diff --git a/cloud/playwright_browser.py b/cloud/playwright_browser.py
index 2d1a77e..03e00ab 100644
--- a/cloud/playwright_browser.py
+++ b/cloud/playwright_browser.py
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ class Browser:
                             wait_until="domcontentloaded")
             self._current_url = self._page.url
             self._start_screencast()
+            self._eager_frame()
         except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
             raise BrowserError("navigate failed: %s" % exc)
         result = self._info()
@@ -321,9 +322,35 @@ class Browser:
             self._cdp = None
             self._cdp_page = None
 
+    def _eager_frame(self):
+        """Push one current-viewport frame into the sink, best-effort.
+
+        Screencast frames only arrive on repaint, and the page may
+        already have painted before startScreencast ran -- so a
+        static page would otherwise show nothing until its next
+        repaint. Capturing the viewport once right after navigate
+        guarantees the bridge file (and any open stream) has a
+        picture within milliseconds of the page loading.
+        """
+        if self._cdp is None or self._frame_sink is None:
+            return
+        try:
+            result = self._cdp.send(
+                "Page.captureScreenshot",
+                {"format": "jpeg", "quality": 60})
+            data = result.get("data") if isinstance(result, dict) \
+                else None
+            if data:
+                # Empty session id: pump stores it but must not ack
+                # it (there is no screencast frame to acknowledge).
+                self._frame_sink.put(("", data))
+        except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 - screencast still flows
+            pass
+
     def pump_screencast(self):
         """Main-thread only: store the latest frame and ack every
-        queued frame (no ack = CDP stops sending after the first).
+        real screencast frame (no ack = CDP stops sending after the
+        first). Eager frames carry no session id and skip ack.
         Returns the latest frame data (base64 jpeg) or ''."""
         if self._frame_sink is None:
             return ""
@@ -335,7 +362,7 @@ class Browser:
                 break
             if data:
                 latest = data
-            if self._cdp is not None:
+            if self._cdp is not None and sid:
                 try:
                     self._cdp.send("Page.screencastFrameAck",
                                    {"sessionId": sid})
diff --git a/cloud/tests/test_playwright.py b/cloud/tests/test_playwright.py
index 893865c..43867bd 100644
--- a/cloud/tests/test_playwright.py
+++ b/cloud/tests/test_playwright.py
@@ -59,12 +59,18 @@ class _FakeCDP:
     def __init__(self):
         self.sent = []
         self.handlers = {}
+        self.fail_capture = False
 
     def on(self, event, handler):
         self.handlers[event] = handler
 
     def send(self, method, params=None):
         self.sent.append((method, params or {}))
+        if method == "Page.captureScreenshot":
+            if self.fail_capture:
+                raise RuntimeError("capture boom")
+            return {"data": "EAGERDATA"}
+        return None
 
 
 class _FakeContext:
@@ -259,6 +265,33 @@ class BrowserTest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertIn(("Page.screencastFrameAck", {"sessionId": "s1"}),
                       [(m, p) for m, p in self.page.cdp.sent])
 
+    def test_navigate_pushes_eager_frame_without_ack(self):
+        from playwright_remote import SimpleQueue
+        sink = SimpleQueue()
+        self.browser.set_frame_sink(sink)
+        result = self.browser.navigate("https://example.com")
+        self.assertTrue(result["ok"])
+        self.assertIn(("Page.captureScreenshot",
+                       {"format": "jpeg", "quality": 60}),
+                      [(m, p) for m, p in self.page.cdp.sent])
+        frame = self.browser.pump_screencast()
+        self.assertEqual(frame, "EAGERDATA")
+        acks = [(m, p) for m, p in self.page.cdp.sent
+                if m == "Page.screencastFrameAck"]
+        self.assertEqual(acks, [])
+
+    def test_navigate_survives_failed_eager_capture(self):
+        from playwright_remote import SimpleQueue
+        sink = SimpleQueue()
+        self.browser.set_frame_sink(sink)
+        self.page.cdp.fail_capture = True
+        try:
+            result = self.browser.navigate("https://example.com")
+        finally:
+            self.page.cdp.fail_capture = False
+        self.assertTrue(result["ok"])
+        self.assertEqual(self.browser.pump_screencast(), "")
+
     def test_live_shot_writes_fixed_file_and_status(self):
         self.browser.navigate("https://example.com")
         out = self.browser.live_shot()