diff --git a/transcode_bench.py b/transcode_bench.py
index fb72bb2..2d64e93 100755
--- a/transcode_bench.py
+++ b/transcode_bench.py
@@ -644,6 +644,20 @@ class Benchmark:
                     print(f"✗ (failed)")
                 high = mid - 1
 
+        # If we have headroom, try one more stream
+        if max_streams > 0:
+            print(f"Testing {max_streams + 1} simultaneous streams (checking headroom)...", end=' ', flush=True)
+            success, avg_fps = self.run_parallel_transcodes(max_streams + 1)
+
+            if success and avg_fps >= min_fps:
+                print(f"✓ (avg {avg_fps:.1f} fps)")
+                max_streams += 1
+            else:
+                if success:
+                    print(f"✗ (avg {avg_fps:.1f} fps - below real-time)")
+                else:
+                    print(f"✗ (failed)")
+
         return max_streams