diff --git a/app/layout.tsx b/app/layout.tsx
index d18ad05..213d87f 100644
--- a/app/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/layout.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import "./globals.css";
 import { ThemeProvider } from "@/components/ThemeProvider";
 import { Analytics } from "@vercel/analytics/react";
 import { ServiceWorkerRegister } from "@/components/ServiceWorkerRegister";
-import { HistoryDownloader } from "@/lib/hooks/useHistoryDownloader";
+
 
 const geistSans = Geist({
   variable: "--font-geist-sans",
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ export default function RootLayout({
           {children}
           <Analytics />
           <ServiceWorkerRegister />
-          <HistoryDownloader />
         </ThemeProvider>
 
         {/* ARIA Live Region for Screen Reader Announcements */}
diff --git a/components/player/hooks/useHlsPlayer.ts b/components/player/hooks/useHlsPlayer.ts
index 32e69bc..2f0c234 100644
--- a/components/player/hooks/useHlsPlayer.ts
+++ b/components/player/hooks/useHlsPlayer.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ export function useHlsPlayer({
                 hls = new Hls({
                     enableWorker: true,
                     lowLatencyMode: true,
+                    startFragPrefetch: true, // Fetch first segment immediately while parsing manifest
+                    // Reduce buffering requirement for startup
+                    maxBufferLength: 30,
+                    backBufferLength: 30,
                 });
                 hlsRef.current = hls;
 
diff --git a/lib/hooks/useHistoryDownloader.ts b/lib/hooks/useHistoryDownloader.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 4545007..0000000
--- a/lib/hooks/useHistoryDownloader.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * History Downloader Hook
- * Downloads all segments for videos in watch history
- */
-
-'use client';
-
-import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { usePathname } from 'next/navigation';
-import { useHistoryStore } from '@/lib/store/history-store';
-import { parseHLSManifest } from '@/lib/utils/hlsManifestParser';
-import { downloadSegmentQueue } from '@/lib/utils/segmentDownloader';
-
-function useHistoryDownloader() {
-    const viewingHistory = useHistoryStore((state) => state.viewingHistory);
-    const processedUrlsRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set());
-    const pathname = usePathname();
-
-    useEffect(() => {
-        // Don't download history while watching a video
-        if (pathname?.startsWith('/player')) return;
-
-        if (viewingHistory.length === 0) return;
-
-        const downloadHistoryVideos = async () => {
-            for (const item of viewingHistory) {
-                const { url } = item;
-
-                // Skip if already processed
-                if (processedUrlsRef.current.has(url)) continue;
-
-                // Skip if not m3u8
-                if (!url.endsWith('.m3u8')) continue;
-
-                // Queue background download
-                processedUrlsRef.current.add(url);
-
-                try {
-                    const segments = await parseHLSManifest(url);
-                    const controller = new AbortController();
-
-                    // Download all segments (not just from playback position)
-                    downloadSegmentQueue({
-                        segments,
-                        startIndex: 0,
-                        signal: controller.signal,
-                        videoUrl: url, // Track metadata for this video
-                        onProgress: (current, total) => {
-                            // console.log removed as per instruction
-                        }
-                    });
-                } catch (error) {
-                    console.error(`[HistoryDownloader] Failed to download ${item.title}:`, error);
-                }
-            }
-        };
-
-        downloadHistoryVideos();
-    }, [viewingHistory]);
-}
-
-export function HistoryDownloader() {
-    useHistoryDownloader();
-    return null;
-}