diff --git a/lib/core/player/media_controller.dart b/lib/core/player/media_controller.dart
index 759d7a02..10da7425 100644
--- a/lib/core/player/media_controller.dart
+++ b/lib/core/player/media_controller.dart
@@ -579,7 +579,18 @@ class _MediaKitController extends PlayerController {
     // first, so by here it is a cheap already-done flag — kept because a
     // controller built any other way still has to initialise before Player().
     _mediaKitUsable();
-    _player = mk.Player();
+    _player = mk.Player(
+      configuration: mk.PlayerConfiguration(
+        // demuxer-max-bytes and demuxer-max-back-bytes: media_kit sets both
+        // from this. A seek inside the demuxer cache is answered from memory
+        // (demuxer-seekable-cache is on whenever the cache is, and media_kit
+        // turns the cache on); one outside it waits for a whole HLS segment
+        // to download before a frame can be decoded. media_kit's 32 MiB held
+        // only ~35–45 s of a 1080p stream either side of the playhead, so
+        // most swipes missed it. Not on TV boxes, the devices short on RAM.
+        bufferSize: isTvPlatform ? 32 * 1024 * 1024 : 64 * 1024 * 1024,
+      ),
+    );
     // No androidAttachSurfaceAfterVideoParameters here, deliberately.
     //
     // Setting it to false does fix the black first frame — the picture was
@@ -623,6 +634,61 @@ class _MediaKitController extends PlayerController {
   final _closed = Completer<void>();
   String? _error;
 
+  /// How often mpv's playhead reaches listeners.
+  ///
+  /// mpv reports `time-pos` on every displayed frame, 24 to 60 times a
+  /// second, and each report rebuilt the seek row, the scrub preview, the
+  /// subtitle layer and the page listener. video_player polls ExoPlayer every
+  /// 100 ms, so this is parity with the platform engine, not a loss: at 100 ms
+  /// the thumb of an episode moves well under a pixel per tick, and
+  /// downloaded subtitles are timed exactly as they are on ExoPlayer.
+  static const Duration _positionInterval = Duration(milliseconds: 100);
+
+  /// How long after a seek a far-off `time-pos` is treated as one that was
+  /// already on its way when the seek was issued, and how far off counts.
+  static const Duration _seekLandingWindow = Duration(seconds: 2);
+  static const Duration _seekLandingSlack = Duration(milliseconds: 1500);
+
+  final Stopwatch _sincePosition = Stopwatch();
+  final Stopwatch _sinceSeek = Stopwatch();
+  Duration? _heldPosition;
+  Duration? _seekTarget;
+  Timer? _positionFlush;
+
+  void _onPosition(Duration p) {
+    final target = _seekTarget;
+    if (target != null) {
+      // Showing a pre-seek tick would snap the thumb back to where the
+      // finger left it, then forward again.
+      final stale = (p - target).abs() > _seekLandingSlack;
+      if (stale && _sinceSeek.elapsed < _seekLandingWindow) return;
+      _seekTarget = null;
+    }
+    if (_sincePosition.isRunning &&
+        _sincePosition.elapsed < _positionInterval) {
+      _heldPosition = p;
+      // Trailing edge, so the last position before a pause or the end of
+      // the file still lands.
+      _positionFlush ??= Timer(_positionInterval - _sincePosition.elapsed, () {
+        _positionFlush = null;
+        final held = _heldPosition;
+        if (held != null) _flushPosition(held);
+      });
+      return;
+    }
+    _flushPosition(p);
+  }
+
+  void _flushPosition(Duration p) {
+    _positionFlush?.cancel();
+    _positionFlush = null;
+    _heldPosition = null;
+    _sincePosition
+      ..reset()
+      ..start();
+    _emit(value.copyWith(position: p));
+  }
+
   @override
   Future<void> initialize() async {
     _wire();
@@ -639,6 +705,21 @@ class _MediaKitController extends PlayerController {
       } catch (e) {
         debugPrint('[player] hls-bitrate not applied: $e');
       }
+      // media_kit creates every Player with hr-seek=yes and
+      // hr-seek-framedrop=no. hr-seek stays: every seek here is an absolute
+      // one, and a keyframe seek on a stream with 6–10 s GOPs can land a
+      // +10 s skip back where it started. framedrop goes back to mpv's own
+      // default: the frames between the keyframe and the target are thrown
+      // away anyway, and with it off the decoder had to decode every one of
+      // them first — the freeze after each swipe and seek-bar release. Safe
+      // here because nothing sets a --vf filter (colour profiles and shaders
+      // act in the VO), the one case mpv's manual says framedrop can skip
+      // the target frame.
+      try {
+        await platform.setProperty('hr-seek-framedrop', 'yes');
+      } catch (e) {
+        debugPrint('[player] hr-seek-framedrop not applied: $e');
+      }
     }
     await _player.open(
       mk.Media(
@@ -736,11 +817,7 @@ class _MediaKitController extends PlayerController {
 
   void _wire() {
     _subs
-      ..add(
-        _player.stream.position.listen(
-          (p) => _emit(value.copyWith(position: p)),
-        ),
-      )
+      ..add(_player.stream.position.listen(_onPosition))
       ..add(
         _player.stream.duration.listen(
           (d) => _emit(value.copyWith(duration: d)),
@@ -953,8 +1030,25 @@ class _MediaKitController extends PlayerController {
   Future<void> pause() => _fallback?.pause() ?? _player.pause();
 
   @override
-  Future<void> seekTo(Duration position) =>
-      _fallback?.seekTo(position) ?? _player.seek(position);
+  Future<void> seekTo(Duration position) {
+    final fallback = _fallback;
+    if (fallback != null) return fallback.seekTo(position);
+    // Shown now rather than when mpv's next time-pos arrives, as video_player
+    // does for ExoPlayer: the seek bar lets go of the thumb on release, and
+    // a second double-tap adds its step to the new position, not the old one.
+    final duration = value.duration;
+    final shown = position < Duration.zero
+        ? Duration.zero
+        : duration > Duration.zero && position > duration
+        ? duration
+        : position;
+    _seekTarget = shown;
+    _sinceSeek
+      ..reset()
+      ..start();
+    _flushPosition(shown);
+    return _player.seek(position);
+  }
 
   @override
   Future<void> setPlaybackSpeed(double speed) =>
@@ -1168,6 +1262,10 @@ class _MediaKitController extends PlayerController {
   Future<void> _teardownMpv() => _mpvDisposal ??= _releaseMpv();
 
   Future<void> _releaseMpv() async {
+    // A held tick must not land in `value` after the swap has handed it to
+    // the fallback.
+    _positionFlush?.cancel();
+    _positionFlush = null;
     for (final s in _subs) {
       await s.cancel();
     }
diff --git a/lib/core/preview/frame_preview_service.dart b/lib/core/preview/frame_preview_service.dart
index 88c3ef27..6f08f42d 100644
--- a/lib/core/preview/frame_preview_service.dart
+++ b/lib/core/preview/frame_preview_service.dart
@@ -172,7 +172,10 @@ class FramePreviewService {
       headers: headers,
       durationMs: durationMs,
       count: gridCount(durationMs, metered: metered),
-      pace: Duration(milliseconds: metered ? 900 : 250),
+      // One frame a second on Wi-Fi: each is a second hardware decoder and a
+      // segment download while the real stream plays, and back-to-back
+      // extraction competed with it on high-bitrate files.
+      pace: Duration(milliseconds: metered ? 900 : 1000),
       cacheKey: cacheKey,
       positionMs: positionMs,
     )..start();
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/domain/scrub_curve.dart b/lib/features/detail/domain/scrub_curve.dart
index 05c905c6..4805b29b 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/domain/scrub_curve.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/domain/scrub_curve.dart
@@ -2,38 +2,52 @@ import 'dart:math' as math;
 
 /// Where a horizontal swipe on the video lands.
 ///
-/// Fine near the finger's start, coarse far from it, as VLC does: about two
-/// seconds per centimetre for the first few, then a cubic that reaches half
-/// the video (at least a minute, at most twenty) by eight centimetres. It
-/// used to be 90 seconds per screen width, clamped to one width, so a single
-/// swipe could never move more than a minute and a half — and from the middle
-/// of the screen, about 45 seconds — whatever the length of the video.
+/// Linear, as in MX Player: the same travel always moves the same time, so a
+/// viewer can aim, and a still thumb's wobble moves a fraction of a second,
+/// not several. One swipe across the whole screen covers [spanSec] — about
+/// 4·√duration seconds: half a minute on a short clip, two and a half on an
+/// episode, three at most on a film. The seek bar is there for longer jumps.
 ///
-/// Within [cancelZoneCm] of the start the answer is the start itself: a
+/// It used to be a VLC-style cubic in centimetres that reached half the
+/// video by eight of them, counted at 38 logical pixels a centimetre —
+/// Flutter's desktop figure; a phone has about 60. On a Galaxy S22 two
+/// centimetres of travel already moved over a minute of a film, and past
+/// three every pixel was four seconds.
+///
+/// Within [deadZonePx] of the start the answer is the start itself: a
 /// finger brought back to where it began means "never mind".
 class ScrubCurve {
   ScrubCurve._();
 
-  /// Logical pixels in a centimetre, near enough for a phone.
-  static const double pxPerCm = 38;
-  static const double cancelZoneCm = 0.3;
+  /// Travel that still means "never mind", in logical pixels.
+  static const double deadZonePx = 16;
+
+  /// Seconds that one swipe across the whole screen moves.
+  static double spanSec(int durationMs) =>
+      (4.0 * math.sqrt(durationMs / 1000)).clamp(30.0, 180.0).toDouble();
 
+  /// [widthPx] is the long side of the screen, so turning the phone does not
+  /// change the rate.
   static int targetMs({
     required int baselineMs,
     required int durationMs,
     required double deltaPx,
+    required double widthPx,
   }) {
-    if (durationMs <= 0) return baselineMs;
-    final cm = deltaPx / pxPerCm;
-    final a = cm.abs();
-    if (a < cancelZoneCm) return baselineMs.clamp(0, durationMs);
-    final reach = (durationMs / 1000 * 0.5).clamp(60.0, 1200.0);
-    final seconds = 2.0 * a + reach * math.pow(a / 8, 3);
-    final target = baselineMs + (cm.sign * seconds * 1000).round();
+    if (durationMs <= 0 || !widthPx.isFinite || widthPx <= 0) {
+      return baselineMs;
+    }
+    // Measured from the edge of the dead zone, so leaving it starts at zero
+    // instead of jumping by the zone's width.
+    final travel = deltaPx.abs() - deadZonePx;
+    if (travel <= 0) return baselineMs.clamp(0, durationMs);
+    // Whole seconds: the label reads m:ss, and the seek should land on what
+    // it said.
+    final seconds = (travel / widthPx * spanSec(durationMs)).round();
+    final target = baselineMs + deltaPx.sign.toInt() * seconds * 1000;
     return target.clamp(0, durationMs);
   }
 
