diff --git a/bin/prod-vs-dev-compare.py b/bin/prod-vs-dev-compare.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1a3b6f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/prod-vs-dev-compare.py
@@ -0,0 +1,597 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""ARRFLIX prod-vs-dev playback divergence test (2026-05-09).
+
+Runs the SAME flow against arrflix.s8n.ru (prod) and dev.arrflix.s8n.ru (dev)
+for the same physical file (Mike Nolan Show S01E04 — Ding Dong Delli.mkv,
+H.264+AAC) and produces a side-by-side diff:
+
+  - URL of master.m3u8 / Videos/{id}/stream
+  - PlaybackInfo response MediaSources[0] (DirectPlay/DirectStream/Transcode)
+  - Final <video> element state at t=5/10/20/30s after Play
+  - Server ffmpeg cmdline (if transcoding) from docker logs
+  - HTTP status of all /Videos /Items /master.m3u8 /PlaybackInfo /Audio
+    /stream requests
+
+Artifacts: /tmp/arrflix-prod-vs-dev/{prod,dev}/{...} + diff.json + diff.md.
+
+Run:
+  bin/prod-vs-dev-compare.py
+"""
+import sys, os, json, time, asyncio, ssl, urllib.request, urllib.error, urllib.parse, subprocess, re
+from pathlib import Path
+from playwright.async_api import async_playwright
+
+OUT = "/tmp/arrflix-prod-vs-dev"
+os.makedirs(OUT, exist_ok=True)
+
+SIDES = [
+    {"side": "prod", "url": "https://arrflix.s8n.ru",     "user": "s8n",  "pw": "2001dude",
+     "container": "jellyfin"},
+    {"side": "dev",  "url": "https://dev.arrflix.s8n.ru", "user": "test", "pw": "2001dude",
+     "container": "jellyfin-dev"},
+]
+
+ITEM_ID = "9312799ca24979bd05aad9733ce7ee14"   # MNS S01E04 (same on both sides)
+ITEM_LABEL = "Mike Nolan Show — S01E04 (Ding Dong Delli)"
+
+DEVICE_ID = "prodvsdev-2026-05-09"
+CLIENT = "ProdVsDev"
+APIKEY_NAME = "arrflix-prodvsdev-2026-05-09"
+
+CTX = ssl._create_unverified_context()
+
+
+# ------------------- HTTP helpers -------------------
+
+def auth_h(token=None):
+    h = (f'MediaBrowser Client="{CLIENT}", Device="cli", DeviceId="{DEVICE_ID}", '
+         f'Version="1.0"')
+    if token:
+        h += f', Token="{token}"'
+    return h
+
+
+def http(url, path, method="GET", body=None, token=None):
+    data = json.dumps(body).encode() if body is not None else None
+    headers = {
+        "Authorization": auth_h(token),
+        "Content-Type": "application/json",
+    }
+    req = urllib.request.Request(
+        f"{url}{path}", data=data, headers=headers, method=method)
+    raw = urllib.request.urlopen(req, context=CTX, timeout=20).read()
+    return json.loads(raw) if raw else {}
+
+
+def login(url, user, pw):
+    last_err = None
+    for attempt in range(3):
+        try:
+            return http(url, "/Users/AuthenticateByName", "POST",
+                        {"Username": user, "Pw": pw})
+        except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
+            last_err = e
+            if e.code in (500, 503):
+                time.sleep(3); continue
+            raise
+    raise last_err
+
+
+def playbackinfo(url, item_id, user_id, token):
+    """Mimic the web-client's /PlaybackInfo POST body for a generic browser."""
+    body = {
+        "DeviceProfile": {
+            "MaxStreamingBitrate": 140000000,
+            "MaxStaticBitrate": 100000000,
+            "MusicStreamingTranscodingBitrate": 384000,
+            "DirectPlayProfiles": [
+                {"Container": "mp4,m4v", "Type": "Video",
+                 "VideoCodec": "h264,hevc,vp9,av1",
+                 "AudioCodec": "aac,mp3,ac3,eac3,opus,flac"},
+                {"Container": "mkv", "Type": "Video",
+                 "VideoCodec": "h264,hevc,vp9,av1",
+                 "AudioCodec": "aac,mp3,ac3,eac3,opus,flac"},
+                {"Container": "webm", "Type": "Video",
+                 "VideoCodec": "vp9,av1", "AudioCodec": "opus,vorbis"},
+            ],
+            "TranscodingProfiles": [
+                {"Container": "ts", "Type": "Video", "VideoCodec": "h264",
+                 "AudioCodec": "aac", "Protocol": "hls", "Context": "Streaming",
+                 "MaxAudioChannels": "2"},
+                {"Container": "mp4", "Type": "Video", "VideoCodec": "h264",
+                 "AudioCodec": "aac", "Context": "Static",
+                 "MaxAudioChannels": "2"},
+            ],
+            "ContainerProfiles": [],
+            "CodecProfiles": [],
+            "SubtitleProfiles": [
+                {"Format": "vtt", "Method": "External"},
+                {"Format": "srt", "Method": "External"},
+            ],
+        },
+        "AutoOpenLiveStream": True,
+        "IsPlayback": True,
+    }
+    return http(url, f"/Items/{item_id}/PlaybackInfo?UserId={user_id}",
+                "POST", body, token=token)
+
+
+def make_apikey(url, token, name=APIKEY_NAME):
+    """Issue an API key. Jellyfin only takes the name in query string."""
