diff --git a/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml b/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
index b0cd4b5..7b505c3 100644
--- a/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
+++ b/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
@@ -485,7 +485,7 @@
                                     <TextBlock DockPanel.Dock="Right" Width="56" TextAlignment="Right" FontSize="11"
                                                Foreground="{StaticResource Brush.OnSurfaceVariant}" VerticalAlignment="Center"
                                                Text="{Binding ScoreboardScrollSpeed, StringFormat={}{0:0} px/s}"/>
-                                    <Slider Minimum="20" Maximum="400" SmallChange="10" LargeChange="40"
+                                    <Slider Minimum="20" Maximum="200" SmallChange="10" LargeChange="40"
                                             Value="{Binding ScoreboardScrollSpeed, Mode=TwoWay}" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                 </DockPanel>
 
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@
                                           ItemsSource="{Binding ScoreboardColorOptions}" DisplayMemberPath="Name"
                                           SelectedValuePath="Hex" SelectedValue="{Binding ScoreboardTextColor, Mode=TwoWay}"/>
 
-                                <CheckBox Style="{StaticResource YtCheckBox}" Content="Background plate" Margin="10,0,0,4"
+                                <CheckBox Style="{StaticResource YtCheckBox}" Content="Background" Margin="10,0,0,4"
                                           IsChecked="{Binding ScoreboardBackgroundEnabled, Mode=TwoWay}"/>
                                 <ComboBox Style="{StaticResource YtComboBox}" Height="24" FontSize="11" Margin="10,0,0,6"
                                           ItemsSource="{Binding ScoreboardColorOptions}" DisplayMemberPath="Name"
@@ -532,10 +532,10 @@
                                 <DockPanel Margin="10,0,0,0">
                                     <TextBlock DockPanel.Dock="Left" Text="Text size" Foreground="{StaticResource Brush.OnSurfaceVariant}"
                                                FontSize="11" Width="60" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
-                                    <TextBlock DockPanel.Dock="Right" Width="42" TextAlignment="Right" FontSize="11"
+                                    <TextBlock DockPanel.Dock="Right" Width="56" TextAlignment="Right" FontSize="11"
                                                Foreground="{StaticResource Brush.OnSurfaceVariant}" VerticalAlignment="Center"
-                                               Text="{Binding ScoreboardFontSize, StringFormat={}{0:0}}"/>
-                                    <Slider Minimum="14" Maximum="24" SmallChange="1" LargeChange="2"
+                                               Text="{Binding ScoreboardFontSizeLabel}"/>
+                                    <Slider Minimum="14" Maximum="24" SmallChange="1" LargeChange="2" TickFrequency="1" IsSnapToTickEnabled="True"
                                             Value="{Binding ScoreboardFontSize, Mode=TwoWay}" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                 </DockPanel>
                             </StackPanel>
diff --git a/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardPresenter.cs b/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardPresenter.cs
index ebdce80..1155608 100644
--- a/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardPresenter.cs
+++ b/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardPresenter.cs
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ public sealed class ScoreboardPresenter
 
     public const double DefaultPixelsPerSecond = 120;
     public const double MinPixelsPerSecond = 20;
-    public const double MaxPixelsPerSecond = 400;
+    public const double MaxPixelsPerSecond = 200;   // creator cap: faster than this is unreadable
 
     /// <summary>Advances the scroll by <paramref name="seconds"/>. The strip is a marquee: one
     /// measured run, cropped to a moving window, so a tick is a row-wise byte copy rather than a
diff --git a/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardRenderer.cs b/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardRenderer.cs
index 578d26f..def6f4d 100644
--- a/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardRenderer.cs
+++ b/Services/Compositor/ScoreboardRenderer.cs
@@ -15,9 +15,18 @@ public readonly record struct ScoreboardStyle(
     string TextColor = "#FFFFFF",
     bool BackgroundEnabled = true,
     string BackgroundColor = "#000000",
-    double BackgroundOpacity = 0.55,
+    double BackgroundOpacity = 0.20,
     double FontSize = ScoreboardLayout.MaxFontSize,
-    double SeparatorOpacity = 0.45);
+    double SeparatorOpacity = 0.45)
+{
+    /// <summary>A record STRUCT's implicit parameterless constructor zero-initialises — it does NOT
+    /// run the parameter defaults. Without this, `new ScoreboardStyle()` produced null text colour,
+    /// no background and zero opacity: every "default" in this file was a lie, and the plate/opacity
+    /// controls looked dead because the renderer was faithfully drawing what it was given.</summary>
+    public ScoreboardStyle() : this("#FFFFFF", true, "#000000", 0.20, ScoreboardLayout.MaxFontSize, 0.45)
+    {
+    }
+}
 