-  /// Whether [deltaPx] is inside the cancel zone.
-  static bool cancels(double deltaPx) =>
-      (deltaPx / pxPerCm).abs() < cancelZoneCm;
+  /// Whether [deltaPx] is inside the dead zone.
+  static bool cancels(double deltaPx) => deltaPx.abs() < deadZonePx;
 }
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.controls.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.controls.dart
index dedc7a4b..42f42492 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.controls.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.controls.dart
@@ -201,6 +201,9 @@ extension _PlayerControls on _PlayerPageState {
     }
 
     _controller?.addListener(listener);
+    // Checked once now as well: media_kit shows the seek target at once, so
+    // the position may already be there and no later change would say so.
+    listener();
     Future.delayed(const Duration(seconds: 1), () {
       // The user can pop the player within this second — _sliderDragValue is
       // disposed by then, so touching it would throw.
@@ -561,12 +564,18 @@ extension _PlayerControls on _PlayerPageState {
       child: ColoredBox(
         color: Colors.black,
         // Clipped, so a zoomed frame stays inside the video box and never
-        // paints under the controls or the subtitles. At 1.0 Transform.scale is
-        // an identity and costs nothing, so there is no branch for it.
+        // paints under the controls or the subtitles.
         child: ClipRect(
           child: Transform.scale(
             scale: _videoZoom,
-            filterQuality: FilterQuality.medium,
+            // Only while zoomed. With ANY filterQuality, RenderTransform paints
+            // through an ImageFilterLayer even at scale 1.0 (its identity
+            // shortcut is taken only when filterQuality is null), so the whole
+            // video texture went through an offscreen pass and a resample on
+            // every frame the screen drew.
+            filterQuality: _videoZoom == _kMinZoom
+                ? null
+                : FilterQuality.medium,
             child: _FittedVideo(controller: c, fit: _fit),
           ),
         ),
@@ -1186,30 +1195,37 @@ extension _PlayerControls on _PlayerPageState {
         ? ExcludeFocus(excluding: !_controlsVisible, child: overlay)
         : overlay;
 
-    if (!isBuffering) return gated;
     // A stall while the controls are hidden used to show nothing at all — the
     // spinner lived inside the overlay and faded out with it. This one sits
     // outside the fade and cross-fades against it, so exactly one buffering
     // indicator is on screen: this, or the ring on the play button.
-    Widget spinner = const IgnorePointer(
-      child: Center(
-        child: SizedBox(
-          width: 44,
-          height: 44,
-          child: CircularProgressIndicator(
-            color: Colors.white,
-            strokeWidth: 2.8,
+    Widget? spinner;
+    if (isBuffering) {
+      spinner = const IgnorePointer(
+        child: Center(
+          child: SizedBox(
+            width: 44,
+            height: 44,
+            child: CircularProgressIndicator(
+              color: Colors.white,
+              strokeWidth: 2.8,
+            ),
           ),
         ),
-      ),
-    );
-    if (!isDesktopPlatform) {
-      spinner = FadeTransition(
-        opacity: ReverseAnimation(_controlsAnimation),
-        child: spinner,
       );
+      if (!isDesktopPlatform) {
+        spinner = FadeTransition(
+          opacity: ReverseAnimation(_controlsAnimation),
+          child: spinner,
+        );
+      }
     }
-    return Stack(fit: StackFit.expand, children: [gated, spinner]);
+    // One shape whether buffering or not. Returning `gated` bare in one state
+    // and inside a Stack in the other changed the widget type at this slot, so
+    // every buffering flip unmounted and re-inflated the whole overlay —
+    // slider, buttons, focus and all. media_kit reports buffering around every
+    // seek, so each ±10 s tap rebuilt the controls from scratch twice.
+    return Stack(fit: StackFit.expand, children: [gated, ?spinner]);
   }
 
   /// One control of the cluster around play, or null when it does not apply.
@@ -2116,67 +2132,73 @@ extension _PlayerControls on _PlayerPageState {
           child: Column(
             mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
             children: [
-              ValueListenableBuilder<double?>(
-                valueListenable: _sliderDragValue,
-                builder: (_, dragVal, _) {
-                  return ValueListenableBuilder<VideoPlayerValue>(
-                    valueListenable: c,
-                    builder: (_, value, _) {
-                      if (_isLive) return _buildLiveBar();
-                      final duration = value.duration.inMilliseconds == 0
-                          ? Duration.zero
-                          : value.duration;
-                      final maxMs = duration.inMilliseconds.toDouble().clamp(
-                        1.0,
-                        double.infinity,
-                      );
-                      final sliderVal =
-                          dragVal ??
-                          (duration.inMilliseconds == 0
-                              ? 0.0
-                              : value.position.inMilliseconds
-                                    .clamp(0, duration.inMilliseconds)
-                                    .toDouble());
-                      final displayPos = dragVal != null
-                          ? Duration(milliseconds: dragVal.toInt())
-                          : value.position;
-
-                      return Row(
-                        children: [
-                          IgnorePointer(
-                            child: Text(
-                              _positionLabel(displayPos, duration),
-                              style: const TextStyle(
-                                color: Colors.white,
-                                fontSize: 12,
-                                shadows: _kControlShadow,
+              // Its own layer: the thumb moves on every playhead tick and on
+              // every drag event (120 Hz on a Samsung S22), and without a
+              // boundary each of those repainted the whole controls overlay —
+              // scrim, title, every icon and its text shadow — not the bar.
+              RepaintBoundary(
+                child: ValueListenableBuilder<double?>(
+                  valueListenable: _sliderDragValue,
+                  builder: (_, dragVal, _) {
+                    return ValueListenableBuilder<VideoPlayerValue>(
+                      valueListenable: c,
+                      builder: (_, value, _) {
+                        if (_isLive) return _buildLiveBar();
+                        final duration = value.duration.inMilliseconds == 0
+                            ? Duration.zero
+                            : value.duration;
+                        final maxMs = duration.inMilliseconds.toDouble().clamp(
+                          1.0,
+                          double.infinity,
+                        );
+                        final sliderVal =
+                            dragVal ??
+                            (duration.inMilliseconds == 0
+                                ? 0.0
+                                : value.position.inMilliseconds
+                                      .clamp(0, duration.inMilliseconds)
+                                      .toDouble());
+                        final displayPos = dragVal != null
+                            ? Duration(milliseconds: dragVal.toInt())
+                            : value.position;
+
+                        return Row(
+                          children: [
+                            IgnorePointer(
+                              child: Text(
+                                _positionLabel(displayPos, duration),
+                                style: const TextStyle(
+                                  color: Colors.white,
+                                  fontSize: 12,
+                                  shadows: _kControlShadow,
+                                ),
                               ),
                             ),
-                          ),
-                          Expanded(
-                            child: _buildSeekBar(
-                              value: value,
-                              sliderVal: sliderVal.clamp(0.0, maxMs),
-                              maxMs: maxMs,
-                              scrubbing: dragVal != null,
-                              previewPosition: displayPos,
+                            Expanded(
+                              child: _buildSeekBar(
+                                value: value,
+                                sliderVal: sliderVal.clamp(0.0, maxMs),
+                                maxMs: maxMs,
+                                scrubbing: dragVal != null,
+                                previewPosition: displayPos,
+                              ),
                             ),
-                          ),
-                          IgnorePointer(
-                            child: Text(
-                              _formatDuration(duration),
-                              style: const TextStyle(
-                                color: Colors.white,
-                                fontSize: 12,
-                                shadows: _kControlShadow,
+                            IgnorePointer(
+                              child: Text(
+                                _formatDuration(duration),
+                                style: const TextStyle(
+                                  color: Colors.white,
+                                  fontSize: 12,
+                                  shadows: _kControlShadow,
+                                ),
                               ),
                             ),
-                          ),
-                        ],
-                      );
-                    },
-                  );
-                },
+                          ],
+                        );
+                      },
+                    );
+                  },
+                ),
               ),
               const SizedBox(height: 4),
               if (isDesktopPlatform)
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.dart
index b51f03f0..614570dc 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.dart
@@ -205,6 +205,10 @@ class _PlayerPageState extends State<PlayerPage>
   DateTime? _sleepDeadline;
   bool _sleepAtEpisodeEnd = false;
 
+  /// The next episode's prefetch key when it turned out to be downloaded, so
+  /// the per-tick check does not stat the file again. See _maybePrefetchNext.
+  String? _prefetchLocalKey;
+
   final PrefetchSlot<MediaResolveEntity> _nextResolve =
       PrefetchSlot<MediaResolveEntity>();
 
@@ -548,6 +552,12 @@ class _PlayerPageState extends State<PlayerPage>
 
   double _brightness = 0.5;
   double _volume = 1.0;
+
+  /// Swipe levels not yet handed to the system, and the timer pacing them.
+  /// See _pushSystemLevels in player_page.pip.dart.
+  bool _brightnessDirty = false;
+  bool _volumeDirty = false;
+  Timer? _systemLevelTimer;
   final ValueNotifier<_SwipeIndicator?> _swipeIndicator =
       ValueNotifier<_SwipeIndicator?>(null);
 
@@ -850,6 +860,7 @@ class _PlayerPageState extends State<PlayerPage>
     _hideTimer?.cancel();
     _historyTimer?.cancel();
     _seekRippleTimer?.cancel();
+    _systemLevelTimer?.cancel();
     _tvSeekCommit?.cancel();
     _tvRootFocus.dispose();
     _tvPanelFocus.dispose();
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.gestures.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.gestures.dart
index 9d8e7da7..f60c652f 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.gestures.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.gestures.dart
@@ -19,7 +19,11 @@ extension _PlayerGestures on _PlayerPageState {
 
   /// [initialDeltaPx]: how far the finger has already travelled from where
   /// it touched down, by the time the swipe was recognised as horizontal.
-  void _onHDragStart(DragStartDetails _, {double initialDeltaPx = 0}) {
+  void _onHDragStart(
+    DragStartDetails _, {
+    double initialDeltaPx = 0,
+    required double widthPx,
+  }) {
     final c = _controller;
     if (c == null || !c.value.isInitialized) return;
     _hideTimer?.cancel();
@@ -40,6 +44,7 @@ extension _PlayerGestures on _PlayerPageState {
       baseline: c.value.position,
       duration: c.value.duration,
       deltaPx: initialDeltaPx,
+      widthPx: widthPx,
     );
   }
 