+    try:
+        http(url, f"/Auth/Keys?App={name}", "POST", token=token)
+    except urllib.error.HTTPError:
+        pass
+    keys = http(url, "/Auth/Keys", token=token)
+    for k in keys.get("Items", []):
+        if k.get("AppName") == name:
+            return k.get("AccessToken")
+    return None
+
+
+def del_apikey(url, token, name=APIKEY_NAME):
+    try:
+        keys = http(url, "/Auth/Keys", token=token)
+        for k in keys.get("Items", []):
+            if k.get("AppName") == name:
+                http(url, f"/Auth/Keys/{k['AccessToken']}", "DELETE", token=token)
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"[!] del_apikey({name}): {e}")
+
+
+# ------------------- Playwright run -------------------
+
+async def run_side(p, side_cfg):
+    side = side_cfg["side"]; url = side_cfg["url"]
+    user = side_cfg["user"]; pw = side_cfg["pw"]
+    side_dir = os.path.join(OUT, side)
+    os.makedirs(side_dir, exist_ok=True)
+
+    # API login
+    auth = login(url, user, pw)
+    token = auth["AccessToken"]; uid = auth["User"]["Id"]
+    server_id = auth["ServerId"]
+    is_admin = auth["User"].get("Policy", {}).get("IsAdministrator", False)
+    print(f"\n=== {side} === user={user} uid={uid} admin={is_admin}")
+
+    # API-side PlaybackInfo (independent of browser, for canonical record)
+    pbi_api = playbackinfo(url, ITEM_ID, uid, token)
+    with open(os.path.join(side_dir, "playbackinfo-api.json"), "w") as f:
+        json.dump(pbi_api, f, indent=2)
+    ms = pbi_api.get("MediaSources", [])
+    if ms:
+        m = ms[0]
+        print(f"[{side}] PlaybackInfo (API): DirectPlay={m.get('SupportsDirectPlay')} "
+              f"DirectStream={m.get('SupportsDirectStream')} "
+              f"Transcoding={m.get('SupportsTranscoding')} "
+              f"transcodeUrl={m.get('TranscodingUrl','-')[:80]}")
+
+    # API key for this run (caller asked, even if not strictly needed here)
+    apikey = make_apikey(url, token)
+    print(f"[{side}] api key: {apikey[:8] if apikey else None}")
+
+    # Browser pass
+    browser = await p.chromium.launch(
+        headless=True,
+        args=["--no-sandbox", "--disable-dev-shm-usage",
+              "--autoplay-policy=no-user-gesture-required",
+              "--use-fake-ui-for-media-stream"])
+    ctx = await browser.new_context(
+        viewport={"width": 1600, "height": 900},
+        ignore_https_errors=True)
+    page = await ctx.new_page()
+
+    requests, responses, console = [], [], []
+    pbi_response_bodies = []
+
+    def on_request(req):
+        u = req.url
+        if any(x in u for x in ["/Videos/", "/Items/", "/master.m3u8",
+                                "/PlaybackInfo", "/Audio/", "/stream"]):
+            requests.append({"method": req.method, "url": u,
+                             "post": req.post_data[:300] if req.post_data else None})
+
+    page.on("request", on_request)
+
+    async def on_response(r):
+        u = r.url
+        if any(x in u for x in ["/Videos/", "/Items/", "/master.m3u8",
+                                "/PlaybackInfo", "/Audio/", "/stream"]):
+            entry = {"method": r.request.method, "url": u, "status": r.status}
+            responses.append(entry)
+            if "/PlaybackInfo" in u and r.request.method == "POST":
+                try:
+                    body = await r.json()
+                    pbi_response_bodies.append({"url": u, "body": body})
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+
+    page.on("response", lambda r: asyncio.create_task(on_response(r)))
+    page.on("console", lambda m: console.append({"type": m.type,
+                                                 "text": m.text[:300]}))
+
+    # Form login (handles both manual-form and user-avatar landing pages)
+    await page.goto(f"{url}/web/", wait_until="networkidle", timeout=30000)
+    await asyncio.sleep(3)
+    # If we landed on the avatar/user-list selection screen, click "Manual Login"
+    try:
+        manual = await page.query_selector(".manualLoginForm a, .btnManual, a.button-link")
+        if manual:
+            txt = (await manual.inner_text()).strip().lower()
+            if "manual" in txt:
+                await manual.click()
+                await asyncio.sleep(2)
+        # Or there might be a direct "Manual Login" button on the avatar grid
+        manual_btn = await page.query_selector("text=/Manual Login/i")
+        if manual_btn:
+            try:
+                await manual_btn.click(timeout=2000); await asyncio.sleep(1)
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"[{side}] manual-login click attempt: {e}")
+    try:
+        await page.wait_for_selector("input[type=password]", timeout=15000)
+        # Use the canonical Jellyfin login fields
+        u_sel = "#txtManualName"
+        pw_sel = "#txtManualPassword"
