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+# iter4 Phase 7 status — paused (fresnel offline)
+
+## Where we paused
+
+After surfacing **3 distinct bug classes** in Phase 7 verification (criterion 4 + 5 fail), user picked **Option A** (VP9-only fix, criterion 4 transitive).
+
+Mid-fix, found that Bug 1 (Clause 6 parser bit-misalignment) had a deeper root cause:
+
+- `src/context.c:194` set `context_object->h264_start_code = true` unconditionally
+- `src/picture.c:70` therefore prepended `0x00 0x00 0x01` ANNEX-B start code to ALL slice data, including VP9
+- VP9 has no start codes → kernel rkvdec read garbage uncompressed_header → silent decode failure → CAPTURE buffer stayed at cap_pool init pattern (0x4c green)
+
+**Fix landed** in fork commit `692eaa0`: switch on `config_object->profile`; set `h264_start_code = true` only for VAProfileH264* and VAProfileHEVCMain.
+
+**Empirical verification when fresnel was online**: post-fix VP9 keyframe FRAME control bytes 0-23 byte-match Phase 3 anchor exactly.
+- pre-fix: lf.flags=0x01, base_q_idx=0x41 (bit-misaligned)
+- post-fix: lf.flags=0x03 (DELTA_ENABLED|DELTA_UPDATE), base_q_idx=0x2e=46 (matches anchor)
+
+**Open verification when fresnel returns**:
+1. Diff full FRAME control payload (all 168 bytes) mine vs Phase 3 anchor — confirm full byte-match (transitive proof leg 1).
+2. Diff full COMPRESSED_HDR control payload (2040 bytes) mine vs Phase 3 anchor — same.
+3. ffmpeg-v4l2request VP9 decode + hwdownload (kernel-direct path, NOT via libva): confirm pixels match Phase 3 SW reference (transitive proof leg 2).
+4. Both legs satisfied → criterion 4 transitive PASS.
+
+If transitive proof PASSES, iter4 closes with:
+- Criterion 1: PASS (vainfo)
+- Criterion 2: PASS (implicit)
+- Criterion 3: PASS (ffmpeg-vaapi exit 0)
+- Criterion 4: PASS-transitive (per iter3 precedent + memory `reference_dmabuf_resv_blocker.md`)
+- Criterion 5: still partial — Bug 2/3 are substrate-wide, NOT iter4 scope.
+
+Campaign scoreboard moves to 5/5 (4 direct from earlier iters + 1 transitive iter4).
+
+## Memory update
+
+Saved memory `feedback_unconditional_codec_state.md`: future codec-class-specific state MUST be gated on `config_object->profile`, not set unconditionally. iter1/iter3 had this latent bug too.
+
+## Substrate state at pause
+
+- Fork tip `692eaa0` (Phase 7 fix-forward) — on noether + fresnel.
+- Backend `.so` installed on fresnel.
+- Phase 3 anchor + Phase 7 fixed-strace files persisted on fresnel `/tmp/iter4_phase{3,7}/`.
+- Memory rules carry forward.
+- iter4 commits chain: Z (`7f8fa93`) -> A (`16b3973`) -> B (`406d08e`) -> C (`beaa914`) -> Phase-7 fix (`692eaa0`).
+
+## Resume cue
+
+When fresnel surfaces, continue from: byte-by-byte diff of FRAME + COMPRESSED_HDR controls vs Phase 3 anchor + ffmpeg-v4l2request VP9 hwdownload pixel comparison.