diff --git a/web/frontend/src/components/OptionsPanel.tsx b/web/frontend/src/components/OptionsPanel.tsx
index 62e4732..0fd3ef8 100644
--- a/web/frontend/src/components/OptionsPanel.tsx
+++ b/web/frontend/src/components/OptionsPanel.tsx
@@ -115,32 +115,37 @@ export const OptionsPanel: React.FC = () => {
       <Section title="Output Settings" defaultExpanded>
         <Box sx={{ display: 'flex', flexDirection: 'column', gap: 2 }}>
           <TextField
-            label="Format"
+            label="Container"
             select
             value={options.format}
             onChange={handleFormatChange}
             fullWidth
             size="small"
             error={!!formatError}
+            helperText={
+              formatError || "Determines the output file extension and container structure."
+            }
           >
-            <MenuItem value="mp3">MP3</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="m4a">M4A</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="mkv">MKV</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="mp4">MP4</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="ogg">OGG</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="opus">OPUS</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="flac">FLAC</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="wav">WAV</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="aac">AAC</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="mp3">MP3 (.mp3)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="m4a">M4A (.m4a)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="mkv">MKV (.mkv)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="mp4">MP4 (.mp4)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="ogg">OGG (.ogg)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="opus">OPUS (.opus)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="flac">FLAC (.flac)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="wav">WAV (.wav)</MenuItem>
+            <MenuItem value="aac">AAC (.aac)</MenuItem>
           </TextField>
 
+          {/* Transcode option – remains unchanged but clearly labeled */}
           <TextField
-            label="Transcode to"
+            label="Audio Codec (Transcode)"
             select
             value={options.transcode_to || ''}
             onChange={(e) => handleChange('transcode_to', e.target.value || undefined)}
             fullWidth
             size="small"
+            helperText="Select an audio codec to re-encode, or keep 'Copy' to preserve the original."
           >
             <MenuItem value="">Copy (no transcoding)</MenuItem>
             <MenuItem value="libmp3lame">MP3 (LAME)</MenuItem>