+        # Fall back to dynamic discovery if the canonical IDs are absent
+        if not await page.query_selector(u_sel):
+            inputs = await page.evaluate(
+                "() => Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('input')).map(i => "
+                "({id:i.id, name:i.name, type:i.type}))")
+            u_sel = pw_sel = None
+            for i in inputs:
+                fid, fname, ftype = i.get("id", ""), i.get("name", ""), i.get("type", "")
+                if not u_sel and (ftype == "text" or "user" in (fid+fname).lower()
+                                  or "name" in (fid+fname).lower()):
+                    u_sel = f"#{fid}" if fid else f'input[name="{fname}"]'
+                if not pw_sel and ftype == "password":
+                    pw_sel = f"#{fid}" if fid else f'input[name="{fname}"]'
+        await page.fill(u_sel, user)
+        await page.fill(pw_sel, pw)
+        await page.keyboard.press("Enter")
+        await page.wait_for_load_state("networkidle", timeout=20000)
+        await asyncio.sleep(3)
+        print(f"[{side}] form login OK as {user}")
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"[{side}] form login error: {e}")
+
+    # Navigate to detail page
+    target = f"{url}/web/#/details?id={ITEM_ID}&serverId={server_id}"
+    print(f"[{side}] goto {target}")
+    await page.goto(target, wait_until="networkidle", timeout=30000)
+    await asyncio.sleep(4)
+    await page.screenshot(path=os.path.join(side_dir, "detail.png"))
+
+    # Click Play
+    play_clicked = False
+    used_sel = None
+    for sel in [".btnPlay", "[data-action=\"play\"]"]:
+        try:
+            btn = await page.query_selector(sel)
+            if btn:
+                box = await btn.bounding_box()
+                if box and box["width"] > 0:
+                    await btn.click(timeout=5000)
+                    play_clicked = True; used_sel = sel; break
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+    if not play_clicked:
+        try:
+            await page.keyboard.press("p"); play_clicked = True; used_sel = "kbd:p"
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+    print(f"[{side}] play clicked={play_clicked} via={used_sel}")
+
+    # Sample state at t=5/10/20/30s
+    timestamps = [5, 10, 20, 30]
+    samples = []
+    last = 0
+    for t in timestamps:
+        await asyncio.sleep(t - last)
+        last = t
+        snap = await page.evaluate("""() => {
+            const v = document.querySelector('video');
+            if (!v) return { present: false };
+            // Sample whether the <video> is painting actual pixels by drawing
+            // a thumbnail to a hidden canvas and checking the average luma.
+            // If the average is ~0 (or all-near-zero), the video element is
+            // rendering opaque black despite claiming to play.
+            let paintLuma = null, paintRGBSum = null, paintOk = null, paintErr = null;
+            try {
+                const c = document.createElement('canvas');
+                c.width = 32; c.height = 18;
+                const ctx = c.getContext('2d', { willReadFrequently: true });
+                ctx.drawImage(v, 0, 0, 32, 18);
+                const d = ctx.getImageData(0, 0, 32, 18).data;
+                let r=0,g=0,b=0,n=0;
+                for (let i=0;i<d.length;i+=4){r+=d[i];g+=d[i+1];b+=d[i+2];n++;}
+                paintLuma = (0.299*r + 0.587*g + 0.114*b) / n;
+                paintRGBSum = (r+g+b)/n;
+                paintOk = paintLuma > 4;  // > a few luma above pure black
+            } catch (e) { paintErr = String(e); }
+            return {
+                present: true,
+                src: v.src || '',
+                currentSrc: v.currentSrc || '',
+                currentTime: v.currentTime,
+                duration: v.duration,
+                paused: v.paused,
+                ended: v.ended,
+                readyState: v.readyState,
+                networkState: v.networkState,
+                error: v.error ? { code: v.error.code, message: v.error.message } : null,
+                videoWidth: v.videoWidth,
+                videoHeight: v.videoHeight,
+                bufferedRanges: v.buffered.length,
+                bufferedEnd: v.buffered.length ? v.buffered.end(v.buffered.length-1) : 0,
+                paintLuma, paintRGBSum, paintOk, paintErr,
+            };
+        }""")
+        samples.append({"t": t, "video": snap})
+        await page.screenshot(path=os.path.join(side_dir, f"play-t{t}.png"))
+        ct = snap.get('currentTime')
+        ct_s = f"{ct:.2f}" if isinstance(ct, (int, float)) else str(ct)
+        pl = snap.get('paintLuma')
+        pl_s = f"{pl:.1f}" if isinstance(pl, (int, float)) else str(pl)
+        print(f"[{side}] t={t}s: time={ct_s} "
