diff --git a/DESIGN.md b/DESIGN.md
index d59a5b3..1e2caff 100644
--- a/DESIGN.md
+++ b/DESIGN.md
@@ -215,25 +215,31 @@ That's a substantial shader inventory.  Each requires bit-exact M1 gate against
 
 **Phase 4 — Production-ready deblock + perf optimization + libva integration** (+4 weeks).  Real-world stream conformance.  Plug into daedalus-v4l2 daemon as the actual decode backend.
 
-**Total budget:** 4-6 months.
+**Total H.264 budget:** 4-6 months.
+
+**Phase 5+ (future codec scope, not committed):** VP9 and AV1 reuse the same frame-level dispatch architecture, daedalus-fourier kernel pack, and DPB plumbing.  Per §9.7, they are deferred but *not firmly out-of-scope*.  HEVC stays firmly out (Pi 5 has `rpi-hevc-dec` for that).
 
 ---
 
-## 9. Open questions
+## 9. Phase 1 decisions
 
-1. **Intra prediction strategy:** GPU wavefront (~187 dispatches, more complex) vs CPU speculative (simpler, slower).  Plan: wavefront in Phase 1; revisit if it's the perf bottleneck.
+User-confirmed 2026-05-24.  All seven questions from the initial
+draft are now decided; this section preserves the original wording
+of each item for traceability.
 
-2. **libavcodec intercept granularity:** macroblock-level (substitution-arc evolution) vs slice-level (cleaner rewrite).  Plan: macroblock-level for Phase 1; consider slice-level later if buffer accumulation overhead is non-trivial.
+1. **Intra prediction strategy:** GPU wavefront (~187 dispatches, more complex) vs CPU speculative (simpler, slower).  **Decision: wavefront in Phase 1; revisit if it's the perf bottleneck.**
 
-3. **Shader parameterization:** 16 qpel variants as 16 shaders, or one parameterized shader with switch on mc_position?  V3D's compiler might inline-optimize either; needs measurement.
+2. **libavcodec intercept granularity:** macroblock-level (substitution-arc evolution) vs slice-level (cleaner rewrite).  **Decision: macroblock-level for Phase 1; consider slice-level later if buffer accumulation overhead is non-trivial.**
 
-4. **DPB allocation:** Vulkan-native VkImage with dmabuf export, vs CPU-allocated dma_buf imported into Vulkan.  Affects V4L2 integration story.  Plan: Vulkan-native with `VK_KHR_external_memory_dma_buf` export; daedalus-v4l2 daemon imports.
+3. **Shader parameterization:** 16 qpel variants as 16 shaders, or one parameterized shader with switch on mc_position?  **Decision: measure both during Phase 2 (the MC phase) and pick the winner.  No commit ahead of measurement.**
 
-5. **Daemon integration shape:** does daedalus-decoder ship as a static library the daemon links, or as a separate process the daemon talks to?  Library, almost certainly — process boundary would multiply IPC cost.
+4. **DPB allocation:** Vulkan-native VkImage with dmabuf export, vs CPU-allocated dma_buf imported into Vulkan.  **Decision: Vulkan-native with `VK_KHR_external_memory_dma_buf` export; daedalus-v4l2 daemon imports.**
 
-6. **Build dependency on daedalus-fourier:** as a CMake `find_package`, or vendored?  `find_package`, pinned to a tagged release.  daedalus-fourier becomes the "kernel pack" upstream library.
+5. **Daemon integration shape:** static library the daemon links, or separate process.  **Decision: library link.**
 
-7. **Out-of-scope for daedalus-decoder (firmly):** VP9, AV1, HEVC (Pi 5 has rpi-hevc-dec for that), 10-bit, interlaced, FMO/ASO.
+6. **Build dependency on daedalus-fourier:** CMake `find_package`, or vendored?  **Decision: `find_package`, pinned to a tagged release.  daedalus-fourier becomes the "kernel pack" upstream library.**
+
+7. **Codec scope.**  **Decision: firmly out-of-scope for daedalus-decoder are HEVC (Pi 5 has `rpi-hevc-dec` for that), 10-bit, interlaced, and FMO/ASO.**  VP9 and AV1 are *not* firmly out — they're future codec scope for the same framework after H.264 lands.  This is a scope expansion from the initial draft, which had grouped them with HEVC under "firmly out".
 
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