@@ -1295,6 +1295,17 @@
     "sampling": {
      "line": "One pixel per light, or the mean of the light's rectangle.",
      "more": "**point** takes the one pixel at a light's center, sharp and the fastest. With **area** each light averages its rectangle of the picture, so fine detail stays steady when a large picture shrinks onto few lights."
+    },
+    "edgeDepth": {
+     "line": "How far in the edge lights look, in percent; 0 is their own share.",
+     "more": "A border strip's outermost lights own a sliver at the edge, where letterboxes and overscan live. Raise **edgeDepth** and they reach further in, as Hyperion's 8% does; a stride keeps the reads the same."
+    },
+    "smoothing": {
+     "line": "How slowly a light eases to a new color, as a half-life; 0 is off.",
+     "more": "Raise **smoothing** and a light eases toward its new color, settling a noisy source alike on every source and board. A cut is a real jump, so **snapAbove** lands a bigger move whole; at 0 every move eases."
+    },
+    "snapAbove": {
+     "line": "A channel moving further than this jumps instead of easing."
     }
    },
    "role": "effect",
 
@@ -26,26 +26,51 @@ class PictureEffect : public EffectBase {
     /// One pixel per light, or the mean of the light's rectangle.
     /// @guide **point** takes the one pixel at a light's center, sharp and the fastest. With **area** each light averages its rectangle of the picture, so fine detail stays steady when a large picture shrinks onto few lights.
     uint8_t sampling = kPoint;
+    /// How far in the edge lights look, in percent; 0 is their own share.
+    /// @guide A border strip's outermost lights own a sliver at the edge, where letterboxes and overscan live. Raise **edgeDepth** and they reach further in, as Hyperion's 8% does; a stride keeps the reads the same.
+    uint8_t edgeDepth = 0;
+    /// How slowly a light eases to a new color, as a half-life; 0 is off.
+    /// @guide Raise **smoothing** and a light eases toward its new color, settling a noisy source alike on every source and board. A cut is a real jump, so **snapAbove** lands a bigger move whole; at 0 every move eases.
+    uint8_t smoothing = 0;
+    /// A channel moving further than this jumps instead of easing.
+    uint8_t snapAbove = 80;
 
     /// Publish the placement and the sampling.
     void defineControls() override {
         static constexpr const char* kFits[] = {"fit", "fill", "stretch"};
         static constexpr const char* kSamplings[] = {"point", "area"};
         controls_.addSelect("fit", fit, kFits, kFitCount);
         controls_.addSelect("sampling", sampling, kSamplings, kSamplingCount);
+        controls_.addControl("edgeDepth", edgeDepth, 0, 50);
+        controls_.addControl("smoothing", smoothing, 0, 255);
+        controls_.addControl("snapAbove", snapAbove, 0, 255);
+        controls_.setHidden(controls_.count() - 1, smoothing == 0);
     }
     /// The placement changes the ranges and the sampling the picture drawn, so both redraw.
-    bool affectsPrepare(const char* name) const override { return std::strcmp(name, "fit") == 0 || std::strcmp(name, "sampling") == 0; }
+    bool affectsPrepare(const char* name) const override {
+        // edgeDepth moves the ranges, and smoothing allocates or frees the accumulators.
+        return std::strcmp(name, "fit") == 0 || std::strcmp(name, "sampling") == 0
+            || std::strcmp(name, "edgeDepth") == 0 || std::strcmp(name, "smoothing") == 0;
+    }
 
     /// Size the range tables to the grid; the first picture fills them.
     void prepare() override {
         cols_.resize(width());
         rows_.resize(height());
+        // 8.8 per channel, and only while smoothing, since a step is often a fraction of a byte.
+        const size_t cells = static_cast<size_t>(cols_.count()) * rows_.count();
+        state_.resize(smoothing != 0 ? cells * 3u : 0);
+        primed_ = false;
         picW_ = picH_ = 0;   // stale, so the next tick refills and draws
     }
 