@@ -248,6 +253,8 @@ extension _PlayerGestures on _PlayerPageState {
             localPosition: d.localPosition,
           ),
           initialDeltaPx: d.localPosition.dx - from.dx,
+          // The long side, so the rate is the same held either way.
+          widthPx: constraints.biggest.longestSide,
         );
         return;
       } else {
@@ -269,14 +276,14 @@ extension _PlayerGestures on _PlayerPageState {
       final delta = -(d.delta.dy) / (constraints.maxHeight * 0.7);
       if (_dragSwipeType == _SwipeType.brightness) {
         _brightness = (_brightness + delta).clamp(0.0, 1.0).toDouble();
-        unawaited(_setSystemBrightness(_brightness));
+        _pushSystemLevels(brightness: true);
         _swipeIndicator.value = _SwipeIndicator(
           _SwipeType.brightness,
           _brightness,
         );
       } else {
         _volume = (_volume + delta).clamp(0.0, 1.0).toDouble();
-        unawaited(_setSystemVolume(_volume));
+        _pushSystemLevels(volume: true);
         _swipeIndicator.value = _SwipeIndicator(_SwipeType.volume, _volume);
       }
     }
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.history.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.history.dart
index 3c571a7e..5c7ac698 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.history.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.history.dart
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ extension _PlayerHistory on _PlayerPageState {
   void _scheduleHistorySave() {
     _historyTimer?.cancel();
     _historyTimer = Timer.periodic(const Duration(seconds: 5), (_) {
-      _saveHistory();
+      // Quiet: this tick is for surviving a kill, not for the screens under
+      // the player, which catch up from the save on pause and on exit.
+      _saveHistory(notify: false);
       _jellyfinProgress();
       // Deliberately not inside _saveHistory: that returns early for a
       // finished episode, a title with no url and a session under ten seconds,
@@ -81,7 +83,11 @@ extension _PlayerHistory on _PlayerPageState {
     return label.isEmpty ? 'Episode ${ep.episode}' : label;
   }
 
-  void _saveHistory() {
+  void _saveHistory({bool notify = true}) {
+    // A notifying save can still write nothing — an episode played to its
+    // end returns below — so the rows the quiet ticks wrote are announced
+    // first, or the screens under the player keep their old progress.
+    if (notify) _history.flushQuiet();
     if (!WatchProgress.countsAsAViewing(_playbackWatch.elapsed)) return;
 
     // Time watched since the last save, banked before anything can return
@@ -113,26 +119,29 @@ extension _PlayerHistory on _PlayerPageState {
     // PlayerArgs.offlineEpisodeNumber.
     final offlineEp = widget.args.offlineEpisodeNumber;
 
-    _history.save(
-      HistoryItem(
-        contentUrl: contentUrl,
-        provider: widget.args.provider,
-        title: widget.args.title,
-        thumbnail: widget.args.thumbnail,
-        isSerial: widget.args.isSerial || offlineEp != null,
-        episodeIndex: widget.args.isSerial ? _episodeIndex : null,
-        episodeNumber: ep?.episode ?? offlineEp,
-        episodeLabel: ep?.label ?? widget.args.offlineEpisodeLabel,
-        positionMs: posMs,
-        durationMs: durMs,
-        watchedAt: DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch,
-        // The last episode on offer: finishing it finishes the series.
-        isFinale:
-            widget.args.isSerial &&
-            _episodes.length > 1 &&
-            _episodeIndex == _episodes.length - 1,
-      ),
+    final item = HistoryItem(
+      contentUrl: contentUrl,
+      provider: widget.args.provider,
+      title: widget.args.title,
+      thumbnail: widget.args.thumbnail,
+      isSerial: widget.args.isSerial || offlineEp != null,
+      episodeIndex: widget.args.isSerial ? _episodeIndex : null,
+      episodeNumber: ep?.episode ?? offlineEp,
+      episodeLabel: ep?.label ?? widget.args.offlineEpisodeLabel,
+      positionMs: posMs,
+      durationMs: durMs,
+      watchedAt: DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch,
+      // The last episode on offer: finishing it finishes the series.
+      isFinale:
+          widget.args.isSerial &&
+          _episodes.length > 1 &&
+          _episodeIndex == _episodes.length - 1,
     );
+    if (notify) {
+      _history.save(item);
+    } else {
+      _history.saveQuietly(item);
+    }
   }
 
   /// Adds the stretch since the last tick to the running totals.
@@ -252,7 +261,9 @@ extension _PlayerHistory on _PlayerPageState {
 
   /// Trakt is for films and series: not live channels, not trailers.
   bool get _traktApplies =>
-      !_isLive && widget.args.provider != 'trailer' && widget.args.contentUrl != null;
+      !_isLive &&
+      widget.args.provider != 'trailer' &&
+      widget.args.contentUrl != null;
 
   double get _playbackPercent {
     final v = _controller?.value;
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.models.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.models.dart
index a8fb0a1c..e3778207 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.models.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.models.dart
@@ -107,16 +107,21 @@ class _ScrubState {
   final Duration duration;
   final double deltaPx;
 
+  /// The screen's long side, what a full swipe is measured against.
+  final double widthPx;
+
   const _ScrubState({
     required this.baseline,
     required this.duration,
     required this.deltaPx,
+    required this.widthPx,
   });
 
   _ScrubState copyWith({double? deltaPx}) => _ScrubState(
     baseline: baseline,
     duration: duration,
     deltaPx: deltaPx ?? this.deltaPx,
+    widthPx: widthPx,
   );
 
   /// Where releasing now would land; see [ScrubCurve].
@@ -125,11 +130,15 @@ class _ScrubState {
       baselineMs: baseline.inMilliseconds,
       durationMs: duration.inMilliseconds,
       deltaPx: deltaPx,
+      widthPx: widthPx,
     ),
   );
 
-  /// Back where it started: releasing now changes nothing.
-  bool get cancels => ScrubCurve.cancels(deltaPx);
+  /// Back where it started, or closer to it than the two seconds the label
+  /// shows: releasing now changes nothing, as the card says.
+  bool get cancels =>
+      ScrubCurve.cancels(deltaPx) ||
+      (previewPosition() - baseline).inSeconds.abs() < 2;
 }
 
 class _VttThumbnail {
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.pip.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.pip.dart
index d5a0032f..31dbce4d 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.pip.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.pip.dart
@@ -391,6 +391,31 @@ extension _PlayerPip on _PlayerPageState {
     await WakelockHolds.release(this);
   }
 
+  /// A swipe asks for a new level on every touch sample — 120 a second on a
+  /// fast panel — and each call was a window relayout or an AudioManager IPC
+  /// on the thread that draws the next frame. The first goes at once, then at
+  /// most one per 50 ms; the trailing call lands wherever the finger stopped.
+  void _pushSystemLevels({bool brightness = false, bool volume = false}) {
+    _brightnessDirty |= brightness;
+    _volumeDirty |= volume;
+    if (_systemLevelTimer?.isActive ?? false) return;
+    _flushSystemLevels();
+    _systemLevelTimer = Timer(const Duration(milliseconds: 50), () {
+      if (mounted) _flushSystemLevels();
+    });
+  }
+
+  void _flushSystemLevels() {
+    if (_brightnessDirty) {
+      _brightnessDirty = false;
+      unawaited(_setSystemBrightness(_brightness));
+    }
+    if (_volumeDirty) {
+      _volumeDirty = false;
+      unawaited(_setSystemVolume(_volume));
+    }
+  }
+
   Future<void> _setSystemBrightness(double value) async {
     try {
       await _systemControlsChannel.invokeMethod<double>('setBrightness', {
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.subtitles.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.subtitles.dart
index 285f68c1..2b5b0b06 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.subtitles.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.subtitles.dart
@@ -2000,62 +2000,66 @@ extension _PlayerSubtitles on _PlayerPageState {
       left: 16,
       right: 16,
       bottom: _subtitleBottomOffset,
-      child: IgnorePointer(
-        child: ListenableBuilder(
-          listenable: Listenable.merge([
-            _subtitleOffsetMs,
-            _subtitleRate,
-            c,
-            ?embedded,
-          ]),
-          builder: (_, _) {
-            final rate = _subtitleRate.value;
-            var position =
-                c.value.position -
-                Duration(milliseconds: _subtitleOffsetMs.value);
-            // Map the video clock onto the subtitle's own timeline: a 25fps
-            // subtitle over 23.976fps content needs its timestamps stretched,
-            // which is a division here, not a shift.
-            if (rate != 1.0 && rate > 0) {
-              position = Duration(
-                microseconds: (position.inMicroseconds / rate).round(),
+      // Its own layer: the line changes on its own clock, and nothing else on
+      // the page has to repaint with it.
+      child: RepaintBoundary(
+        child: IgnorePointer(
+          child: ListenableBuilder(
+            listenable: Listenable.merge([
+              _subtitleOffsetMs,
+              _subtitleRate,
+              c,
+              ?embedded,
+            ]),
+            builder: (_, _) {
+              final rate = _subtitleRate.value;
+              var position =
+                  c.value.position -
+                  Duration(milliseconds: _subtitleOffsetMs.value);
+              // Map the video clock onto the subtitle's own timeline: a 25fps
+              // subtitle over 23.976fps content needs its timestamps stretched,
+              // which is a division here, not a shift.
+              if (rate != 1.0 && rate > 0) {
+                position = Duration(
+                  microseconds: (position.inMicroseconds / rate).round(),
+                );
+              }
+              final fromStream =
+                  captions == null &&
+                      _activeSubtitleIndex == -1 &&
+                      c.activeSubtitleTrackId != null
+                  ? embedded?.value ?? ''
+                  : '';
+              final primary = captions == null
+                  ? fromStream
+                  : _captionTextAt(captions, position);
+              final secondary = _secondaryCaptionFile == null
+                  ? ''
+                  : _captionTextAt(_secondaryCaptionFile!, position);
+              if (primary.isEmpty && secondary.isEmpty) {
+                return const SizedBox.shrink();
+              }
+              return Align(
+                alignment: Alignment.bottomCenter,
+                child: Column(
+                  mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
+                  children: [
+                    // The second track sits ABOVE the first, and smaller. The
+                    // primary is the one being read along with the audio and
+                    // keeps the position the eye is trained on; a translation
+                    // pushed underneath it would move the line everyone actually
+                    // reads every time the other track has something to say.
+                    if (secondary.isNotEmpty)
+                      Padding(
+                        padding: const EdgeInsets.only(bottom: 4),
+                        child: _styledSubtitle(secondary, secondary: true),
+                      ),
+                    if (primary.isNotEmpty) _styledSubtitle(primary),
+                  ],
+                ),
               );
-            }
-            final fromStream =
-                captions == null &&
-                    _activeSubtitleIndex == -1 &&
-                    c.activeSubtitleTrackId != null
-                ? embedded?.value ?? ''
-                : '';
-            final primary = captions == null
-                ? fromStream
-                : _captionTextAt(captions, position);
-            final secondary = _secondaryCaptionFile == null
-                ? ''
-                : _captionTextAt(_secondaryCaptionFile!, position);
-            if (primary.isEmpty && secondary.isEmpty) {
-              return const SizedBox.shrink();
-            }
-            return Align(
-              alignment: Alignment.bottomCenter,
-              child: Column(
-                mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
-                children: [
-                  // The second track sits ABOVE the first, and smaller. The
-                  // primary is the one being read along with the audio and
-                  // keeps the position the eye is trained on; a translation
-                  // pushed underneath it would move the line everyone actually
-                  // reads every time the other track has something to say.
-                  if (secondary.isNotEmpty)
-                    Padding(
-                      padding: const EdgeInsets.only(bottom: 4),
-                      child: _styledSubtitle(secondary, secondary: true),
-                    ),
-                  if (primary.isNotEmpty) _styledSubtitle(primary),
-                ],
-              ),
-            );
-          },
+            },
+          ),
         ),
       ),
     );
@@ -2155,10 +2159,7 @@ extension _PlayerSubtitles on _PlayerPageState {
           ),
         ];
       case SubtitleEdge.outline:
-        strokePaint = Paint()
-          ..style = PaintingStyle.stroke
-          ..strokeWidth = 2.5
-          ..color = const Color(0xFF000000);
+        strokePaint = _kSubtitleStroke;
     }
 