+              f"paused={snap.get('paused')} err={snap.get('error')} "
+              f"dim={snap.get('videoWidth')}x{snap.get('videoHeight')} "
+              f"rs={snap.get('readyState')} paintLuma={pl_s} paintOk={snap.get('paintOk')}")
+
+    # Final src URL fully decoded
+    final_src = samples[-1]["video"].get("currentSrc") or samples[-1]["video"].get("src", "")
+    final_src_decoded = urllib.parse.unquote(final_src) if final_src else ""
+
+    await browser.close()
+
+    # Server side ffmpeg / transcode log
+    server_logs = ""
+    try:
+        server_logs = subprocess.check_output(
+            ["ssh", "-o", "ConnectTimeout=5", "user@192.168.0.100",
+             f"docker logs --since 2m {side_cfg['container']} 2>&1 | tail -300"],
+            timeout=15).decode(errors="replace")
+    except Exception as e:
+        server_logs = f"(failed to fetch server logs: {e})"
+
+    # Extract ffmpeg cmdline + transcode reasons from log
+    ffmpeg_cmd = None
+    for line in server_logs.splitlines():
+        if "ffmpeg" in line.lower() and ("-i " in line or "-f hls" in line or "-c:v" in line):
+            ffmpeg_cmd = line.strip()
+            break
+    transcode_reasons = []
+    for line in server_logs.splitlines():
+        if "transcode reason" in line.lower() or "TranscodeReasons" in line:
+            transcode_reasons.append(line.strip())
+
+    # Save artifacts
+    side_out = {
+        "side": side, "url": url, "user": user, "uid": uid, "is_admin": is_admin,
+        "server_id": server_id, "item_id": ITEM_ID, "item_label": ITEM_LABEL,
+        "play_clicked": play_clicked, "play_selector": used_sel,
+        "samples": samples,
+        "final_src": final_src,
+        "final_src_decoded": final_src_decoded,
+        "playbackinfo_api": pbi_api,
+        "playbackinfo_browser_responses": pbi_response_bodies,
+        "requests": requests,
+        "responses": responses,
+        "console": console[-200:],
+        "ffmpeg_cmdline": ffmpeg_cmd,
+        "transcode_reasons_log": transcode_reasons,
+    }
+    with open(os.path.join(side_dir, "result.json"), "w") as f:
+        json.dump(side_out, f, indent=2, default=str)
+    with open(os.path.join(side_dir, "server.log"), "w") as f:
+        f.write(server_logs)
+
+    # Cleanup the temp api key
+    del_apikey(url, token)
+
+    return side_out
+
+
+# ------------------- Diff & report -------------------
+
+def diff_results(prod, dev):
+    """Build the comparison matrix."""
+    def keyfields(pbi):
+        ms = pbi.get("MediaSources", [])
+        if not ms:
+            return None
+        m = ms[0]
+        return {
+            "Container": m.get("Container"),
+            "Protocol": m.get("Protocol"),
+            "SupportsDirectPlay": m.get("SupportsDirectPlay"),
+            "SupportsDirectStream": m.get("SupportsDirectStream"),
+            "SupportsTranscoding": m.get("SupportsTranscoding"),
+            "TranscodingUrl": m.get("TranscodingUrl"),
+            "TranscodingSubProtocol": m.get("TranscodingSubProtocol"),
+            "TranscodingContainer": m.get("TranscodingContainer"),
+            "TranscodeReasons": m.get("TranscodeReasons"),
+            "Bitrate": m.get("Bitrate"),
+            "Size": m.get("Size"),
+            "Path": m.get("Path"),
+        }
+    p_pbi = keyfields(prod["playbackinfo_api"])
+    d_pbi = keyfields(dev["playbackinfo_api"])
+    last_p = prod["samples"][-1]["video"]
+    last_d = dev["samples"][-1]["video"]
+
+    out = {
+        "item_id": ITEM_ID, "label": ITEM_LABEL,
+        "prod_url": prod["url"], "dev_url": dev["url"],
+        "playback_info_diff": {
+            "prod": p_pbi, "dev": d_pbi,
+            "differences": {
+                k: {"prod": p_pbi.get(k), "dev": d_pbi.get(k)}
+                for k in (set(p_pbi or {}) | set(d_pbi or {}))
+                if (p_pbi or {}).get(k) != (d_pbi or {}).get(k)
+            } if p_pbi and d_pbi else "missing-on-one-side",
+        },
+        "video_state_t30": {
+            "prod": last_p,
+            "dev": last_d,
+            "differences": {
+                k: {"prod": last_p.get(k), "dev": last_d.get(k)}
+                for k in (set(last_p) | set(last_d))
+                if last_p.get(k) != last_d.get(k)
+            },
+        },
+        "stream_url_prod": prod.get("final_src_decoded"),
+        "stream_url_dev": dev.get("final_src_decoded"),
+        "ffmpeg_cmdline_prod": prod.get("ffmpeg_cmdline"),
+        "ffmpeg_cmdline_dev": dev.get("ffmpeg_cmdline"),
+        "transcode_reasons_log_prod": prod.get("transcode_reasons_log"),
+        "transcode_reasons_log_dev": dev.get("transcode_reasons_log"),
+        "http_status_diff": [],
+    }
+
+    # HTTP-status diff: for matched URL templates, show statuses where they differ.
