An interface circuit in an electronic device may provide rate feedback. During operation the interface circuit may transmit one or more packets or frames associated with a data stream that are intended for the recipient electronic device, where the data stream is associated with a video encoder. Then, the interface circuit may estimate a communication performance metric associated with at least the transmissions. For example, the estimated communication performance metric comprises an effective capacity associated with a wireless link between the electronic device and the recipient electronic device. Moreover, the effective capacity may be estimated based at least in part on an efficiency of the wireless link. Next, the interface circuit may provide the rate feedback intended for the video encoder based at least in part on the estimated communication performance metric. In some embodiments, when beamforming occurs, the rate feedback may be reset.