 /// <summary>Rasterises the scoreboard strip (one line, shrinking/wrapping via
 /// <see cref="ScoreboardLayout.FitLine"/>) into a straight-alpha BGRA frame the compositor blits.
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs
index b6a4560..8c8cedf 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs
@@ -193,6 +193,9 @@ public partial class MainViewModel
         {
             _scoreboardStyle = _scoreboardStyle with { BackgroundOpacity = Math.Clamp(value, 0, 1) };
             PushStyle();
+            // The readout binds THIS property: without its own raise the number never moves even
+            // though the render does (creator: "bzzzt!").
+            OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ScoreboardBackgroundOpacity));
         }
     }
 
@@ -206,9 +209,14 @@ public partial class MainViewModel
                 FontSize = Math.Clamp(value, ScoreboardLayout.FloorFontSize, ScoreboardLayout.MaxFontSize),
             };
             PushStyle();
+            OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ScoreboardFontSize));   // same bug as the opacity readout
+            OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ScoreboardFontSizeLabel));
         }
     }
 
+    /// <summary>"24 px" — the panel shows real pixels, not a bare slider number.</summary>
+    public string ScoreboardFontSizeLabel => $"{_scoreboardStyle.FontSize:0} px";
+
     /// <summary>The colours offered for text and plate: the app's one palette.</summary>
     public IReadOnlyList<NamedColor> ScoreboardColorOptions => BorderColorPalette.All;
 
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs
index ce76603..a3cda0d 100644
--- a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs
@@ -25,13 +25,22 @@ public class ScoreboardPropertiesTests
         Assert.Contains("Sign in to YouTube to use the scoreboard.", block);
         Assert.Contains("CanUseScoreboard, Converter={StaticResource InverseBoolToVis}", block);
 
+        // Defaults the creator asked for, and readouts that actually move.
+        Assert.Contains("Background", block);
+        Assert.DoesNotContain("Background plate", block);
+        Assert.Contains("ScoreboardFontSizeLabel", block);      // "24 px", not a bare number
+
+        var vm = SourceAssert.Text("ViewModels", "MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs");
+        Assert.Contains("OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ScoreboardBackgroundOpacity));", vm);
+        Assert.Contains("OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ScoreboardFontSize));", vm);
+
         // Dev-only labels are ORANGE, so a development affordance cannot pass for product.
         Assert.Contains("Simulate (dev)", block);
         Assert.Contains("Brush.Attention", block);
 
         // Scroll speed: a real dial, persisted, with its range owned by the presenter.
         Assert.Contains("ScoreboardScrollSpeed", block);
-        Assert.Contains("Minimum=\"20\" Maximum=\"400\"", block);
+        Assert.Contains("Minimum=\"20\" Maximum=\"200\"", block);
         Assert.Contains("Scoreboard.ScrollSpeed", SourceAssert.Text("Services", "LayoutStore.Settings.cs"));
 
         // The master switch sits in the same panel: off hides the strip and stops the polling.
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardRendererTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardRendererTests.cs
index a972915..c20a0a6 100644
--- a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardRendererTests.cs
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardRendererTests.cs
@@ -17,6 +17,14 @@ public class ScoreboardRendererTests
     [Fact]
     public void The_strip_paints_the_plate_and_the_text_and_never_needs_a_scroll()
     {
+        // The shipped defaults: white text, background ON, black, 20%.
+        var defaults = new ScoreboardStyle();
+        Assert.Equal("#FFFFFF", defaults.TextColor);
+        Assert.True(defaults.BackgroundEnabled);
+        Assert.Equal("#000000", defaults.BackgroundColor);
+        Assert.Equal(0.20, defaults.BackgroundOpacity, 3);
+        Assert.Equal(200, ytLive.Services.Compositor.ScoreboardPresenter.MaxPixelsPerSecond, 3);
+
         Exception? failure = null;
 
         var thread = new Thread(() =>