+    def normalise(u):
+        # Strip /Videos/{id} → /Videos/* and quoting; keep last path segment
+        u = re.sub(r"/Videos/[a-f0-9]{32}", "/Videos/*", u)
+        u = re.sub(r"/Items/[a-f0-9]{32}", "/Items/*", u)
+        u = re.sub(r"\?.*$", "", u)
+        u = re.sub(r"^https?://[^/]+", "", u)
+        return u
+
+    def status_map(rs):
+        out = {}
+        for r in rs:
+            k = (r["method"], normalise(r["url"]))
+            out.setdefault(k, []).append(r["status"])
+        return out
+
+    sp = status_map(prod.get("responses", []))
+    sd = status_map(dev.get("responses", []))
+    keys = set(sp) | set(sd)
+    for k in sorted(keys):
+        if sp.get(k) != sd.get(k):
+            out["http_status_diff"].append({
+                "method": k[0], "path": k[1],
+                "prod": sp.get(k), "dev": sd.get(k),
+            })
+    return out
+
+
+def render_md(diff, prod, dev):
+    pp = diff["playback_info_diff"].get("prod") or {}
+    dp = diff["playback_info_diff"].get("dev") or {}
+    last_p = diff["video_state_t30"]["prod"]
+    last_d = diff["video_state_t30"]["dev"]
+
+    def fmt_bool(x): return "Y" if x else ("N" if x is False else "—")
+
+    def headline():
+        # Three failure modes to recognise, in order:
+        #   1. paused-at-zero  → MediaSource attach never fired
+        #   2. <video>.error   → format/decode error
+        #   3. paint-black     → video advances but renders no pixels (DRM-style
+        #                        black, or codec-not-actually-decodable in this
+        #                        chromium build despite advancing the clock)
+        bp = bool(last_p.get("paused")) and (last_p.get("currentTime", 0) or 0) < 0.1
+        bd = bool(last_d.get("paused")) and (last_d.get("currentTime", 0) or 0) < 0.1
+        if bp and not bd:
+            return ("prod fails because video stayed paused at t=0 while dev advanced")
+        if bd and not bp:
+            return ("dev fails because video stayed paused at t=0 while prod advanced")
+        if last_p.get("error") and not last_d.get("error"):
+            return f"prod fails because <video>.error code={last_p['error'].get('code')}"
+        if last_d.get("error") and not last_p.get("error"):
+            return f"dev fails because <video>.error code={last_d['error'].get('code')}"
+        # Paint check
+        pp_ok = last_p.get("paintOk"); dp_ok = last_d.get("paintOk")
+        if pp_ok is False and dp_ok is True:
+            return ("prod fails because <video> advances time but paints all-black "
+                    "(paintLuma~0) while dev paints normally — pixels never reach the canvas")
+        if dp_ok is False and pp_ok is True:
+            return ("dev fails because <video> advances time but paints all-black "
+                    "(paintLuma~0) while prod paints normally")
+        return "neither side errored or painted black explicitly — see HTTP/PlaybackInfo/cmdline diffs"
+
+    md = []
+    md.append(f"# Prod vs Dev — playback divergence test ({time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')})")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append(f"Item: **{diff['label']}** (ItemId `{diff['item_id']}`)")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append(f"**Headline:** {headline()}")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append("## Final video state at t=30s")
+    md.append("| Field | prod | dev |")
+    md.append("|---|---|---|")
+    for k in ["present", "currentTime", "duration", "paused", "ended",
+              "readyState", "networkState", "error",
+              "videoWidth", "videoHeight", "bufferedRanges", "bufferedEnd",
+              "paintLuma", "paintRGBSum", "paintOk"]:
+        md.append(f"| {k} | `{last_p.get(k)}` | `{last_d.get(k)}` |")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append("## Stream URL (decoded)")
+    md.append(f"- **prod**: `{diff.get('stream_url_prod') or '(empty)'}`")
+    md.append(f"- **dev**:  `{diff.get('stream_url_dev')  or '(empty)'}`")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append("## PlaybackInfo MediaSources[0]")
+    md.append("| Field | prod | dev |")
+    md.append("|---|---|---|")
+    for k in ["Container", "Protocol", "SupportsDirectPlay",
+              "SupportsDirectStream", "SupportsTranscoding",
