an error / early EOF). On failure the whole resolution is
+   * retried with a FRESH yt-dlp run (signed DASH URLs expire quickly — the
+   * old URLs cannot simply be re-fetched).
+   */
+  private async resolveInputWithRetry(
+    source: string,
+  ): Promise<string | Readable> {
+    const MAX_ATTEMPTS = 3;
+    let lastError: Error | null = null;
+
+    for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= MAX_ATTEMPTS; attempt++) {
+      try {
+        const input = await getDirectScreenInput(source);
+        if (typeof input === "string") {
+          // Direct URL input — nothing to validate; the encoder ffmpeg will
+          // connect itself and fail loudly on a bad URL.
+          return input;
+        }
+
+        const tee = new PassThrough();
+        input.on("error", (err) => tee.destroy(err));
+        input.on("end", () => tee.end());
+        input.pipe(tee);
+        // If the merge process is stuck (no data, no exit) destroy the raw
+        // stream too so ffmpeg gets EPIPE on its next write and dies —
+        // otherwise every failed attempt leaks a merge process.
+        const destroyInput = () => {
+          try {
+            input.destroy();
+          } catch {
+            /* already gone */
+          }
+        };
+
+        await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+          const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+            cleanup();
+            destroyInput();
+            tee.destroy(
+              new Error(
+                "Screen input produced no data within 12s — merge likely failed",
+              ),
+            );
+            reject(
+              new Error(
+                "Screen input produced no data within 12s — merge likely failed",
+              ),
+            );
+          }, 12000);
+          const onReadable = () => {
+            if (tee.readableLength > 0) {
+              cleanup();
+              resolve();
+            }
+            // readableLength === 0 can mean "EOF reached" — handled by onEnd.
+          };
+          const onError = (err: Error) => {
+            cleanup();
+            reject(err);
+          };
+          const onEnd = () => {
+            cleanup();
+            destroyInput();
+            reject(new Error("Screen input ended before producing any data"));
+          };
+          const cleanup = () => {
+            clearTimeout(timer);
+            tee.removeListener("readable", onReadable);
+            tee.removeListener("error", onError);
+            tee.removeListener("end", onEnd);
+          };
+          tee.once("readable", onReadable);
+          tee.once("error", onError);
+          tee.once("end", onEnd);
+        });
+
+        // Pass the tee onward — the encoder consumes the same buffered
+        // stream, so no data from the merge is lost.
+        return tee;
+      } catch (err) {
+        lastError = err instanceof Error ? err : new Error(String(err));
+        this.logger.warn(
+          {
+            attempt,
+            maxAttempts: MAX_ATTEMPTS,
+            error: lastError.message,
+          },
+          "Screen input resolution failed; retrying with fresh yt-dlp",
+        );
+        if (attempt < MAX_ATTEMPTS) {
+          await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1500 * attempt));
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    throw (
+      lastError ??
+      new Error("Screen input resolution failed after multiple attempts")
+    );
+  }
+
   async start(source: string): Promise<ScreenSharePlayback> {
     const status = this.getVoiceStatus();
     if (!status.connected || !status.activeGuildId || !status.activeChannelId) {
@@ -65,7 +174,7 @@ export class ScreenShareController {
     }
 
     try {
-      const input = await getDirectScreenInput(source);
+      const input = await this.resolveInputWithRetry(source);
       if (!this.streamer) {
         this.streamer = new Streamer(this.client);
       }
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/tests/screenShareInput.test.ts b/services/discord-gateway/tests/screenShareInput.test.ts
index 08038b2..59942d6 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/tests/screenShareInput.test.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/tests/screenShareInput.test.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,13 @@
 // hit the network or need real binaries.
 // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 
-import { chmodSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import {
+  chmodSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  rmSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { Readable } from "node:stream";
@@ -40,7 +46,18 @@ exit 1
 
   // Fake ffmpeg: writes a small nut-ish payload to stdout so the returned
   // Readable actually emits data (the merge path in mergeScreenStreams).