     /// Sample a picture that is new, or redraw one the layer overwrote; with nothing to sample the layer is cleared once.
     void tick() MM_NONBLOCKING override {
+        // The time since the last tick, which the smoothing's half-life is measured in.
+        const uint32_t now = platform::millis();
+        dtMs_ = ticked_ ? now - lastMs_ : 0;
+        lastMs_ = now;
+        ticked_ = true;
         const PictureService::Reader reader;
         if (!reader) return;   // the source is swapping or filling its only picture: sample on the next tick
         const PictureFrame* f = &reader.frame();
@@ -69,8 +94,11 @@ class PictureEffect : public EffectBase {
             picH_ = f->height;
             redraw = true;
         }
-        if (!redraw && f->generation == lastGen_ && layerGen == lastLayerGen_) return;
+        // A settling smoother has not reached the picture yet, so it draws again on an unchanged one.
+        if (!redraw && !settling_ && f->generation == lastGen_ && layerGen == lastLayerGen_) return;
+        settling_ = false;
         gather(*f);
+        primed_ = true;
         lastGen_ = f->generation;
         lastLayerGen_ = layerGen + 1;   // the Layer bumps the generation after this tick, for our own write
     }
@@ -79,6 +107,12 @@ class PictureEffect : public EffectBase {
     /// One axis of a cell's source rectangle, [lo, hi) in picture pixels; empty outside a fitted picture.
     struct Range { uint16_t lo, hi; };
 
+    /// An edge cell's range at `deep` picture lines in: the first reaches inward from 0, the last back from the end.
+    static void reachEdge(int32_t k, int32_t used, uint32_t pic, uint32_t deep, uint32_t& lo, uint32_t& hi) {
+        if (k == 0) hi = deep;
+        if (k == used - 1 && pic > deep) lo = pic - deep;
+    }
+
     /// Each cell's range along one axis: the grid's `n` cells over the picture's `picW` × `picH`, `columns` naming the axis.
     void fillRanges(Range* out, uint16_t n, uint16_t picW, uint16_t picH, bool columns) const {
         const uint32_t gw = cols_.count(), gh = rows_.count();
@@ -87,10 +121,13 @@ class PictureEffect : public EffectBase {
         const int32_t used = static_cast<int32_t>(columns ? usedW : usedH);
         const uint32_t pic = columns ? picW : picH;
         const int32_t offset = (static_cast<int32_t>(columns ? gw : gh) - used) / 2;   // negative when cropped
+        // What an edge cell reaches instead of its own share, deeper OR shallower. The control sets the depth rather than raising a floor under it, and 0 leaves every cell its share.
+        const uint32_t deep = static_cast<uint32_t>(pic) * edgeDepth / 100u;
         for (uint32_t i = 0; i < n; i++) {
             const int32_t k = static_cast<int32_t>(i) - offset;
             if (k < 0 || k >= used) { out[i] = {0, 0}; continue; }
             uint32_t lo = static_cast<uint32_t>(k) * pic / static_cast<uint32_t>(used), hi = (static_cast<uint32_t>(k) + 1) * pic / static_cast<uint32_t>(used);
+            if (deep) reachEdge(k, used, pic, deep, lo, hi);
             if (hi <= lo) hi = lo + 1;   // a picture smaller than the grid: neighboring cells share a pixel
             out[i] = {static_cast<uint16_t>(lo), static_cast<uint16_t>(hi)};
         }
@@ -108,6 +145,7 @@ class PictureEffect : public EffectBase {
 
     /// One pass over the grid, each cell from its rectangle.
     void gather(const PictureFrame& f) {
+        const uint32_t keep = halfLifeKeep(dtMs_, halfLifeMs());   // the share of each gap this step leaves
         const draw::Canvas cv = canvas();
         const uint32_t gw = cols_.count(), gh = rows_.count();
         for (uint32_t y = 0; y < gh; y++) {
@@ -116,11 +154,45 @@ class PictureEffect : public EffectBase {
                 const Range c = cols_[x];
                 const size_t cell = static_cast<size_t>(y) * gw + x;
                 if (r.hi == r.lo || c.hi == c.lo) { draw::pixel(cv, cell, RGB{0, 0, 0}); continue; }
-                draw::pixel(cv, cell, sampling == kArea ? average(f, c, r) : at(f, (c.lo + c.hi - 1) / 2, (r.lo + r.hi - 1) / 2));
+                const RGB want = sampling == kArea ? average(f, c, r) : at(f, (c.lo + c.hi - 1) / 2, (r.lo + r.hi - 1) / 2);
+                draw::pixel(cv, cell, state_ ? eased(cell, want, keep) : want);
             }
         }
     }
 