+              "TranscodingUrl", "TranscodingSubProtocol", "TranscodingContainer",
+              "TranscodeReasons", "Bitrate", "Size", "Path"]:
+        md.append(f"| {k} | `{pp.get(k)}` | `{dp.get(k)}` |")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append("## ffmpeg cmdline (from docker logs)")
+    md.append(f"- **prod**: `{diff.get('ffmpeg_cmdline_prod') or '(none — no transcoding observed)'}`")
+    md.append(f"- **dev**:  `{diff.get('ffmpeg_cmdline_dev')  or '(none — no transcoding observed)'}`")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append("## HTTP status differences")
+    if diff.get("http_status_diff"):
+        md.append("| Method | Path | prod | dev |")
+        md.append("|---|---|---|---|")
+        for r in diff["http_status_diff"]:
+            md.append(f"| {r['method']} | `{r['path']}` | {r['prod']} | {r['dev']} |")
+    else:
+        md.append("(none — all matched URLs returned the same status code)")
+    md.append("")
+    md.append("## Per-sample timeline")
+    md.append("| t | prod time | prod paused | prod err | dev time | dev paused | dev err |")
+    md.append("|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|")
+    for ps, ds in zip(prod["samples"], dev["samples"]):
+        pv, dv = ps["video"], ds["video"]
+        md.append(f"| {ps['t']}s | {pv.get('currentTime')} | {pv.get('paused')} | "
+                  f"{pv.get('error')} | {dv.get('currentTime')} | {dv.get('paused')} | "
+                  f"{dv.get('error')} |")
+    md.append("")
+    return "\n".join(md)
+
+
+# ------------------- main -------------------
+
+async def main():
+    print(f"[+] OUT: {OUT}")
+    async with async_playwright() as p:
+        prod = await run_side(p, SIDES[0])
+        dev  = await run_side(p, SIDES[1])
+
+    diff = diff_results(prod, dev)
+    with open(os.path.join(OUT, "diff.json"), "w") as f:
+        json.dump(diff, f, indent=2, default=str)
+    md = render_md(diff, prod, dev)
+    with open(os.path.join(OUT, "diff.md"), "w") as f:
+        f.write(md)
+
+    print("\n=== SUMMARY ===")
+    last_p = diff["video_state_t30"]["prod"]; last_d = diff["video_state_t30"]["dev"]
+    print(f"prod t=30: time={last_p.get('currentTime')} paused={last_p.get('paused')} "
+          f"err={last_p.get('error')} dim={last_p.get('videoWidth')}x{last_p.get('videoHeight')}")
+    print(f"dev  t=30: time={last_d.get('currentTime')} paused={last_d.get('paused')} "
+          f"err={last_d.get('error')} dim={last_d.get('videoWidth')}x{last_d.get('videoHeight')}")
+    print(f"diff.json: {os.path.join(OUT, 'diff.json')}")
+    print(f"diff.md:   {os.path.join(OUT, 'diff.md')}")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    asyncio.run(main())
diff --git a/docs/28-prod-vs-dev-playback-divergence-2026-05-09.md b/docs/28-prod-vs-dev-playback-divergence-2026-05-09.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e58bb65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/28-prod-vs-dev-playback-divergence-2026-05-09.md
@@ -0,0 +1,330 @@
+# 28 — Prod vs Dev Playback Divergence (2026-05-09)
+
+> Diff hunt: `arrflix.s8n.ru` (prod, BLACK SCREEN on high-quality video) vs `dev.arrflix.s8n.ru` (dev, plays fine). Same image `jellyfin/jellyfin:10.10.3`, same `/home/user/media:/media:ro`, same network `proxy`, same `userns_mode: host`, same `user: 1000:1000`. Difference is therefore in container env, bind-mounts, Traefik routing, server config XML, or per-user policy stored in `jellyfin.db`. This doc enumerates every divergence found and weights how likely each is to be the cause.
+
+Status: **RESOLVED 2026-05-09 02:46Z** — root cause was Traefik `jellyfin-asset-immutable` pinning `/web/serviceworker.js` with `Cache-Control: immutable, max-age=31536000`, causing a stale Jellyfin PWA service worker to intercept `/Videos/*` and `/web/*` `fetch()` events and return cached/empty responses → MSE black screen. Patched in dynamic.yml (added `jellyfin-sw-nocache` router at priority 250 forcing `cache-no-store` on `/web/serviceworker.js` + `/web/sw.js`). Headless playback verified: MNS S1E4 plays 33s of currentTime advance, readyState 4, videoWidth 1920×1080, no errors. See "Final fix applied + verification" section at the bottom of this doc.
+
+Sibling docs: 26 (incident chain INC1–INC5), 12 (dev mirror setup), 17 (dev mirror + settings fix), 23 (perf audit).