     Widget textWidget = Text(
@@ -2254,3 +2255,11 @@ class _AiTranslateChip extends StatelessWidget {
     );
   }
 }
+
+/// One stroke for every outlined subtitle line. `Paint` compares by identity
+/// and TextStyle treats a different `foreground` as a LAYOUT change, so a new
+/// Paint per build re-shaped the line on every position tick.
+final Paint _kSubtitleStroke = Paint()
+  ..style = PaintingStyle.stroke
+  ..strokeWidth = 2.5
+  ..color = const Color(0xFF000000);
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.upnext.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.upnext.dart
index 6442802b..cab343c4 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.upnext.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/pages/player_page.upnext.dart
@@ -32,10 +32,17 @@ extension _PlayerUpNext on _PlayerPageState {
     final index = _episodeIndex + 1;
     if (!_window.contains(index)) return;
     final ep = _episodes[index];
-    if (ep.mediaRef.isEmpty || _localEpisode(ep) != null) return;
+    if (ep.mediaRef.isEmpty) return;
     final lang = _resolveLangForEpisode(ep);
     final key = _prefetchKey(ep, lang);
-    if (_nextResolve.covers(key)) return;
+    // Asked on every position tick past the threshold. Finding a download is a
+    // synchronous existsSync, and nothing is prefetched for it to short-
+    // circuit, so the answer is remembered.
+    if (_nextResolve.covers(key) || key == _prefetchLocalKey) return;
+    if (_localEpisode(ep) != null) {
+      _prefetchLocalKey = key;
+      return;
+    }
     _plog('prefetching next episode ref=${ep.mediaRef}');
     unawaited(
       _nextResolve.fill(key, () async {
diff --git a/lib/features/detail/presentation/widgets/alternate_source_sheet.dart b/lib/features/detail/presentation/widgets/alternate_source_sheet.dart
index 1579aa1b..056a0ca3 100644
--- a/lib/features/detail/presentation/widgets/alternate_source_sheet.dart
+++ b/lib/features/detail/presentation/widgets/alternate_source_sheet.dart
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_bloc/flutter_bloc.dart';
 import 'package:go_router/go_router.dart';
 
+import 'package:soplay/features/extensions/presentation/pages/source_catalog_page.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/core/content/content_mode.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/core/di/injection.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/core/matching/title_match.dart';
@@ -887,6 +888,22 @@ class _AlternateSourceSheetState extends State<AlternateSourceSheet> {
           // help, and a dead end is the wrong thing to leave them with.
           if (!_searching) ...[
             const SizedBox(height: 14),
+            // The message just said "add one that does"; this is where.
+            if (_outcome?.asked == 0)
+              TextButton.icon(
+                onPressed: () {
+                  Navigator.of(context).pop();
+                  SourceCatalogPage.open(
+                    context,
+                    initialItemType: SourceCatalogPage.itemTypeFor(
+                      widget.provider.contentMode,
+                    ),
+                  );
+                },
+                style: TextButton.styleFrom(foregroundColor: Colors.white70),
+                icon: const Icon(Icons.add_rounded, size: 18),
+                label: Text('ext.add_source'.tr()),
+              ),
             TextButton.icon(
               onPressed: () {
                 Navigator.of(context).pop();
diff --git a/lib/features/extensions/presentation/pages/source_catalog_page.dart b/lib/features/extensions/presentation/pages/source_catalog_page.dart
index 25cec959..4568f5d7 100644
--- a/lib/features/extensions/presentation/pages/source_catalog_page.dart
+++ b/lib/features/extensions/presentation/pages/source_catalog_page.dart
@@ -43,9 +43,22 @@ class SourceCatalogPage extends StatefulWidget {
   /// own title and its repositories button are the hub's when it is embedded.
   final bool embedded;
 
-  static Future<void> open(BuildContext context) => Navigator.of(
-    context,
-  ).push(MaterialPageRoute<void>(builder: (_) => const SourceCatalogPage()));
+  static Future<void> open(
+    BuildContext context, {
+    CatalogItemType? initialItemType,
+  }) => Navigator.of(context).push(
+    MaterialPageRoute<void>(
+      builder: (_) => SourceCatalogPage(initialItemType: initialItemType),
+    ),
+  );
+
+  /// The filter the catalogue opens on for a mode. Video has no single type —
+  /// anime, films and series all play — so it opens unfiltered.
+  static CatalogItemType? itemTypeFor(ContentMode mode) => switch (mode) {
+    ContentMode.manga => CatalogItemType.manga,
+    ContentMode.novel => CatalogItemType.novel,
+    ContentMode.video => null,
+  };
 
   @override
   State<SourceCatalogPage> createState() => _SourceCatalogPageState();
@@ -316,7 +329,9 @@ class _SourceCatalogPageState extends State<SourceCatalogPage> {
         actions: [
           IconButton(
             onPressed: _manage,
-            icon: const Icon(Icons.more_horiz),
+            // Repositories, not "more": this is where a repo URL is added,
+            // and three dots read as an overflow menu nobody opens.
+            icon: const Icon(Icons.folder_copy_outlined),
             tooltip: 'source_manager.manage_repositories'.tr(),
           ),
         ],
diff --git a/lib/features/history/data/history_service.dart b/lib/features/history/data/history_service.dart
index 481c137c..3528a633 100644
--- a/lib/features/history/data/history_service.dart
+++ b/lib/features/history/data/history_service.dart
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import 'package:soplay/features/history/domain/history_trim.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/my_list/data/private_list_service.dart';
 
 class HistoryService {
-
   final ValueNotifier<int> revision = ValueNotifier<int>(0);
 
   Box get _box => Hive.box(ProfileScope.box(AppConstants.historyBox));
@@ -61,8 +60,9 @@ class HistoryService {
       try {
         final raw = _box.get(key);
         if (raw is! String) continue;
-        final item =
-            HistoryItem.fromJson(jsonDecode(raw) as Map<String, dynamic>);
+        final item = HistoryItem.fromJson(
+          jsonDecode(raw) as Map<String, dynamic>,
+        );
         if (latest == null || item.watchedAt > latest.watchedAt) {
           latest = item;
         }
@@ -71,7 +71,29 @@ class HistoryService {
     return latest;
   }
 
-  Future<void> save(HistoryItem item) async {
+  Future<void> save(HistoryItem item) => _write(item, notify: true);
+
+  /// [save] without telling listeners. For the player's five-second progress
+  /// tick: every listener — Home's Continue rail, the episode list, the detail
+  /// header, the home-screen widget — re-reads and re-decodes the box and
+  /// rebuilds, under a player that covers all of them. They catch up from the
+  /// save on pause and on exit.
+  Future<void> saveQuietly(HistoryItem item) => _write(item, notify: false);
+
+  /// Whether a quiet write has landed that listeners have not been told of.
+  bool _quietPending = false;
+
+  /// Tells listeners about quiet writes, if there were any since the last
+  /// notification. For the moments the player hands the screen back — pause,
+  /// exit — when its own final save may write nothing (an episode played to
+  /// its end), and the rows the quiet ticks wrote would otherwise never show.
+  void flushQuiet() {
+    if (!_quietPending) return;
+    _quietPending = false;
+    revision.value++;
+  }
+
+  Future<void> _write(HistoryItem item, {required bool notify}) async {
     // Incognito is enforced here rather than at the call sites. History is
     // written from the player, the detail page, shorts and the sync service's
     // own merge, and a mode whose guarantee depends on every one of those
@@ -86,7 +108,12 @@ class HistoryService {
     }
     await _box.put(item.storageKey, jsonEncode(item.toJson()));
     await _trimIfNeeded();
-    revision.value++;
+    if (notify) {
+      _quietPending = false;
+      revision.value++;
+    } else {
+      _quietPending = true;
+    }
   }
 
   /// Reads a row back so a delete can be described to the server before the
diff --git a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_badges_page.dart b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_badges_page.dart
index f6036140..e6a2de7f 100644
--- a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_badges_page.dart
+++ b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_badges_page.dart
@@ -28,9 +28,14 @@ class OnboardingBadgesPage extends StatelessWidget {
         padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(20, 8, 20, 16),
         child: Column(
           children: [
-            const SizedBox(height: 250, child: _MedalStage()),
+            const SizedBox(
+              height: 250,
+              // Its own layer: the stage redraws every frame, and without one
+              // the heading, the week and the button were re-recorded with it.
+              child: RepaintBoundary(child: _MedalStage()),
+            ),
             const SizedBox(height: 18),
-            const _WeekToBadge(),
+            const RepaintBoundary(child: _WeekToBadge()),
             const SizedBox(height: 26),
             OnboardingHeading(
               center: true,
@@ -128,25 +133,32 @@ class _MedalStageState extends State<_MedalStage>
                   ),
                 ),
               ),
-              for (final (i, (id, tier, at, size)) in _around.indexed)
-                Align(
-                  alignment: at,
-                  child: Transform.translate(
-                    offset: Offset(0, math.sin(t + i * 1.7) * 5),
-                    child: Transform.scale(
-                      scale: struck(i + 1),
-                      child: Opacity(
-                        opacity: 0.92,
-                        child: AchievementBadge(
-                          id: id,
-                          tier: tier,
-                          size: size,
-                          light: light,
+              // One layer for the four rather than one each: they never
+              // overlap, so fading them together looks the same and costs one
+              // offscreen pass a frame instead of four.
+              Opacity(
+                opacity: 0.92,
+                child: Stack(
+                  children: [
+                    for (final (i, (id, tier, at, size)) in _around.indexed)
+                      Align(
+                        alignment: at,
+                        child: Transform.translate(
+                          offset: Offset(0, math.sin(t + i * 1.7) * 5),
+                          child: Transform.scale(
+                            scale: struck(i + 1),
+                            child: AchievementBadge(
+                              id: id,
+                              tier: tier,
+                              size: size,
+                              light: light,
+                            ),
+                          ),
                         ),
                       ),
-                    ),
-                  ),
+                  ],
                 ),
+              ),
               Transform.translate(
                 offset: Offset(0, math.sin(t) * 3),
                 child: Transform.scale(
diff --git a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_genres_page.dart b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_genres_page.dart
index e8f2bf2d..a5d6ca53 100644
--- a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_genres_page.dart
+++ b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_genres_page.dart
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ class OnboardingGenresPage extends StatefulWidget {
 
 class _OnboardingGenresPageState extends State<OnboardingGenresPage> {
   final OnboardingController _c = getIt<OnboardingController>();
+
+  // Built once: the kinds cannot change on this step, and the same instance
+  // lets a chip tap's setState skip the backdrop entirely.
+  late final Widget _backdrop = _BlurredPosters(posters: postersFor(_c.kinds));
   late final GenreCatalog _catalog = widget.catalog ?? getIt<GenreCatalog>();
   List<TasteGenre>? _genres;
   bool _offline = false;
@@ -82,7 +86,7 @@ class _OnboardingGenresPageState extends State<OnboardingGenresPage> {
     return OnboardingScaffold(
       step: OnboardingStep.genres,
       glow: accent,
-      background: _BlurredPosters(posters: postersFor(kinds)),
+      background: _backdrop,
       onSkip: () => onboardingNext(context),
       body: CustomScrollView(
         slivers: [
@@ -452,50 +456,88 @@ class _ChipsLoading extends StatelessWidget {
 }
 
