diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0b7b063..cf344c9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -115,6 +115,8 @@ Schema migrations run automatically on first boot — no manual migration comman
 | `JWT_SECRET` | JWT signing key (auto-generated if not set) | _(auto)_ |
 | `SSL_CERT` | Path to SSL certificate | `server/certs/cert.pem` |
 | `SSL_KEY` | Path to SSL private key | `server/certs/key.pem` |
+| `PING_INTERVAL` | Socket.IO Engine.IO ping interval (ms). Raise for slow TV WebKits that miss pongs under decode load. | `30000` |
+| `PING_TIMEOUT` | Socket.IO Engine.IO pong wait (ms). Lower = faster dead-socket detection; higher = more forgiving of laggy clients. | `30000` |
 
 ### Optional Integrations
 
diff --git a/server/config.js b/server/config.js
index 5c541bf..946e72a 100644
--- a/server/config.js
+++ b/server/config.js
@@ -10,6 +10,12 @@ module.exports = {
   frontendDir: path.join(__dirname, '..', 'frontend'),
   heartbeatInterval: 10000,    // Check every 10s
   heartbeatTimeout: 45000,     // Offline after 45s (3 missed 15s beats)
+  // Engine.IO transport-level ping/pong. Raised from Socket.IO defaults
+  // (25000/20000) because TV WebKits (LG webOS, older Tizen) miss pongs
+  // under decode load - tighter values cause spurious transport drops.
+  // Worst-case dead-socket detection: pingInterval + pingTimeout = 60s.
+  pingInterval: parseInt(process.env.PING_INTERVAL) || 30000,
+  pingTimeout:  parseInt(process.env.PING_TIMEOUT)  || 30000,
   maxFileSize: 500 * 1024 * 1024, // 500MB
   thumbnailWidth: 320,
   screenshotQuality: 70,
diff --git a/server/player/index.html b/server/player/index.html
index 6ba350e..165b7ee 100644
--- a/server/player/index.html
+++ b/server/player/index.html
@@ -467,6 +467,14 @@
         reconnectionDelay: 2000,
         reconnectionDelayMax: 10000,
         timeout: 20000,
+        // Prefer WebSocket but allow polling fallback. Socket.IO default is
+        // polling-first with an upgrade dance that's fragile on TV WebKits
+        // (LG webOS especially). Reversing the order opens a WebSocket directly;
+        // if that fails (rare - blocked by firewall), it falls back to polling
+        // on the same connect attempt. Tradeoff: WS-blocked networks add a few
+        // seconds to first connect while WS times out. Worth it for the common
+        // case where WS is fine but the upgrade dance was hanging the device.
+        transports: ['websocket', 'polling'],
       });
 
       socket.on('connect', () => {
diff --git a/server/server.js b/server/server.js
index 2435a42..bc52464 100644
--- a/server/server.js
+++ b/server/server.js
@@ -43,7 +43,9 @@ const io = new Server(server, {
     origin: (origin, cb) => corsOriginCheck(origin, cb),
     credentials: true,
   },
-  maxHttpBufferSize: 10 * 1024 * 1024 // 10MB for screenshot uploads
+  maxHttpBufferSize: 10 * 1024 * 1024, // 10MB for screenshot uploads
+  pingInterval: config.pingInterval,
+  pingTimeout: config.pingTimeout,
 });
 
 // Middleware