diff --git a/public/index.html b/public/index.html
index 2809741..b752d17 100644
--- a/public/index.html
+++ b/public/index.html
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
                         <option value="neon">NEON</option>
                         <option value="nvidia">NVIDIA</option>
                         <option value="intel">Intel</option>
-                        <option value="vaapi">VAAPI</option>
+                        <option value="vaapi" selected>VAAPI</option>
                     </select>
                 </div>
                 <div id="loading-spinner" class="spinner-container">
diff --git a/public/js/main.js b/public/js/main.js
index 8edaaa2..ddf195d 100644
--- a/public/js/main.js
+++ b/public/js/main.js
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => {
 
     const buildStreamUrl = (targetSeconds = null) => {
         const codec = codecSelect?.value || 'h264';
-        const encoder = encoderSelect?.value || 'software';
+        const encoder = encoderSelect?.value || 'vaapi';
         const streamSessionId = createStreamSessionId();
         let streamUrl = `/api/stream?bucket=${encodeURIComponent(selectedBucket)}&key=${encodeURIComponent(selectedKey)}&codec=${encodeURIComponent(codec)}&encoder=${encodeURIComponent(encoder)}&streamSessionId=${encodeURIComponent(streamSessionId)}`;
         if (typeof targetSeconds === 'number' && Number.isFinite(targetSeconds) && targetSeconds > 0) {
@@ -909,7 +909,7 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => {
 
         try {
             const codec = codecSelect?.value || 'h264';
-            const encoder = encoderSelect?.value || 'software';
+            const encoder = encoderSelect?.value || 'vaapi';
             if (!selectedBucket) throw new Error('No bucket selected');
             const streamUrl = buildStreamUrl();
             videoPlayer.src = streamUrl;
diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index f5a5417..bdb6fc4 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ const express = require('express');
 const cors = require('cors');
 const dotenv = require('dotenv');
 const fs = require('fs');
-const os = require('os');
 const path = require('path');
 const http = require('http');
 const WebSocket = require('ws');
@@ -15,6 +14,7 @@ const app = express();
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
 const HOST = process.env.HOST || process.env.LISTEN_ADDRESS || '0.0.0.0';
 const server = http.createServer(app);
+const DOWNLOAD_CACHE_DIR = path.join(__dirname, 'Downloads');
 
 app.use(cors());
 app.use(express.json());
@@ -66,6 +66,12 @@ const getProgressKey = (key) => key.split('/').map(segment => segment.replace(/[
 
 const createStreamSessionId = () => `${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 10)}`;
 
+const ensureDownloadCacheDir = () => {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(DOWNLOAD_CACHE_DIR)) {
+        fs.mkdirSync(DOWNLOAD_CACHE_DIR, { recursive: true });
+    }
+};
+
 const addWsClient = (progressKey, ws) => {
     if (!wsSubscriptions.has(progressKey)) {
         wsSubscriptions.set(progressKey, new Set());
@@ -257,13 +263,12 @@ wss.on('connection', (ws) => {
 
 
 const clearDownloadCache = () => {
-    const tmpDir = os.tmpdir();
     try {
-        if (!fs.existsSync(tmpDir)) return;
-        const files = fs.readdirSync(tmpDir);
+        ensureDownloadCacheDir();
+        const files = fs.readdirSync(DOWNLOAD_CACHE_DIR);
         for (const file of files) {
             if (file.startsWith('s3-input-') && file.endsWith('.tmp')) {
-                const filePath = path.join(tmpDir, file);
+                const filePath = path.join(DOWNLOAD_CACHE_DIR, file);
                 fs.rmSync(filePath, { force: true });
             }
         }
@@ -392,7 +397,7 @@ app.get('/api/stream', async (req, res) => {
     }
 
     const safeCodec = codec === 'h265' ? 'h265' : 'h264';
-    const safeEncoder = ['nvidia', 'intel', 'vaapi', 'neon'].includes(encoder) ? encoder : 'software';
+    const safeEncoder = ['nvidia', 'intel', 'vaapi', 'neon'].includes(encoder) ? encoder : 'vaapi';
     const codecMap = {
         software: { h264: 'libx264', h265: 'libx265' },
         neon: { h264: 'libx264', h265: 'libx265' },
@@ -405,7 +410,8 @@ app.get('/api/stream', async (req, res) => {
     const safeKeySegments = key.split('/').map(segment => segment.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_\-]/g, '_'));
     const progressKey = safeKeySegments.join('/');
     const safeBucket = bucket.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_\-]/g, '_');
-    const tmpInputPath = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `s3-input-${safeBucket}-${safeKeySegments.join('-')}.tmp`);
+    ensureDownloadCacheDir();
+    const tmpInputPath = path.join(DOWNLOAD_CACHE_DIR, `s3-input-${safeBucket}-${safeKeySegments.join('-')}.tmp`);
     const cacheExists = fs.existsSync(tmpInputPath);
 
     const auth = extractS3Credentials(req);