diff --git a/src/viewer/viewer.js b/src/viewer/viewer.js
index ffbadb3..7a8ac4e 100644
--- a/src/viewer/viewer.js
+++ b/src/viewer/viewer.js
@@ -340,17 +340,32 @@ function wireHlsEvents(hls, video, panel) {
   });
 
   // --- Segment / fragment tracking ---
-  // FRAG_LOADING fires continuously during playback for each fragment.
-  // Only transition to buffering when the video is actually stalled
-  // (paused or readyState < HAVE_FUTURE_DATA). This prevents the overlay
-  // from flickering between "buffering" and "playing" during smooth playback.
+  // FRAG_LOADING fires continuously during playback as hls.js proactively
+  // loads future segments. During smooth playback the browser's MSE buffer
+  // keeps the video playing without interruption — readyState may briefly
+  // dip to HAVE_CURRENT_DATA (2) between fragments even though the user
+  // sees seamless playback. If we set phase='buffering' on every
+  // FRAG_LOADING, the overlay flickers between "buffering" and "playing".
+  //
+  // Fix: Only transition to 'buffering' from FRAG_LOADING during initial
+  // load states (idle/loading). Once the video reaches 'playing', 'buffering',
+  // or 'switching', defer to the video element's native events
+  // (waiting/stalled/playing — wired in wireVideoEvents) as the authoritative
+  // source for buffering state. Those native events only fire when actual
+  // stalling occurs, not during normal proactive fragment fetching.
   hls.on(HlsEvents.FRAG_LOADING, (_ev, _data) => {
-    if (video.paused || video.readyState < 3) {
+    // Only set buffering during initial load. During active playback the
+    // native 'waiting'/'stalled' events (see wireVideoEvents) are the
+    // source of truth for when the video is actually stalled.
+    if (state.phase === 'idle' || state.phase === 'loading') {
       state.phase = 'buffering';
+      state.lastEvent = 'FRAG_LOADING';
+      state.lastActivity = Date.now();
+      renderPanelState(video, panel);
     }
-    state.lastEvent = 'FRAG_LOADING';
-    state.lastActivity = Date.now();
-    renderPanelState(video, panel);
+    // During playing/buffering/switching: ignore FRAG_LOADING entirely —
+    // it fires continuously as hls.js proactively fetches future segments.
+    // Re-rendering here causes overlay flickering even during smooth playback.
   });
 
   hls.on(HlsEvents.FRAG_LOADED, (_ev, _data) => {
@@ -367,6 +382,7 @@ function wireHlsEvents(hls, video, panel) {
   hls.on(HlsEvents.FRAG_BUFFERED, (_ev, _data) => {
     state.lastEvent = 'FRAG_BUFFERED';
     state.lastActivity = Date.now();
+    state.bufferedAhead = getBufferedAhead(video);
     if (state.phase !== 'error' && video.readyState >= 3 && !video.paused) {
       state.phase = 'playing';
     }
@@ -414,7 +430,12 @@ function wireHlsEvents(hls, video, panel) {
     state.lastEvent = 'BUFFER_RESET';
     state.lastActivity = Date.now();
     state.bufferedAhead = 0;
-    state.segmentsLoaded = 0;
+    // Do NOT reset segmentsLoaded — it's a cumulative metric across the
+    // entire session. BUFFER_RESET fires during quality switches (hls.js
+    // flushes and rebuilds the MediaSource buffer) but the segments were
+    // still successfully loaded and played. Clearing it here makes the
+    // overlay show "0 seg" mid-playback, which is the exact "fragmented /
+    // lost state" the user sees.
     renderPanelState(video, panel);
   });
 
@@ -422,13 +443,18 @@ function wireHlsEvents(hls, video, panel) {
   hls.on(HlsEvents.LEVEL_SWITCHED, (_ev, data) => {
     state.lastEvent = 'LEVEL_SWITCHED';
     state.lastActivity = Date.now();
-    state.phase = 'switching';
     state.level = data.level;
     const levels = hls.levels;
     if (levels && levels[data.level]) {
       const lvl = levels[data.level];
       state.levelLabel = `${lvl.width}x${lvl.height}`;
     }
+    // Briefly show 'switching' to indicate a quality transition is in progress.
+    // However, if there's meaningful buffer ahead, the switch is likely instant
+    // (switching between already-buffered segments) — skip the intermediate state
+    // to avoid the panel getting stuck at 'switching' when FRAG_BUFFERED doesn't fire.
+    const buf = getBufferedAhead(video);
+    state.phase = buf > 2 ? 'playing' : 'switching';
     renderPanelState(video, panel);
   });
 
@@ -542,6 +568,11 @@ function wireVideoEvents(video) {
   onVideoEvent('waiting', s => { s.phase = 'buffering'; s.lastEvent = 'video.waiting'; });
   onVideoEvent('stalled', s => { s.phase = 'buffering'; s.lastEvent = 'video.stalled'; });
 
+  // Video ended — on looped content this rarely fires (loop re-starts instantly),
+  // but handle it for completeness. The 'ended' phase appears in the overlay
+  // and aggregate state so the user knows playback reached the end of a segment.
+  onVideoEvent('ended', s => { s.phase = 'ended'; s.lastEvent = 'video.ended'; });
+
   // Track actual playback position (fragments are delivered out of order but
   // the browser's timeupdate fires as they are played back sequentially).
   video.addEventListener('timeupdate', () => {
@@ -572,11 +603,26 @@ function wireVideoEvents(video) {
  * Returns a cleanup function.
  */
 function startBufferMonitor(video, panel) {
+  let prevPhase = '';
+  let prevSegLoaded = -1;
+  let prevSegFailed = -1;
+  let prevLabel = '';
   const timer = setInterval(() => {
     const s = panelStates.get(video);
     if (!s) { clearInterval(timer); return; }
     s.bufferedAhead = getBufferedAhead(video);
-    renderPanelState(video, panel);
+    // Only re-render if something actually changed — avoids overlay flickering
+    // on stably playing panels where only lastActivity/lastEvent differ.
+    if (s.phase !== prevPhase ||
+        s.segmentsLoaded !== prevSegLoaded ||
+        s.segmentsFailed !== prevSegFailed ||
+        s.levelLabel !== prevLabel) {
+      renderPanelState(video, panel);
+      prevPhase = s.phase;
+      prevSegLoaded = s.segmentsLoaded;
+      prevSegFailed = s.segmentsFailed;
+      prevLabel = s.levelLabel;
+    }
     // Refresh aggregate status bar if any panel changed state.
     renderAggregateState();
   }, 1000);