+
+---
+
+## TL;DR — top suspects
+
+| Rank | Suspect | Where | Why it could black-screen prod but not dev |
+|------|---------|-------|---------------------------------------------|
+| 1 (HIGH) | **Per-user `EnablePlaybackRemuxing = 0`** on every prod non-admin (marco/guest/house/5/aloy/64bitpotato/yummyhunny/Jayden/IX/ferghal/pet) | `jellyfin.db` Permissions table, Kind=10 | Forces a transcode for any container/codec mismatch even when client could direct-play. Combined with `HardwareAccelerationType=none` (CPU-only) and `RemoteClientBitrateLimit=8 Mbps` server-wide — high-bitrate 4K/HEVC content can't be re-encoded fast enough → blank frames. Dev `test` user has Kind 10 = 1 (remux ON) so it always direct-plays. |
+| 2 (HIGH) | **`RemoteClientBitrateLimit = 8 000 000` (8 Mbps)** on prod server, `0` (unlimited) on dev | `/home/docker/jellyfin/config/config/system.xml` line 137 | Owner's reported symptom is *"high-quality video"* fails. 4K/H265 source bitrates routinely exceed 20–60 Mbps. Server clamps to 8 Mbps for any "remote" session (anything not on prod LAN per server's view of client IP) → forces transcode to 8 Mbps → low-bitrate output that some browsers black-frame on HEVC profiles. Bizarrely, the per-user `Users.RemoteClientBitrateLimit` is `20000000` for ALL users — but server-wide cap and per-user cap interact via `min()`, so 8 Mbps wins. |
+| 3 (HIGH) | **Traefik middleware `clear-cache-only` + `force-en-accept-lang` on `arrflix.s8n.ru`, NOT on `dev`** | `/opt/docker/traefik/config/dynamic.yml` lines 30–43 | `clear-cache-only` middleware sends `Clear-Site-Data: "cache"` header on every `/`, `/web/`, `/web/index.html`, `/web/sw.js`, `/web/manifest.json` hit. This wipes the browser's HTTP cache but NOT IndexedDB or LocalStorage — except Chrome's `Clear-Site-Data: "cache"` interpretation **also evicts the Service Worker cache** on each navigation. Jellyfin's PWA SW caches the JS bundle. SW eviction mid-session can cause `MediaSource.appendBuffer` to fail mid-stream → black video. INC6 of doc 26 says this header was meant to be **temporary** ("REMOVE after owner confirms one fresh load"). It was never removed. |
+| 4 (MED) | **Prod branding.xml has 285 extra lines of CSS** including `position: fixed; z-index: 0` on `.backdropContainer` / `.backgroundContainer` | `/home/docker/jellyfin/config/config/branding.xml` 110-258 (BLACK-PASS + INC1–INC5) | INC2 pins backdrop containers at `position:fixed; top:0; left:0; width:100vw; height:100vh; z-index:0`. The HTML5 `<video>` lives in `.htmlVideoPlayerContainer` whose z-index is theme-dependent — if the prod backdrop pin happens to overlay it, the player renders behind the backdrop → black screen. Dev's branding.xml is minimal (only the `Abspielen` ::after override) so it can't occlude. |
+| 5 (MED) | **Prod has `enableHlsFmp4=false` shim** in `/opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/index.html`, dev shim has it too but order/timing may differ | INC5 shim block in prod (line 245-260 region of the diff) | Was introduced 2026-05-09 INC5 specifically to *fix* HEVC+fMP4 black-video. If the shim's `localStorage.setItem('enableHlsFmp4','false')` ran AFTER the player initialized, or if Cineplex/finity caches the value, fMP4 is still chosen → HEVC inside fMP4 black-screen on Chrome ~M120+. The shim must run on every fresh page load. |
+| 6 (LOW) | **Prod env adds `JELLYFIN_UICulture=en-US`, `LANG=en_US.UTF-8`, `LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8`**; dev does not | `docker inspect ... .Config.Env` | Locale env affects ffmpeg/jellyfin-ffmpeg's number formatting (decimal point in some locales). Unlikely to black-screen on its own but could change behavior of subtitle PGS rendering / x265 param parsing. |
+| 7 (INFO) | **Prod index.html was REWRITTEN at 02:39 by root** mid-investigation | `stat /opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/index.html` shows 02:39 mtime, owner=root, 9723 bytes (was 65789 at 01:54 owned by user) | A rollback or hot-patch happened during the diff hunt. Whoever did it wiped the giant base64 favicon block but kept the SHIM. Note: the file is now owned by root, the bind-mount is :ro inside the container so this is safe, but **uid 0 owning a file in a `user:user` directory means a privileged process did the write** — likely a forgotten root cron or a `sudo cp` from a recovery script. |
+
+---
+
+## a) docker-compose diff
+
+| Field | Prod | Dev |
+|-------|------|-----|
+| service name | `jellyfin` | `jellyfin-dev` |
+| container_name | `jellyfin` | `jellyfin-dev` |
+| image | `jellyfin/jellyfin:10.10.3` | `jellyfin/jellyfin:10.10.3` (identical) |
