diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index a6995b0..40b5ce0 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -3662,6 +3662,14 @@ func getAudioContext(sampleRate, channels, bytesPerSample int) (*oto.Context, er
 }
 
 func newPlaySession(path string, w, h int, fps float64, targetW, targetH int, prog func(float64), img *canvas.Image) *playSession {
+	fmt.Printf("\n═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════\n")
+	fmt.Printf("🎬 CREATING NEW PLAY SESSION\n")
+	fmt.Printf("═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════\n")
+	fmt.Printf("📁 Video: %s\n", filepath.Base(path))
+	fmt.Printf("📐 Source: %dx%d @ %.2f fps\n", w, h, fps)
+	fmt.Printf("🎯 Target: %dx%d\n", targetW, targetH)
+	fmt.Printf("═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════\n\n")
+
 	if fps <= 0 {
 		fps = 24
 	}
@@ -3687,12 +3695,15 @@ func newPlaySession(path string, w, h int, fps float64, targetW, targetH int, pr
 }
 
 func (p *playSession) Play() {
+	fmt.Printf("▶️  PLAY called (current position: %.2fs)\n", p.current)
 	p.mu.Lock()
 	defer p.mu.Unlock()
 	if p.videoCmd == nil && p.audioCmd == nil {
+		fmt.Printf("⚡ Starting playback from scratch...\n")
 		p.startLocked(p.current)
 		return
 	}
+	fmt.Printf("▶️  Resuming playback\n")
 	p.paused = false
 }
 
@@ -3821,6 +3832,11 @@ func (p *playSession) startLocked(offset float64) {
 }
 
 func (p *playSession) runVideo(offset float64) {
+	fmt.Printf("📹 Starting video decode pipeline...\n")
+	fmt.Printf("   - Resolution: %dx%d\n", p.targetW, p.targetH)
+	fmt.Printf("   - Frame rate: %.2f fps\n", p.fps)
+	fmt.Printf("   - Offset: %.2fs\n", offset)
+
 	var stderr bytes.Buffer
 	args := []string{
 		"-hide_banner", "-loglevel", "error",
@@ -3832,17 +3848,29 @@ func (p *playSession) runVideo(offset float64) {
 		"-r", fmt.Sprintf("%.3f", p.fps),
 		"-",
 	}
+	fmt.Printf("🔧 FFmpeg command: ffmpeg %s\n", strings.Join(args, " "))
+
 	cmd := exec.Command("ffmpeg", args...)
 	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
 	stdout, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
 	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("❌ ERROR: Failed to create video pipe: %v\n", err)
 		logging.Debug(logging.CatFFMPEG, "video pipe error: %v", err)
 		return
 	}
+
+	fmt.Printf("⚡ Starting FFmpeg process...\n")
+	startTime := time.Now()
 	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
-		logging.Debug(logging.CatFFMPEG, "video start failed: %v (%s)", err, strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String()))
+		errMsg := strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String())
+		fmt.Printf("❌ ERROR: FFmpeg failed to start: %v\n", err)
+		if errMsg != "" {
+			fmt.Printf("   FFmpeg error: %s\n", errMsg)
+		}
+		logging.Debug(logging.CatFFMPEG, "video start failed: %v (%s)", err, errMsg)
 		return
 	}
+	fmt.Printf("✅ FFmpeg started in %.3fs\n", time.Since(startTime).Seconds())
 	// Pace frames to the source frame rate instead of hammering refreshes as fast as possible.
 	frameDur := time.Second
 	if p.fps > 0 {
@@ -3852,11 +3880,22 @@ func (p *playSession) runVideo(offset float64) {
 	p.videoCmd = cmd
 	frameSize := p.targetW * p.targetH * 3
 	buf := make([]byte, frameSize)
+	fmt.Printf("📦 Frame buffer allocated: %.2f MB\n", float64(frameSize)/(1024*1024))
+
 	go func() {
 		defer cmd.Process.Kill()
+
+		// Performance monitoring variables
+		var lastFPSReport time.Time
+		var fpsCounter int
+		loopStart := time.Now()
+
+		fmt.Printf("🔄 Frame decode loop started\n")
+
 		for {
 			select {
 			case <-p.stop:
+				fmt.Printf("⏹️  Video decode loop stopped\n")
 				logging.Debug(logging.CatFFMPEG, "video loop stop")
 				return
 			default:
@@ -3866,22 +3905,41 @@ func (p *playSession) runVideo(offset float64) {
 				nextFrameAt = time.Now().Add(frameDur)
 				continue
 			}
+
+			readStart := time.Now()
 			_, err := io.ReadFull(stdout, buf)
+			readDuration := time.Since(readStart)
+
 			if err != nil {
 				if errors.Is(err, io.EOF) {
+					fmt.Printf("📺 Video playback completed (reached end)\n")
 					return
 				}
 				msg := strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String())
+				fmt.Printf("❌ ERROR: Frame read failed: %v\n", err)
+				if msg != "" {
+					fmt.Printf("   FFmpeg error: %s\n", msg)
+				}
 				logging.Debug(logging.CatFFMPEG, "video read failed: %v (%s)", err, msg)
 				return
 			}
+
+			// Track first frame timing
+			if p.frameN == 0 {
+				elapsed := time.Since(loopStart)
+				fmt.Printf("🎞️  FIRST FRAME decoded in %.3fs (read: %.3fs)\n", elapsed.Seconds(), readDuration.Seconds())
+			}
+
 			if delay := time.Until(nextFrameAt); delay > 0 {
 				time.Sleep(delay)
 			}
 			nextFrameAt = nextFrameAt.Add(frameDur)
+
 			// Allocate a fresh frame to avoid concurrent texture reuse issues.
 			frame := image.NewRGBA(image.Rect(0, 0, p.targetW, p.targetH))
 			utils.CopyRGBToRGBA(frame.Pix, buf)
+
+			renderStart := time.Now()
 			fyne.CurrentApp().Driver().DoFromGoroutine(func() {
 				if p.img != nil {
 					// Ensure we render the live frame, not a stale resource preview.
@@ -3891,10 +3949,25 @@ func (p *playSession) runVideo(offset float64) {
 					p.img.Refresh()
 				}
 			}, false)
+			renderDuration := time.Since(renderStart)
+
+			// Log first few frames in detail
 			if p.frameN < 3 {
+				fmt.Printf("🖼️  Frame %d: decode=%.3fs render=%.3fs\n", p.frameN+1, readDuration.Seconds(), renderDuration.Seconds())
 				logging.Debug(logging.CatFFMPEG, "video frame %d drawn (%.2fs)", p.frameN+1, p.current)
 			}
+
 			p.frameN++
+			fpsCounter++
+
+			// FPS report every 2 seconds
+			if time.Since(lastFPSReport) >= 2*time.Second {
+				fps := float64(fpsCounter) / time.Since(lastFPSReport).Seconds()
+				fmt.Printf("📊 Performance: %.1f FPS (target: %.1f FPS) | Frames: %d\n", fps, p.fps, p.frameN)
+				fpsCounter = 0
+				lastFPSReport = time.Now()
+			}
+
 			if p.fps > 0 {
 				p.current = offset + (float64(p.frameN) / p.fps)
 			}