+    /// One cell eased toward `want` by the step's `keep`, its 8.8 state keeping the fraction of a step a byte would lose.
+    RGB eased(size_t cell, RGB want, uint32_t keep) {
+        const uint8_t target[3] = {want.r, want.g, want.b};
+        const int32_t snap = static_cast<int32_t>(snapAbove) << 8;
+        uint8_t out[3];
+        for (int ch = 0; ch < 3; ch++) {
+            const size_t slot = cell * 3 + ch;
+            const int32_t wanted = static_cast<int32_t>(target[ch]) << 8;
+            const int32_t delta = wanted - static_cast<int32_t>(state_[slot]);
+            // The first picture, and any move big enough to be a cut, land whole.
+            const bool jump = !primed_ || (snapAbove && (delta > snap || delta < -snap));
+            const int32_t now = jump ? wanted : easeToward(state_[slot], wanted, keep);
+            state_[slot] = static_cast<uint16_t>(now);
+            out[ch] = static_cast<uint8_t>(now >> 8);
+            if (now != wanted) settling_ = true;
+        }
+        return RGB{out[0], out[1], out[2]};
+    }
+
+public:
+    /// Exponential smoothing: `held` moves toward `wanted`, both 8.8, leaving `keep` (0..65536, from `halfLifeKeep`) of the gap. A step below one count still moves one, so a light arrives; no time passed moves nothing.
+    static int32_t easeToward(int32_t held, int32_t wanted, uint32_t keep) MM_NONBLOCKING {
+        const int32_t delta = wanted - held;
+        if (delta == 0 || keep >= 65536u) return held;
+        int32_t now = wanted - static_cast<int32_t>(static_cast<int64_t>(delta) * keep / 65536);
+        if (now == held) now += delta > 0 ? 1 : -1;
+        return now;
+    }
+
+private:
+    /// The smoothing control as a half-life in milliseconds, squared so the short range gets the travel, as Trails' persistence is.
+    uint32_t halfLifeMs() const { return 20u + static_cast<uint32_t>(smoothing) * smoothing / 16u; }
+
     /// The pixel at (x, y).
     static RGB at(const PictureFrame& f, uint32_t x, uint32_t y) {
         const uint8_t* p = f.rgb + (static_cast<size_t>(y) * f.width + x) * 3;
@@ -152,6 +224,12 @@ class PictureEffect : public EffectBase {
         return static_cast<uint8_t>(root);
     }
 
+    ScratchBuffer<uint16_t> state_{*this};   ///< 8.8 per channel per cell, only while smoothing
+    bool primed_ = false;                    ///< whether a first picture has landed whole
+    bool settling_ = false;                  ///< whether the last gather left a cell short of its target
+    uint32_t lastMs_ = 0;                    ///< when the last tick ran
+    uint32_t dtMs_ = 0;                      ///< the milliseconds since it
+    bool ticked_ = false;                    ///< whether a tick has run, so the first measures no time
     ScratchBuffer<Range> cols_{*this};   ///< each grid column's picture columns
     ScratchBuffer<Range> rows_{*this};   ///< each grid row's picture rows
     uint16_t picW_ = 0, picH_ = 0;       ///< the picture size the tables were filled for
 