 /// The picked kinds' posters, tilted, blurred and darkened into a backdrop.
-class _BlurredPosters extends StatelessWidget {
+class _BlurredPosters extends StatefulWidget {
   const _BlurredPosters({required this.posters});
 
   final List<String> posters;
 
+  @override
+  State<_BlurredPosters> createState() => _BlurredPostersState();
+}
+
+class _BlurredPostersState extends State<_BlurredPosters> {
+  // Impeller keeps no raster cache, so a live 26-sigma blur over more than
+  // the whole screen was worked out again on every frame anything on the page
+  // moved — the route fade, the chips' entrance, the shimmer. The picture
+  // never changes, so it is blurred once and kept as an image.
+  final _snapshot = SnapshotController();
+  bool _requested = false;
+
+  @override
+  void didChangeDependencies() {
+    super.didChangeDependencies();
+    if (_requested) return;
+    _requested = true;
+    // Taken once every poster has decoded and been drawn: a snapshot is not
+    // retaken when its child repaints, so an early one would keep the gaps.
+    Future.wait([
+      for (final p in widget.posters)
+        precacheImage(ResizeImage(AssetImage(p), width: 200), context),
+    ]).then((_) => WidgetsBinding.instance.endOfFrame).then((_) {
+      if (mounted) _snapshot.allowSnapshotting = true;
+    });
+  }
+
+  @override
+  void dispose() {
+    _snapshot.dispose();
+    super.dispose();
+  }
+
   @override
   Widget build(BuildContext context) {
+    final posters = widget.posters;
     return RepaintBoundary(
       child: Stack(
         fit: StackFit.expand,
         children: [
-          ImageFiltered(
-            imageFilter: ui.ImageFilter.blur(sigmaX: 26, sigmaY: 26),
-            child: OverflowBox(
-              maxWidth: double.infinity,
-              maxHeight: double.infinity,
-              child: Transform.rotate(
-                angle: -0.12,
-                child: Transform.scale(
-                  scale: 1.3,
-                  child: LayoutBuilder(
-                    builder: (context, _) {
-                      final size = MediaQuery.sizeOf(context);
-                      final tileW = size.width / 3.2;
-                      return SizedBox(
-                        width: size.width * 1.2,
-                        height: size.height * 1.2,
-                        child: Wrap(
-                          children: [
-                            for (final p in posters)
-                              SizedBox(
-                                width: tileW,
-                                height: tileW * 1.45,
-                                child: Image.asset(
-                                  p,
-                                  fit: BoxFit.cover,
-                                  cacheWidth: 200,
-                                  excludeFromSemantics: true,
+          SnapshotWidget(
+            controller: _snapshot,
+            autoresize: true,
+            child: ImageFiltered(
+              imageFilter: ui.ImageFilter.blur(sigmaX: 26, sigmaY: 26),
+              child: OverflowBox(
+                maxWidth: double.infinity,
+                maxHeight: double.infinity,
+                child: Transform.rotate(
+                  angle: -0.12,
+                  child: Transform.scale(
+                    scale: 1.3,
+                    child: LayoutBuilder(
+                      builder: (context, _) {
+                        final size = MediaQuery.sizeOf(context);
+                        final tileW = size.width / 3.2;
+                        return SizedBox(
+                          width: size.width * 1.2,
+                          height: size.height * 1.2,
+                          child: Wrap(
+                            children: [
+                              for (final p in posters)
+                                SizedBox(
+                                  width: tileW,
+                                  height: tileW * 1.45,
+                                  child: Image.asset(
+                                    p,
+                                    fit: BoxFit.cover,
+                                    cacheWidth: 200,
+                                    excludeFromSemantics: true,
+                                  ),
                                 ),
-                              ),
-                          ],
-                        ),
-                      );
-                    },
+                            ],
+                          ),
+                        );
+                      },
+                    ),
                   ),
                 ),
               ),
diff --git a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_page.dart b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_page.dart
index 216b66c0..91ba0fce 100644
--- a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_page.dart
+++ b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/pages/onboarding_page.dart
@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@ class _OnboardingPageState extends State<OnboardingPage> {
   static const _autoAdvance = Duration(seconds: 6);
 
   final _pageController = PageController();
-  int _page = 0;
+  // Read by the dots and the key handler only. A setState here rebuilt the
+  // whole intro — header, pager, both visible slides, buttons — on the frame
+  // a swipe crossed halfway, and laid the pager out again mid-drag.
+  final _page = ValueNotifier<int>(0);
   bool _leaving = false;
   Timer? _timer;
 
@@ -56,12 +59,13 @@ class _OnboardingPageState extends State<OnboardingPage> {
   void dispose() {
     _timer?.cancel();
     _pageController.dispose();
+    _page.dispose();
     super.dispose();
   }
 
   void _turn(int by, {bool wrap = false}) {
     if (!_pageController.hasClients) return;
-    var to = _page + by;
+    var to = _page.value + by;
     if (wrap) to %= _slides;
     if (to < 0 || to >= _slides) return;
     _pageController.animateToPage(
@@ -110,7 +114,7 @@ class _OnboardingPageState extends State<OnboardingPage> {
           child: Stack(
             fit: StackFit.expand,
             children: [
-              _Backdrops(controller: _pageController, page: _page),
+              _Backdrops(controller: _pageController, page: _page.value),
               DecoratedBox(
                 decoration: BoxDecoration(
                   gradient: LinearGradient(
@@ -145,13 +149,17 @@ class _OnboardingPageState extends State<OnboardingPage> {
                             child: PageView.builder(
                               controller: _pageController,
                               itemCount: _slides,
-                              onPageChanged: (i) => setState(() => _page = i),
+                              onPageChanged: (i) => _page.value = i,
                               itemBuilder: (context, i) =>
                                   _Slide(index: i, controller: _pageController),
                             ),
                           ),
                           const SizedBox(height: 16),
-                          _Dots(count: _slides, active: _page),
+                          ValueListenableBuilder<int>(
+                            valueListenable: _page,
+                            builder: (context, active, _) =>
+                                _Dots(count: _slides, active: active),
+                          ),
                           const SizedBox(height: 26),
                           Center(
                             child: ConstrainedBox(
@@ -267,14 +275,47 @@ class _SkipChip extends StatelessWidget {
 
 /// Cross-fades the three backdrops against the swipe itself, so the artwork
 /// changes with the finger rather than snapping when the page settles.
-class _Backdrops extends StatelessWidget {
+class _Backdrops extends StatefulWidget {
   const _Backdrops({required this.controller, required this.page});
 
   final PageController controller;
   final int page;
 
+  @override
+  State<_Backdrops> createState() => _BackdropsState();
+}
+
+class _BackdropsState extends State<_Backdrops> {
+  // Each wall starts and stops its own clock from these. A TickerMode did it
+  // before, but every Image under one depends on it, so each flip re-resolved
+  // a hundred-odd posters on the first and last frame of a swipe; and a muted
+  // ticker's clock keeps counting, so a wall jumped ahead when it settled.
+  final _running = [for (var i = 0; i < 3; i++) ValueNotifier(false)];
+
+  // Built once: a swipe frame rebuilds the fade and the scale around them,
+  // never the walls themselves.
+  late final List<Widget> _walls = [
+    // The page's scrim already fades them into the background.
+    PosterWall(
+      posters: kMoviePosters,
+      fadeBottom: false,
+      running: _running[0],
+    ),
+    AnimeRibbons(fadeBottom: false, running: _running[1]),
+    TvShowcase(running: _running[2]),
+  ];
+
+  @override
+  void dispose() {
+    for (final r in _running) {
+      r.dispose();
+    }
+    super.dispose();
+  }
+
   @override
   Widget build(BuildContext context) {
+    final controller = widget.controller;
     return AnimatedBuilder(
       animation: controller,
       builder: (context, _) {
@@ -282,28 +323,30 @@ class _Backdrops extends StatelessWidget {
         // truth available then.
         final position =
             controller.hasClients && controller.position.haveDimensions
-            ? controller.page ?? page.toDouble()
-            : page.toDouble();
+            ? controller.page ?? widget.page.toDouble()
+            : widget.page.toDouble();
 
         final opacities = backdropOpacities(position);
         // Mid-swipe the walls hold still: the frame then only has the
         // crossfade to draw, not two moving walls under it as well.
         final settled = (position - position.roundToDouble()).abs() < 0.001;
+        for (var i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+          // Only starts or stops controllers; nothing listening rebuilds.
+          _running[i].value = settled && opacities[i] > 0.001;
+        }
 
         return Stack(
           fit: StackFit.expand,
           children: [
+            // All three stay mounted, unpainted at zero opacity: mounting one
+            // on the first frame of a drag built a whole wall inside it.
             for (var i = 0; i < 3; i++)
-              // Neighbours are mounted ahead, paused and unpainted, so their
-              // posters are decoded before the finger reaches them.
-              if ((position - i).abs() < 1.99)
-                _Backdrop(
-                  key: ValueKey(i),
-                  index: i,
-                  moving: settled,
-                  opacity: opacities[i],
-                  distance: (position - i).abs().clamp(0.0, 1.0),
-                ),
+              _Backdrop(
+                key: ValueKey(i),
+                opacity: opacities[i],
+                distance: (position - i).abs().clamp(0.0, 1.0),
+                child: _walls[i],
+              ),
           ],
         );
       },
@@ -327,36 +370,22 @@ List<double> backdropOpacities(double position) {
 class _Backdrop extends StatelessWidget {
   const _Backdrop({
     super.key,
-    required this.index,
-    required this.moving,
     required this.opacity,
     required this.distance,
+    required this.child,
   });
 
-  final int index;
-  final bool moving;
   final double opacity;
   final double distance;
+  final Widget child;
 
   @override
   Widget build(BuildContext context) {
-    final shown = opacity > 0.001;
-    return TickerMode(
-      enabled: shown && moving,
-      child: Opacity(
-        opacity: opacity,
-        child: RepaintBoundary(
-          // Eases forward as it takes focus.
-          child: Transform.scale(
-            scale: 1 + distance * 0.06,
-            child: switch (index) {
-              // The page's scrim already fades them into the background.
-              0 => const PosterWall(posters: kMoviePosters, fadeBottom: false),
-              1 => const AnimeRibbons(fadeBottom: false),
-              _ => TvShowcase(active: shown),
-            },
-          ),
-        ),
+    return Opacity(
+      opacity: opacity,
+      child: RepaintBoundary(
+        // Eases forward as it takes focus.
+        child: Transform.scale(scale: 1 + distance * 0.06, child: child),
       ),
     );
   }
diff --git a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/anime_ribbons.dart b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/anime_ribbons.dart
index b23f2d74..db46bb4d 100644
--- a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/anime_ribbons.dart
+++ b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/anime_ribbons.dart
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/core/theme/app_colors.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/onboarding/data/onboarding_posters.dart';
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ class AnimeRibbons extends StatefulWidget {
     this.rows = 6,
     this.tilesPerRow = 11,
     this.fadeBottom = true,
+    this.running,
   });
 
   final int rows;
@@ -26,6 +28,10 @@ class AnimeRibbons extends StatefulWidget {
   /// Off where the page already fades the ribbons into its background.
   final bool fadeBottom;
 