+  // Modes (env):
+  //   GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_FAIL=1  → exit 1, no stdout (mimics transient 403)
+  //   GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_DUMP_ARGS=<file> → append argv to the file (asserts
+  //     flags like -headers are forwarded to the merge process)
   const ffShim = `#!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [ -n "$GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_DUMP_ARGS" ]; then
+  printf '%s\\n' "$*" >> "$GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_DUMP_ARGS"
+fi
+if [ "$GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_FAIL" = "1" ]; then
+  echo "403 Forbidden" >&2
+  exit 8
+fi
 # Fake ffmpeg — ignore args, emit a few bytes so consumers see a live stream.
 head -c 4096 /dev/urandom
 exit 0
@@ -139,4 +156,81 @@ describe("getDirectScreenInput", () => {
       /screen input resolution exited with code 1/,
     );
   });
+
+  it("terminates with ZERO bytes when the merge ffmpeg fails before producing data (transient 403)", async () => {
+    // Simulate the 11:50 production failure: yt-dlp resolves fine, but the
+    // merge ffmpeg hits a transient YouTube 403 and exits non-zero WITHOUT
+    // emitting a single byte. getDirectScreenInput still resolves (the
+    // Readable exists) — the fail-fast contract: the stream must terminate
+    // (error OR end — the end-before-exit ordering makes both possible)
+    // without ever delivering a frame to a consumer. The controller's
+    // resolveInputWithRetry turns either signal into a fresh retry.
+    process.env.GMW_FAKE_YTDLP_JSON = writeFakeJson(
+      dashPairInfo(
+        "https://cdn.example/video.mp4",
+        "https://cdn.example/audio.m4a",
+      ),
+    );
+    process.env.GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_FAIL = "1";
+    try {
+      const result = await getDirectScreenInput("https://youtu.be/abc");
+      expect(Readable.isReadable(result)).toBe(true);
+
+      const outcome = await new Promise<string>((resolve) => {
+        const stream = result as Readable;
+        let got = 0;
+        stream.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
+          got += chunk.length;
+        });
+        stream.on("error", () => resolve(`error-after-${got}B`));
+        stream.on("end", () => resolve(`end-after-${got}B`));
+        stream.resume();
+      });
+      // Fail-fast: the consumer must NOT receive any bytes (no black-tile
+      // zombie stream). Either a destroyed-with-error stream or a clean
+      // end-before-exit is a valid terminal state — the caller retries.
+      expect(outcome).toMatch(/^(error|end)-after-0B$/);
+    } finally {
+      delete process.env.GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_FAIL;
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("forwards yt-dlp http_headers to the merge ffmpeg (-headers)", async () => {
+    const info = dashPairInfo(
+      "https://cdn.example/video.mp4",
+      "https://cdn.example/audio.m4a",
+    );
+    // Add the browser-like headers yt-dlp attaches to signed DASH URLs.
+    (info.requested_formats[0] as Record<string, unknown>).http_headers = {
+      "User-Agent":
+        "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36",
+      Referer: "https://www.youtube.com/",
+    };
+    const argsDump = join(
+      tmpdir(),
+      `gmw-ffargs-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}.txt`,
+    );
+    process.env.GMW_FAKE_YTDLP_JSON = writeFakeJson(info);
+    process.env.GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_DUMP_ARGS = argsDump;
+    try {
+      const result = await getDirectScreenInput("https://youtu.be/abc");
+      // Consume the stream so the merge ffmpeg process runs to completion.
+      await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+        const stream = result as Readable;
+        stream.on("data", () => {});
+        stream.on("error", () => resolve());
+        stream.on("end", () => resolve());
+        stream.resume();
+      });
+      // Allow the fake ffmpeg to flush its argv dump.
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 100));
+      const args = readFileSync(argsDump, "utf8").trim();
+      expect(args).toContain("-headers");
+      expect(args).toContain("Mozilla/5.0");
+      expect(args).toContain("Referer: https://www.youtube.com/");
+    } finally {
+      delete process.env.GMW_FAKE_FFMPEG_DUMP_ARGS;
+      rmSync(argsDump, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
 });