diff --git a/cmd/stash/main.go b/cmd/stash/main.go
index e3a54f020..57fedd0e2 100644
--- a/cmd/stash/main.go
+++ b/cmd/stash/main.go
@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@ func main() {
 		defer pprof.StopCPUProfile()
 	}
 
+	// initialise desktop.IsDesktop here so that it doesn't get affected by
+	// ffmpeg hardware checks later on
+	desktop.InitIsDesktop()
+
 	mgr, err := manager.Initialize(cfg, l)
 	if err != nil {
 		exitError(fmt.Errorf("manager initialization error: %w", err))
diff --git a/internal/desktop/desktop.go b/internal/desktop/desktop.go
index a89a3c962..06d400793 100644
--- a/internal/desktop/desktop.go
+++ b/internal/desktop/desktop.go
@@ -17,6 +17,16 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/term"
 )
 
+var isDesktop bool
+
+// InitIsDesktop sets the value of isDesktop.
+// Changed IsDesktop to be evaluated once at startup because if it is
+// checked while there are open terminal sessions (such as the ffmpeg hardware
+// encoding checks), it may return false.
+func InitIsDesktop() {
+	isDesktop = isDesktopCheck()
+}
+
 type FaviconProvider interface {
 	GetFavicon() []byte
 	GetFaviconPng() []byte
@@ -59,22 +69,33 @@ func SendNotification(title string, text string) {
 }
 
 func IsDesktop() bool {
+	return isDesktop
+}
+
+// isDesktop tries to determine if the application is running in a desktop environment
+// where desktop features like system tray and notifications should be enabled.
+func isDesktopCheck() bool {
 	if isDoubleClickLaunched() {
+		logger.Debug("Detected double-click launch")
 		return true
 	}
 
 	// Check if running under root
 	if os.Getuid() == 0 {
+		logger.Debug("Running as root, disabling desktop features")
 		return false
 	}
 	// Check if stdin is a terminal
 	if term.IsTerminal(int(os.Stdin.Fd())) {
+		logger.Debug("Running in terminal, disabling desktop features")
 		return false
 	}
 	if isService() {
+		logger.Debug("Running as a service, disabling desktop features")
 		return false
 	}
 	if IsServerDockerized() {
+		logger.Debug("Running in docker, disabling desktop features")
 		return false
 	}