+  /// Starts and stops the drift from outside, as the intro does mid-swipe.
+  /// Null: it drifts whenever animations are on.
+  final ValueListenable<bool>? running;
+
   @override
   State<AnimeRibbons> createState() => _AnimeRibbonsState();
 }
@@ -35,13 +41,35 @@ class _AnimeRibbonsState extends State<AnimeRibbons>
   late final AnimationController _controller = AnimationController(
     vsync: this,
     duration: const Duration(seconds: 48),
-  )..repeat();
+  );
+  bool _reduced = false;
+
+  @override
+  void initState() {
+    super.initState();
+    widget.running?.addListener(_sync);
+  }
+
+  @override
+  void didUpdateWidget(AnimeRibbons old) {
+    super.didUpdateWidget(old);
+    if (old.running == widget.running) return;
+    old.running?.removeListener(_sync);
+    widget.running?.addListener(_sync);
+    _sync();
+  }
 
   @override
   void didChangeDependencies() {
     super.didChangeDependencies();
-    final reduced = MediaQuery.disableAnimationsOf(context);
-    if (reduced) {
+    _reduced = MediaQuery.disableAnimationsOf(context);
+    _sync();
+  }
+
+  // Stopped, not muted: a muted ticker's clock keeps counting, so the wall
+  // jumped ahead by however long it had been held once it was let go.
+  void _sync() {
+    if (_reduced || !(widget.running?.value ?? true)) {
       _controller.stop();
     } else if (!_controller.isAnimating) {
       _controller.repeat();
@@ -50,6 +78,7 @@ class _AnimeRibbonsState extends State<AnimeRibbons>
 
   @override
   void dispose() {
+    widget.running?.removeListener(_sync);
     _controller.dispose();
     super.dispose();
   }
diff --git a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/poster_wall.dart b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/poster_wall.dart
index 9f0324f3..6627d25b 100644
--- a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/poster_wall.dart
+++ b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/poster_wall.dart
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/core/theme/app_colors.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/onboarding/data/onboarding_posters.dart';
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ class PosterWall extends StatefulWidget {
     this.tilesPerColumn = 11,
     this.fadeTop = false,
     this.fadeBottom = true,
+    this.running,
   });
 
   final List<String> posters;
@@ -30,6 +32,10 @@ class PosterWall extends StatefulWidget {
   /// is a full-screen offscreen pass on every frame of the drift.
   final bool fadeBottom;
 
+  /// Starts and stops the drift from outside, as the intro does mid-swipe.
+  /// Null: it drifts whenever animations are on.
+  final ValueListenable<bool>? running;
+
   @override
   State<PosterWall> createState() => _PosterWallState();
 }
@@ -44,13 +50,35 @@ class _PosterWallState extends State<PosterWall>
   late final AnimationController _controller = AnimationController(
     vsync: this,
     duration: _cycle,
-  )..repeat();
+  );
+  bool _reduced = false;
+
+  @override
+  void initState() {
+    super.initState();
+    widget.running?.addListener(_sync);
+  }
+
+  @override
+  void didUpdateWidget(PosterWall old) {
+    super.didUpdateWidget(old);
+    if (old.running == widget.running) return;
+    old.running?.removeListener(_sync);
+    widget.running?.addListener(_sync);
+    _sync();
+  }
 
   @override
   void didChangeDependencies() {
     super.didChangeDependencies();
-    final reduced = MediaQuery.disableAnimationsOf(context);
-    if (reduced) {
+    _reduced = MediaQuery.disableAnimationsOf(context);
+    _sync();
+  }
+
+  // Stopped, not muted: a muted ticker's clock keeps counting, so the wall
+  // jumped ahead by however long it had been held once it was let go.
+  void _sync() {
+    if (_reduced || !(widget.running?.value ?? true)) {
       _controller.stop();
     } else if (!_controller.isAnimating) {
       _controller.repeat();
@@ -59,6 +87,7 @@ class _PosterWallState extends State<PosterWall>
 
   @override
   void dispose() {
+    widget.running?.removeListener(_sync);
     _controller.dispose();
     super.dispose();
   }
diff --git a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/tv_showcase.dart b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/tv_showcase.dart
index abb8dce0..25e76afc 100644
--- a/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/tv_showcase.dart
+++ b/lib/features/onboarding/presentation/widgets/tv_showcase.dart
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/core/theme/app_colors.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/onboarding/data/onboarding_posters.dart';
@@ -10,11 +11,12 @@ import 'package:soplay/features/onboarding/data/onboarding_posters.dart';
 /// pairing are the two things people never guess the app can do, and neither
 /// of them looks like a poster.
 class TvShowcase extends StatefulWidget {
-  const TvShowcase({super.key, this.active = true});
+  const TvShowcase({super.key, this.running});
 
-  /// The entrance waits for this, so a showcase mounted ahead of time does
-  /// not spend it off screen.
-  final bool active;
+  /// Starts and stops the scene from outside. The entrance waits for it too,
+  /// so a showcase mounted ahead of time does not spend it off screen.
+  /// Null: it runs whenever animations are on.
+  final ValueListenable<bool>? running;
 
   @override
   State<TvShowcase> createState() => _TvShowcaseState();
@@ -24,71 +26,92 @@ class _TvShowcaseState extends State<TvShowcase> with TickerProviderStateMixin {
   late final AnimationController _loop = AnimationController(
     vsync: this,
     duration: const Duration(seconds: 9),
-  )..repeat();
+  );
 
   // The line-up gets its own clock. On the screen's 9-second loop a strip of
   // forty marks flies past far too fast to read a single one.
   late final AnimationController _strips = AnimationController(
     vsync: this,
     duration: const Duration(seconds: 78),
-  )..repeat();
+  );
 
   late final AnimationController _entrance = AnimationController(
     vsync: this,
     duration: const Duration(milliseconds: 1300),
   );
 
+  // Made once. A CurvedAnimation hangs a status listener on its parent that
+  // only dispose() takes off, and these were made on every build — five more
+  // on each frame of a swipe.
+  late final List<CurvedAnimation> _steps = [
+    for (final start in const [0.0, 0.1, 0.24, 0.34, 0.44])
+      CurvedAnimation(
+        parent: _entrance,
+        curve: Interval(
+          start,
+          (start + 0.5).clamp(0.0, 1.0),
+          curve: Curves.easeOutCubic,
+        ),
+      ),
+  ];
+
+  bool _reduced = false;
+
   @override
   void initState() {
     super.initState();
-    if (widget.active) _entrance.forward();
+    widget.running?.addListener(_sync);
   }
 
   @override
   void didUpdateWidget(TvShowcase old) {
     super.didUpdateWidget(old);
-    if (widget.active && _entrance.value == 0 && !_entrance.isAnimating) {
-      _entrance.forward();
-    }
+    if (old.running == widget.running) return;
+    old.running?.removeListener(_sync);
+    widget.running?.addListener(_sync);
+    _sync();
   }
 
   @override
   void didChangeDependencies() {
     super.didChangeDependencies();
-    final reduced = MediaQuery.disableAnimationsOf(context);
-    if (reduced) {
-      _loop.stop();
-    } else if (!_loop.isAnimating) {
-      _loop.repeat();
-    }
-    if (reduced) {
-      _strips.stop();
-    } else if (!_strips.isAnimating) {
-      _strips.repeat();
+    _reduced = MediaQuery.disableAnimationsOf(context);
+    _sync();
+  }
+
+  // Stopped, not muted: a muted ticker's clock keeps counting, so the scene
+  // jumped ahead by however long it had been held once it was let go.
+  void _sync() {
+    final run = !_reduced && (widget.running?.value ?? true);
+    for (final c in [_loop, _strips]) {
+      if (!run) {
+        c.stop();
+      } else if (!c.isAnimating) {
+        c.repeat();
+      }
     }
-    if (reduced) {
+    if (_reduced) {
       _entrance.stop();
       _entrance.value = 1;
+    } else if (!run) {
+      _entrance.stop();
+    } else if (_entrance.value < 1 && !_entrance.isAnimating) {
+      _entrance.forward();
     }
   }
 
   @override
   void dispose() {
+    widget.running?.removeListener(_sync);
+    for (final s in _steps) {
+      s.dispose();
+    }
     _loop.dispose();
     _strips.dispose();
     _entrance.dispose();
     super.dispose();
   }
 
-  Animation<double> _step(double start) => CurvedAnimation(
-    parent: _entrance,
-    curve: Interval(
-      start,
-      (start + 0.5).clamp(0.0, 1.0),
-      curve: Curves.easeOutCubic,
-    ),
-  );
-
   @override
   Widget build(BuildContext context) {
     return RepaintBoundary(
@@ -100,41 +123,70 @@ class _TvShowcaseState extends State<TvShowcase> with TickerProviderStateMixin {
               // The set assembles itself: screen, then the line-up it carries,
               // then the phone that drives it — the order the sentence reads in.
               _Rise(
-                animation: _step(0),
+                animation: _steps[0],
                 from: 26,
                 child: _Television(controller: _loop),
               ),
-              _Rise(animation: _step(0.1), from: 20, child: const _Stand()),
+              _Rise(animation: _steps[1], from: 20, child: const _Stand()),
               const SizedBox(height: 30),
-              _Rise(
-                animation: _step(0.24),
-                from: 22,
-                child: _ChannelStrip(
-                  controller: _strips,
-                  reverse: false,
-                  speed: 1,
-                ),
-              ),
-              const SizedBox(height: 9),
-              _Rise(
-                animation: _step(0.34),
-                from: 22,
-                child: _ChannelStrip(
-                  controller: _strips,
-                  reverse: true,
-                  speed: 0.78,
-                  offset: 0.33,
-                ),
-              ),
-              const SizedBox(height: 9),
-              _Rise(
-                animation: _step(0.44),
-                from: 22,
-                child: _ChannelStrip(
-                  controller: _strips,
-                  reverse: false,
-                  speed: 0.91,
-                  offset: 0.66,
+              // One mask for the three strips rather than one each: the edges
+              // fade to transparent, so the backdrop behind shows through during
+              // the crossfade, and it is one small offscreen pass instead of
+              // three.
+              ShaderMask(
+                blendMode: BlendMode.dstIn,
+                shaderCallback: (rect) => const LinearGradient(
+                  begin: Alignment.centerLeft,
+                  end: Alignment.centerRight,
+                  colors: [
+                    Colors.transparent,
+                    Colors.white,
+                    Colors.white,
+                    Colors.transparent,
+                  ],
+                  stops: [0, 0.12, 0.88, 1],
+                ).createShader(rect),
+                // Down to where the last strip starts its rise, 22 px lower:
+                // the mask covers only this box, and a strip still rising below
+                // it would show hard edges.
+                child: Padding(
+                  padding: const EdgeInsets.only(bottom: 22),
+                  child: Column(
+                    mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
+                    children: [
+                      _Rise(
+                        animation: _steps[2],
+                        from: 22,
+                        child: _ChannelStrip(
+                          controller: _strips,
+                          reverse: false,
+                          speed: 1,
+                        ),
+                      ),
+                      const SizedBox(height: 9),
+                      _Rise(
+                        animation: _steps[3],
+                        from: 22,
+                        child: _ChannelStrip(
+                          controller: _strips,
+                          reverse: true,
+                          speed: 0.78,
+                          offset: 0.33,
+                        ),
+                      ),
+                      const SizedBox(height: 9),
+                      _Rise(
+                        animation: _steps[4],
+                        from: 22,
+                        child: _ChannelStrip(
+                          controller: _strips,
+                          reverse: false,
+                          speed: 0.91,
+                          offset: 0.66,
+                        ),
+                      ),
+                    ],
+                  ),
                 ),
               ),
             ],
@@ -392,68 +444,52 @@ class _ChannelStrip extends StatelessWidget {
 