@@ -135,3 +135,92 @@ TEST_CASE("PictureEffect without a Picture service says so and shows black") {
     CHECK(std::string(r.fx.status()) == "no picture: add a Picture service under Services");
     CHECK(r.cell(0, 0)[0] == 0);
 }
+
+// --- Border sampling ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// A border strip's outermost lights own a sliver at the edge, where a letterbox and the overscan junk live, so edgeDepth reaches further in. Smoothing eases a light toward its new color.
+
+// The control sets the depth rather than raising a floor under it, so on a coarse grid an edge cell takes less than its own share.
+TEST_CASE("PictureEffect edgeDepth gives the outermost lights the depth they ask for") {
+    // Four columns over 100 picture columns: each owns 25, so 10% is deliberately shallower.
+    PictureRig deep(100, 100, 4, 4, 1, mm::PictureEffect::kStretch, mm::PictureEffect::kArea);
+    deep.fx.edgeDepth = 10;
+    deep.fx.prepare();
+    deep.layer.tick();
+
+    PictureRig share(100, 100, 4, 4, 1, mm::PictureEffect::kStretch, mm::PictureEffect::kArea);
+    share.layer.tick();
+
+    // The ramp rises left to right, so a shallower first column reads darker: the leftmost tenth, not quarter.
+    CHECK(deep.cell(0, 3)[0] < share.cell(0, 3)[0]);
+    // And the last column reads brighter, averaging the rightmost tenth rather than its quarter.
+    CHECK(deep.cell(3, 3)[0] > share.cell(3, 3)[0]);
+    // Interior columns are on no edge, so they are untouched.
+    CHECK(deep.cell(1, 3)[0] == share.cell(1, 3)[0]);
+    CHECK(deep.cell(2, 3)[0] == share.cell(2, 3)[0]);
+}
+
+// 0 is the whole point of the default: it must leave the ranges exactly as they were.
+TEST_CASE("PictureEffect edgeDepth of 0 samples precisely what it did before") {
+    PictureRig off(64, 64, 8, 8, 1, mm::PictureEffect::kStretch, mm::PictureEffect::kArea);
+    off.fx.edgeDepth = 0;
+    off.fx.prepare();
+    off.layer.tick();
+    PictureRig plain(64, 64, 8, 8, 1, mm::PictureEffect::kStretch, mm::PictureEffect::kArea);
+    plain.layer.tick();
+    for (size_t y = 0; y < 8; y++)
+        for (size_t x = 0; x < 8; x++)
+            for (int ch = 0; ch < 3; ch++) CHECK(off.cell(x, y)[ch] == plain.cell(x, y)[ch]);
+}
+
+// Smoothing is a half-life in time, so after one half-life half the gap is closed, whatever the frame rate.
+TEST_CASE("PictureEffect smoothing closes half the gap in one half-life") {
+    const int32_t from = 0, to = 255 << 8;
+    const int32_t half = mm::PictureEffect::easeToward(from, to, mm::halfLifeKeep(500, 500));
+    CHECK(half >= (to / 2) - 256);
+    CHECK(half <= (to / 2) + 256);
+}
+
+// Frame-rate independence: ten short steps land where one long step does, within the 8.8 rounding.
+TEST_CASE("PictureEffect smoothing settles at the same speed at any frame rate") {
+    int32_t fast = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) fast = mm::PictureEffect::easeToward(fast, 255 << 8, mm::halfLifeKeep(20, 500));
+    const int32_t slow = mm::PictureEffect::easeToward(0, 255 << 8, mm::halfLifeKeep(200, 500));
+    CHECK(fast >= slow - 512);
+    CHECK(fast <= slow + 512);
+}
+
+// The one 8-bit state would fail: a step is a fraction of a byte, so a light arrives only if the fractions are kept.
+TEST_CASE("PictureEffect smoothing arrives exactly, and no time passed moves nothing") {
+    int32_t v = 255 << 8;
+    for (int i = 0; i < 2000; i++) v = mm::PictureEffect::easeToward(v, 0, mm::halfLifeKeep(20, 4000));
+    CHECK(v == 0);
+    CHECK(mm::PictureEffect::easeToward(100, 5000, mm::halfLifeKeep(0, 500)) == 100);
+}
+
+// A cut is a real jump, and easing through it reads as the lights lagging the picture.
+TEST_CASE("PictureEffect snapAbove lands a cut whole instead of easing into it") {
+    PictureRig rig(8, 8, 8, 8, 1, mm::PictureEffect::kStretch, mm::PictureEffect::kPoint);
+    rig.fx.smoothing = 200;
+    rig.fx.snapAbove = 40;    // 255 to 0 is far beyond this
+    rig.fx.prepare();
+    rig.layer.tick();
+    REQUIRE(rig.cell(0, 0)[0] == 255);
+
+    uint8_t* rgb = rig.pic.beginWrite();
+    std::memset(rgb, 0, static_cast<size_t>(rig.pic.width) * rig.pic.height * 3);
+    rig.pic.endWrite();
+    rig.layer.tick();
+    CHECK(rig.cell(0, 0)[0] == 0);   // one tick, not four hundred
+}
+
+// Smoothing off is the default, so it must cost nothing and follow the picture exactly.
+TEST_CASE("PictureEffect without smoothing follows the picture tick for tick") {
+    PictureRig rig(8, 8, 8, 8, 1, mm::PictureEffect::kStretch, mm::PictureEffect::kPoint);
+    rig.layer.tick();
+    REQUIRE(rig.cell(0, 0)[0] == 255);
+    uint8_t* rgb = rig.pic.beginWrite();
+    std::memset(rgb, 0, static_cast<size_t>(rig.pic.width) * rig.pic.height * 3);
+    rig.pic.endWrite();
+    rig.layer.tick();
+    CHECK(rig.cell(0, 0)[0] == 0);
+}