diff --git a/app/api/direct-download/route.ts b/app/api/direct-download/route.ts
index 83e8cea..7046f9b 100644
--- a/app/api/direct-download/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/direct-download/route.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
 import { downloadVideo } from '@/lib/youtube';
+import { isValidYouTubeUrl } from '@/lib/utils';
 import type { DownloadRequest, AudioFormat, VideoFormat, FormatType } from '@/lib/types';
 import { createReadStream } from 'fs';
 import { stat } from 'fs/promises';
diff --git a/app/globals.css b/app/globals.css
index 949415f..6799d8a 100644
--- a/app/globals.css
+++ b/app/globals.css
@@ -211,21 +211,21 @@
     animation: pulse-glow 8s ease-in-out infinite;
   }
 
-  /* Retro-futuristic flexible grid */
+  /* Subtle perspective grid */
   .background-grid {
     position: fixed;
     top: -50%;
     left: -50%;
     width: 200%;
     height: 200%;
-    z-index: -2;
+    z-index: -6;
     background-image: 
-      linear-gradient(to right, oklch(1 0 0 / 0.03) 1px, transparent 1px),
-      linear-gradient(to bottom, oklch(1 0 0 / 0.03) 1px, transparent 1px);
-    background-size: 60px 60px;
+      linear-gradient(to right, oklch(1 0 0 / 0.015) 1px, transparent 1px),
+      linear-gradient(to bottom, oklch(1 0 0 / 0.015) 1px, transparent 1px);
+    background-size: 80px 80px;
     transform-origin: 50% 50%;
-    animation: grid-wave 20s ease-in-out infinite both alternate;
-    mask-image: radial-gradient(circle at center, black 0%, transparent 70%);
+    animation: grid-wave 25s ease-in-out infinite both alternate;
+    mask-image: radial-gradient(circle at center, black 0%, transparent 60%);
     pointer-events: none;
   }
 
@@ -414,4 +414,84 @@
       0 8px 32px oklch(0.50 0.18 150 / 0.15),
       inset 0 1px 0 oklch(0.70 0.15 150 / 0.1);
   }
-}
+
+  /* NEW: Background Effects - Subtle undulating waves */
+
+  @keyframes aurora-drift {
+    0%, 100% {
+      transform: translateY(0%) rotate(0deg) scale(1);
+      opacity: 0.4;
+    }
+    33% {
+      transform: translateY(-5%) rotate(1deg) scale(1.02);
+      opacity: 0.5;
+    }
+    66% {
+      transform: translateY(3%) rotate(-1deg) scale(0.98);
+      opacity: 0.35;
+    }
+  }
+
+  @keyframes wave-flow {
+    0% {
+      background-position: 0% 50%;
+    }
+    50% {
+      background-position: 100% 50%;
+    }
+    100% {
+      background-position: 0% 50%;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /* Soft aurora wave - the main subtle effect */
+  .bg-wave-lines {
+    position: fixed;
+    inset: 0;
+    z-index: 1;
+    background: 
+      linear-gradient(
+        135deg,
+        transparent 0%,
+        oklch(0.55 0.25 280 / 0.4) 25%,
+        transparent 40%,
+        oklch(0.50 0.22 320 / 0.35) 60%,
+        transparent 75%,
+        oklch(0.60 0.2 240 / 0.3) 90%,
+        transparent 100%
+      );
+    background-size: 200% 200%;
+    filter: blur(60px);
+    animation: wave-flow 20s ease-in-out infinite, aurora-drift 15s ease-in-out infinite;
+    pointer-events: none;
+  }
+
+  .bg-particles {
+    position: fixed;
+    inset: 0;
+    z-index: 0;
+    background: radial-gradient(
+      ellipse 80% 60% at 70% 20%,
+      oklch(0.6 0.25 280 / 0.35) 0%,
+      transparent 50%
+    ),
+    radial-gradient(
+      ellipse 60% 80% at 20% 80%,
+      oklch(0.55 0.22 200 / 0.3) 0%,
+      transparent 50%
+    );
+    filter: blur(50px);
+    animation: aurora-drift 25s ease-in-out infinite reverse;
+    pointer-events: none;
+  }
+
+  /* Very subtle noise texture */
+  .bg-noise {
+    position: fixed;
+    inset: 0;
+    z-index: 1000;
+    opacity: 0.015;
+    pointer-events: none;
+    background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg viewBox='0 0 200 200' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%3E%3Cfilter id='noise'%3E%3CfeTurbulence type='fractalNoise' baseFrequency='0.9' numOctaves='3' stitchTiles='stitch'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Crect width='100%25' height='100%25' filter='url(%23noise)'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/page.tsx b/app/page.tsx
index 5381c36..687f6a1 100644
--- a/app/page.tsx
+++ b/app/page.tsx
@@ -123,6 +123,10 @@ export default function Home() {
       {/* Animated background */}
       <div className="animated-bg" />
       
+      <div className="bg-noise" />
+      <div className="bg-particles" />
+      <div className="bg-wave-lines" />
+      
       <div 
         className="fixed inset-0 z-[-2] pointer-events-none transition-transform duration-1000 cubic-bezier(0.1, 0.8, 0.2, 1)"
         style={{