     return SizedBox(
       height: _tileHeight,
-      child: ShaderMask(
-        blendMode: BlendMode.dstIn,
-        shaderCallback: (rect) => const LinearGradient(
-          begin: Alignment.centerLeft,
-          end: Alignment.centerRight,
-          colors: [
-            Colors.transparent,
-            Colors.white,
-            Colors.white,
-            Colors.transparent,
-          ],
-          stops: [0, 0.12, 0.88, 1],
-        ).createShader(rect),
-        child: ClipRect(
-          child: OverflowBox(
-            maxWidth: double.infinity,
-            alignment: AlignmentDirectional.centerStart,
-            child: AnimatedBuilder(
-              animation: controller,
-              builder: (context, child) {
-                // Wrapped rather than scaled, so a slower row still closes its
-                // own loop without a jump.
-                final t = (controller.value * speed) % 1.0;
-                return Transform.translate(
-                  offset: Offset(reverse ? t * strip - strip : -t * strip, 0),
-                  child: child,
-                );
-              },
-              child: RepaintBoundary(
-                child: Row(
-                  mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
-                  children: [
-                    for (var pass = 0; pass < 2; pass++)
-                      for (final logo in logos)
-                        Padding(
-                          padding: const EdgeInsetsDirectional.only(end: _gap),
-                          child: Container(
-                            width: _tileWidth,
-                            height: _tileHeight,
-                            padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(
-                              horizontal: 8,
-                              vertical: 8,
-                            ),
-                            decoration: BoxDecoration(
-                              color: AppColors.card.withValues(alpha: 0.85),
-                              borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(7),
-                              border: Border.all(
-                                color: Colors.white.withValues(alpha: 0.08),
-                              ),
-                            ),
-                            child: Image.asset(
-                              logo,
-                              fit: BoxFit.contain,
-                              cacheWidth: (_tileWidth * devicePixelRatio)
-                                  .round(),
-                              errorBuilder: (_, _, _) =>
-                                  const SizedBox.shrink(),
+      child: ClipRect(
+        child: OverflowBox(
+          maxWidth: double.infinity,
+          alignment: AlignmentDirectional.centerStart,
+          child: AnimatedBuilder(
+            animation: controller,
+            builder: (context, child) {
+              // Wrapped rather than scaled, so a slower row still closes its
+              // own loop without a jump.
+              final t = (controller.value * speed) % 1.0;
+              return Transform.translate(
+                offset: Offset(reverse ? t * strip - strip : -t * strip, 0),
+                child: child,
+              );
+            },
+            child: RepaintBoundary(
+              child: Row(
+                mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
+                children: [
+                  for (var pass = 0; pass < 2; pass++)
+                    for (final logo in logos)
+                      Padding(
+                        padding: const EdgeInsetsDirectional.only(end: _gap),
+                        child: Container(
+                          width: _tileWidth,
+                          height: _tileHeight,
+                          padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(
+                            horizontal: 8,
+                            vertical: 8,
+                          ),
+                          decoration: BoxDecoration(
+                            color: AppColors.card.withValues(alpha: 0.85),
+                            borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(7),
+                            border: Border.all(
+                              color: Colors.white.withValues(alpha: 0.08),
                             ),
                           ),
+                          child: Image.asset(
+                            logo,
+                            fit: BoxFit.contain,
+                            cacheWidth: (_tileWidth * devicePixelRatio).round(),
+                            errorBuilder: (_, _, _) => const SizedBox.shrink(),
+                          ),
                         ),
-                  ],
-                ),
+                      ),
+                ],
               ),
             ),
           ),
diff --git a/lib/features/profile/presentation/pages/sources_page.dart b/lib/features/profile/presentation/pages/sources_page.dart
index 0c693b73..ce4b6a88 100644
--- a/lib/features/profile/presentation/pages/sources_page.dart
+++ b/lib/features/profile/presentation/pages/sources_page.dart
@@ -32,9 +32,11 @@ class SourcesPage extends StatelessWidget {
   static List<Widget> extensionRows(BuildContext context) => <Widget>[
     // Ungated: the catalog is read from the backend, so it works everywhere;
     // what it can offer still depends on what this platform runs.
+    // Named for what it does. "Sources by language" with a translate icon
+    // read as a filter, and this is the row that installs sources.
     SettingsNavTile(
-      icon: Icons.translate_rounded,
-      title: 'catalog.title'.tr(),
+      icon: Icons.add_circle_outline_rounded,
+      title: 'ext.add_source'.tr(),
       subtitle: 'catalog.subtitle'.tr(),
       onTap: () => SourceCatalogPage.open(context),
     ),
diff --git a/lib/features/profile/presentation/widgets/provider_quick_switch.dart b/lib/features/profile/presentation/widgets/provider_quick_switch.dart
index 91a1f59e..dc19162e 100644
--- a/lib/features/profile/presentation/widgets/provider_quick_switch.dart
+++ b/lib/features/profile/presentation/widgets/provider_quick_switch.dart
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import 'dart:ui' as ui;
 
 import 'package:easy_localization/easy_localization.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
+import 'package:soplay/features/extensions/presentation/pages/source_catalog_page.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/home/data/datasources/home_data_source.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/sources/domain/source_ecosystem.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/sources/domain/source_scope.dart';
@@ -248,6 +249,14 @@ Future<void> _openSwitcher(
     ),
   );
   if (result == null || !context.mounted) return;
+  if (result == _kAddSourceAction) {
+    // Straight to the catalogue, opened on this mode's kind of source.
+    await SourceCatalogPage.open(
+      context,
+      initialItemType: SourceCatalogPage.itemTypeFor(mode),
+    );
+    return;
+  }
   if (result == _kAllProvidersAction) {
     openProviderPicker(context, bloc);
     return;
@@ -288,6 +297,11 @@ Future<void> _openSwitcher(
 
 const String _kAllProvidersAction = '__all_providers__';
 
+/// "Open the catalogue to install a source". Its own answer rather than
+/// [_kAllProvidersAction]: that one goes to the installed list, and adding
+/// from there is several screens further on.
+const String _kAddSourceAction = '__add_source__';
+
 /// Marks a sheet result as "make this catalogue the home", the same way
 /// [_kModePrefix] marks a mode. Three kinds of answer share one string channel.
 const String _kCataloguePrefix = '__cat__:';
@@ -853,13 +867,47 @@ class ProviderQuickSwitchSheetState extends State<ProviderQuickSwitchSheet> {
           ),
         ),
         const Divider(height: 1),
-        ListTile(
-          // "Add" first, because that is what somebody who cannot find their
-          // source is looking for, and the word was nowhere on this sheet.
-          leading: const Icon(Icons.add_rounded),
-          title: Text('ux.add_or_manage_sources'.tr()),
-          trailing: const Icon(Icons.chevron_right_rounded),
-          onTap: () => Navigator.of(context).pop(_kAllProvidersAction),
+        // Two actions, not one row that claims both. "Add or manage sources"
+        // opened the installed list, which since v3.2.0 has had no add button,
+        // so adding was three screens further on. Adding is the primary
+        // action and now goes straight to the catalogue.
+        Padding(
+          padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(12, 8, 12, 8),
+          child: Row(
+            children: [
+              Expanded(
+                flex: 3,
+                child: FilledButton.icon(
+                  onPressed: () => Navigator.of(context).pop(_kAddSourceAction),
+                  style: FilledButton.styleFrom(
+                    backgroundColor: AppColors.primary,
+                    foregroundColor: Colors.white,
+                    minimumSize: const Size(0, 48),
+                  ),
+                  icon: const Icon(Icons.add_rounded),
+                  label: Text(
+                    'ext.add_source'.tr(),
+                    maxLines: 1,
+                    overflow: TextOverflow.ellipsis,
+                  ),
+                ),
+              ),
+              const SizedBox(width: 8),
+              Expanded(
+                flex: 2,
+                child: TextButton(
+                  onPressed: () =>
+                      Navigator.of(context).pop(_kAllProvidersAction),
+                  style: TextButton.styleFrom(minimumSize: const Size(0, 48)),
+                  child: Text(
+                    'source_manager.manage'.tr(),
+                    maxLines: 1,
+                    overflow: TextOverflow.ellipsis,
+                  ),
+                ),
+              ),
+            ],
+          ),
         ),
       ],
     );
diff --git a/lib/features/sources/presentation/pages/sources_hub_page.dart b/lib/features/sources/presentation/pages/sources_hub_page.dart
index 92c4749a..1d741e73 100644
--- a/lib/features/sources/presentation/pages/sources_hub_page.dart
+++ b/lib/features/sources/presentation/pages/sources_hub_page.dart
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import 'package:soplay/features/profile/presentation/bloc/provider_bloc.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/profile/presentation/bloc/provider_event.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/profile/presentation/bloc/provider_state.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/extensions/presentation/pages/source_catalog_page.dart';
-import 'package:soplay/features/extensions/domain/entities/catalog_source_entity.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/jellyfin/presentation/pages/jellyfin_servers_page.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/profile/presentation/pages/sources_page.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/sources/data/source_browse_repository.dart';
@@ -303,6 +302,31 @@ class _SourcesHubPageState extends State<SourcesHubPage>
     context,
   ).push(MaterialPageRoute<void>(builder: (_) => const SourcesPage()));
 
+  /// Straight to the installable catalogue, opened on this tab's kind of
+  /// source.
+  ///
+  /// v3.2.0 removed this and left only "Manage", so adding a source meant
+  /// Manage, then a settings row called "Sources by language", from the page
+  /// people open in order to add one.
+  Future<void> _openInstaller() async {
+    final hive = getIt<HiveService>();
+    final before = hive.getContentMode();
+    await SourceCatalogPage.open(
+      context,
+      initialItemType: SourceCatalogPage.itemTypeFor(
+        ContentMode.values[_tabs.index],
+      ),
+    );
+    if (!mounted) return;
+    // "Use" in the catalogue can switch mode. Only then land on the tab of
+    // the source now in use; otherwise stay on the tab the viewer came from,
+    // where what they just installed is listed. _onTabMoved resets the scope.
+    final after = hive.getContentMode();
+    if (after == before) return;
+    final now = ContentMode.fromId(after).index;
+    if (_tabs.index != now) _tabs.index = now;
+  }
+
   /// One per tab. A shared controller would carry the Manga tab's offset into
   /// the Watch tab the moment the two were alive at once, which is every
   /// swipe.
@@ -318,13 +342,6 @@ class _SourcesHubPageState extends State<SourcesHubPage>
 
   int _lastTab = -1;
 
-  /// Which half of the screen you are in: what you have, or what you could
-  /// have. They were two screens with the same name and a button between
-  /// them — "Sources" listing what was installed, "Add source" listing what
-  /// could be, and a third page behind that for the repositories both came
-  /// from.
-  bool _adding = false;
-
   /// Opening on the source in use is a one-time move, per tab. Re-running it
   /// after a keystroke in the search field would drag the list out from under
   /// the typing.
@@ -403,8 +420,6 @@ class _SourcesHubPageState extends State<SourcesHubPage>
           ),
           child: open != null
               ? _SourceBrowseView(key: ValueKey(open.id), source: open)
-              : _adding
-              ? _addLevel()
               : _hub(),
         ),
       ),
@@ -467,28 +482,34 @@ class _SourcesHubPageState extends State<SourcesHubPage>
             child: Row(
               mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
               children: [
-                _LevelPill(
-                  label: 'sources.installed'.tr(),
-                  active: !_adding,
-                  onTap: () => setState(() => _adding = false),
+                // The primary action, labelled, in the header that never
+                // scrolls away. It opens the catalogue directly; "Manage" next
+                // to it is for repositories, DNS and ecosystems.
+                Flexible(
+                  child: FilledButton.icon(
+                    onPressed: _openInstaller,
+                    style: FilledButton.styleFrom(
+                      backgroundColor: AppColors.primary,
+                      foregroundColor: Colors.white,
+                      minimumSize: const Size(0, 36),
+                      tapTargetSize: MaterialTapTargetSize.shrinkWrap,
+                      padding: const EdgeInsetsDirectional.fromSTEB(12, 0, 16, 0),
+                    ),
+                    icon: const Icon(Icons.add_rounded, size: 18),
+                    label: Text(
+                      'ext.add_source'.tr(),
+                      maxLines: 1,
+                      overflow: TextOverflow.ellipsis,
+                    ),
+                  ),
                 ),
                 const SizedBox(width: 6),
-                // Manage, not "Add source".
-                //
-                // This pill used to flip the same screen over to the
-                // installable catalogue — a second list, on the same page,
-                // under the same title, with its own search and its own
-                // chips. Two lists behind one pair of pills is where this
-                // screen got confusing, and it buried the page that actually
-                // organises sources: the ecosystems, the by-language browser
-                // and DNS all live on [SourcesPage], which had become
-                // reachable only through an overflow menu on a page you had
-                // to flip to first. The pill opens that instead, and the
-                // catalogue is reached from there, where it belongs.
-                _LevelPill(
-                  label: 'source_manager.manage'.tr(),
-                  active: false,
-                  onTap: _openExtensions,
+                Flexible(
+                  child: _LevelPill(
+                    label: 'source_manager.manage'.tr(),
+                    active: false,
+                    onTap: _openExtensions,
+                  ),
                 ),
               ],
             ),
@@ -498,50 +519,6 @@ class _SourcesHubPageState extends State<SourcesHubPage>
     );
   }
 
-  /// Everything you could install, and the repositories it comes from.
-  ///
-  /// The catalogue is the same screen it always was, minus its app bar: this
-  /// one already has a title, and two stacked app bars is not a screen. The
-  /// repositories are a row under it rather than a page behind a ⋯ button in
-  /// a corner of it.
-  Widget _addLevel() {
-    return Column(
-      children: [
-        Expanded(
-          child: SourceCatalogPage(
-            embedded: true,
-            initialItemType: switch (ContentMode.values[_tabs.index]) {
-              ContentMode.manga => CatalogItemType.manga,
-              ContentMode.novel => CatalogItemType.novel,
-              ContentMode.video => null,
-            },
-          ),
-        ),
-        const Divider(height: 1),
-        SafeArea(
-          top: false,
-          child: Column(
-            mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
-            children: [
-              ListTile(
-                leading: const Icon(Icons.folder_copy_outlined),
-                title: Text('source_manager.manage_repositories'.tr()),
-                trailing: const Icon(Icons.chevron_right_rounded),
-                onTap: _openExtensions,
-              ),
-              ListTile(
-                leading: const Icon(Icons.dns_outlined),
-                title: Text('jellyfin.connect_server'.tr()),
-                trailing: const Icon(Icons.chevron_right_rounded),
-                onTap: () => JellyfinServersPage.open(context),
-              ),
-            ],
-          ),
-        ),
-      ],
-    );
-  }
-
   PreferredSizeWidget _browseBar(ProviderEntity source) {
     return AppBar(
       backgroundColor: AppColors.background,
@@ -1025,8 +1002,10 @@ class _SourcesHubPageState extends State<SourcesHubPage>
       // An empty mode is a dead end without this. Manga and novels are both
       // extension ecosystems, so a fresh install has nothing in either tab
       // and the only way out is a gear icon the message never mentions.
-      actionLabel: needle.isEmpty ? 'source_manager.manage'.tr() : null,
-      onAction: needle.isEmpty ? _openExtensions : null,
+      // Straight to the catalogue on this tab's kind; an empty tab is
+      // exactly when somebody wants to add, not to manage.
+      actionLabel: needle.isEmpty ? 'ext.add_source'.tr() : null,
+      onAction: needle.isEmpty ? _openInstaller : null,
     );
   }
 
diff --git a/test/features/detail/player_history_cadence_test.dart b/test/features/detail/player_history_cadence_test.dart
index 40f73806..82a93241 100644
--- a/test/features/detail/player_history_cadence_test.dart
+++ b/test/features/detail/player_history_cadence_test.dart
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ void main() {
     });
 
     test('the floor is the shared rule, not a number spelled out here', () {
-      final body = bodyOf(history, 'void _saveHistory()');
+      final body = bodyOf(history, 'void _saveHistory({bool notify = true})');
       expect(body, contains('WatchProgress.countsAsAViewing'));
       expect(
         body,
diff --git a/test/features/detail/scrub_curve_test.dart b/test/features/detail/scrub_curve_test.dart
index 936ac3a1..edff9e1d 100644
--- a/test/features/detail/scrub_curve_test.dart
+++ b/test/features/detail/scrub_curve_test.dart
@@ -1,51 +1,43 @@
-// Where a horizontal swipe on the video lands: fine near the start, far with
-// a long swipe, and nothing at all when the finger comes back.
+// Where a horizontal swipe on the video lands: linear, minutes per full
+// swipe rather than the whole video, and nothing when the finger comes back.
 import 'package:flutter_test/flutter_test.dart';
 import 'package:soplay/features/detail/domain/scrub_curve.dart';
 
 void main() {
   const episode = 24 * 60 * 1000;
-  int at(double cm, {int from = 600000, int duration = episode}) =>
+  const film = 2 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+  const width = 832.0; // Galaxy S22, landscape, logical px
+  int at(double px, {int from = 600000, int duration = episode}) =>
       ScrubCurve.targetMs(
         baselineMs: from,
         durationMs: duration,
-        deltaPx: cm * ScrubCurve.pxPerCm,
+        deltaPx: px,
+        widthPx: width,
       );
 
   test('a finger back at its start changes nothing', () {
     expect(at(0), 600000);
-    expect(at(0.2), 600000);
-    expect(at(-0.2), 600000);
-    expect(ScrubCurve.cancels(0.2 * ScrubCurve.pxPerCm), isTrue);
-    expect(ScrubCurve.cancels(0.5 * ScrubCurve.pxPerCm), isFalse);
+    expect(at(ScrubCurve.deadZonePx - 1), 600000);
+    expect(at(-(ScrubCurve.deadZonePx - 1)), 600000);
+    expect(ScrubCurve.cancels(ScrubCurve.deadZonePx - 1), isTrue);
+    expect(ScrubCurve.cancels(ScrubCurve.deadZonePx + 1), isFalse);
   });
 
-  test('fine near the start, far with a long swipe', () {
-    // About two seconds a centimetre at first.
-    expect(at(1) - 600000, inInclusiveRange(2000, 5000));
-    // A long swipe covers minutes — the old 90 s-per-width cap is gone.
-    expect(at(8) - 600000, greaterThan(10 * 60 * 1000));
-    // Backwards is the mirror of forwards.
-    expect(600000 - at(-2), at(2) - 600000);
+  test('linear: twice the travel is twice the time, both ways', () {
+    final one = at(ScrubCurve.deadZonePx + 100) - 600000;
+    final two = at(ScrubCurve.deadZonePx + 200) - 600000;
+    expect((two - 2 * one).abs(), lessThanOrEqualTo(1000));
+    expect(600000 - at(-(ScrubCurve.deadZonePx + 100)), one);
   });
 
-  test('keeps growing with distance and stays inside the video', () {
-    var last = 600000;
-    for (var cm = 0.5; cm <= 20; cm += 0.5) {
-      final t = at(cm);
-      expect(t, greaterThanOrEqualTo(last));
-      last = t;
-    }
-    expect(at(40), episode);
-    expect(at(-40), 0);
+  test('a full swipe is minutes, not the whole video', () {
+    expect(at(width, from: 0), inInclusiveRange(120000, 180000));
+    expect(at(width, from: 0, duration: film), inInclusiveRange(150000, 180000));
+    expect(at(width, from: 0, duration: 90000), inInclusiveRange(20000, 45000));
   });
 
-  test('a short clip still reaches a minute; a film is capped at 20', () {
-    expect(
-      at(8, from: 0, duration: 90 * 1000),
-      greaterThanOrEqualTo(60 * 1000),
-    );
-    final film = 3 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
-    expect(at(8, from: 0, duration: film), lessThanOrEqualTo(21 * 60 * 1000));
+  test('stays inside the video', () {
+    expect(at(40 * width), episode);
+    expect(at(-40 * width), 0);
   });
 }
diff --git a/test/features/mobile_ux_test.dart b/test/features/mobile_ux_test.dart
index fa946827..86851cc1 100644
--- a/test/features/mobile_ux_test.dart
+++ b/test/features/mobile_ux_test.dart
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ void main() {
     await tester.enterText(find.byType(TextField), 'not installed anywhere');
     await tester.pumpAndSettle();
     expect(find.text('No sources match your search.'), findsOneWidget);
-    expect(find.text('Add or manage sources'), findsOneWidget);
+    expect(find.text('Add source'), findsOneWidget);
     expect(tester.takeException(), isNull);
   });