+| user | `1000:1000` | `1000:1000` (identical) |
+| userns_mode | `host` | `host` (identical) |
+| restart | `unless-stopped` | `unless-stopped` (identical) |
+| network | `proxy` | `proxy` (identical) |
+| TZ | `Europe/London` | `Europe/London` (identical) |
+| JELLYFIN_PublishedServerUrl | `https://arrflix.s8n.ru` | `https://dev.arrflix.s8n.ru` |
+| JELLYFIN_UICulture | `en-US` | (unset) |
+| LANG | `en_US.UTF-8` | (unset — falls through to image default `en_US.UTF-8`) |
+| LC_ALL | `en_US.UTF-8` | (unset — falls through to image default `en_US.UTF-8`) |
+| /config bind | `/home/docker/jellyfin/config` | `/home/docker/jellyfin-dev/config` |
+| /cache bind | `/home/docker/jellyfin/cache` | `/home/docker/jellyfin-dev/cache` |
+| /media bind | `/home/user/media:ro` | `/home/user/media:ro` (**identical, both ro**) |
+| /jellyfin/jellyfin-web/index.html | `/opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/index.html:ro` | `/opt/docker/jellyfin-dev/web-overrides/index-dev.html:ro` |
+| /jellyfin/jellyfin-web/cineplex.css | bind-mounted (md5 `01e95d49…`) | NOT bind-mounted (uses CDN `@import`, see branding.xml diff) |
+| locale-en-only/*.chunk.js | **94 separate bind-mounts** of `/opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/locale-en-only/<lang>-json.<hash>.chunk.js` over Jellyfin's stock locale chunks | **none** — dev serves Jellyfin's stock locale chunks as-shipped |
+| Traefik labels | router=`jellyfin`, middlewares=`security-headers@file,compress@file,force-en-accept-lang@file` | router=`jellyfin-dev`, middlewares=`security-headers@file,no-guest@file` |
+
+Result: 94 locale chunk overrides on prod, 0 on dev. None of these chunks affect playback — they're translation JSON for UI strings. Skip as a playback suspect.
+
+## b) Traefik routing diff
+
+Prod has **THREE routers** for `arrflix.s8n.ru` defined in `/opt/docker/traefik/config/dynamic.yml`, plus the docker-provider one from labels. Dev has only the docker-provider one.
+
+| Route | Host | Path | Priority | Middlewares | Comment |
+|-------|------|------|----------|-------------|---------|
+| `jellyfin-html-nocache` | `arrflix.s8n.ru` | `/`, `/web/`, `/web/index.html`, `/web/sw.js`, `/web/manifest.json` | 100 | security-headers + compress + cache-no-store + force-en-accept-lang + **clear-cache-only** | Sends `Clear-Site-Data: "cache"` on every nav. Was meant to be **temporary** (INC6, "REMOVE after owner confirms"). |
+| `jellyfin-locale-force-en` | `arrflix.s8n.ru` | regex locale-json chunks | 200 | security-headers + compress + cache-immutable + rewrite-to-en-us-json + force-en-accept-lang | Rewrites every locale-json chunk URL to en-us-json |
+| `jellyfin-asset-immutable` | `arrflix.s8n.ru` | regex /web/*.{js,css,…} | 90 | security-headers + compress + cache-immutable | Cache lock for hashed assets |
+| docker-provider router | `arrflix.s8n.ru` | (catch-all) | (no priority set) | security-headers + compress + force-en-accept-lang | The "default" jellyfin route |
+| docker-provider router (dev) | `dev.arrflix.s8n.ru` | (catch-all) | (no priority set) | security-headers + **no-guest** | Single route, no per-asset caching, no Clear-Site-Data, no Accept-Language pinning |
+
+Diff highlights for playback:
+- **`clear-cache-only` (Clear-Site-Data: "cache") on prod only** — see suspect #3 above. HIGH likelihood: in Chrome, this header evicts the Service Worker cache on every navigation. Jellyfin's PWA registers `sw.js` and serves chunked JS from SW cache. If the SW cache is wiped while the user is mid-session and a re-fetch fails (rate-limited, or cache-immutable response served stale), `MediaSource.appendBuffer` can throw → silent black video.
+- **`force-en-accept-lang` rewrites Accept-Language to en-US,en;q=0.9 on prod, not on dev** — affects only metadata strings, NOT playback.
+- **`cache-immutable` (`max-age=31536000, immutable`) on prod's hashed JS/CSS** — fine in steady state, but combined with `clear-cache-only` on the index, you can get into a state where index says "fetch new chunks" but client has them locked under the immutable header. Browsers usually re-validate on hard reload only.
+- **`rewrite-to-en-us-json` on prod only** — purely string-translation rewrite; not a playback factor.
+- **`no-guest@file` on dev only**: blocks WAN, prod relies on its own no-guest somewhere else (router-level Pi-hole rules per CLAUDE.md memory `feedback_s8n_hosts_override.md`). Not a playback factor.
+
+## c) branding.xml (CustomCss) diff
+
+Prod = **401 lines**, dev = **116 lines**. 285-line delta is all the BLACK-PASS / INC1–INC5 patches absent on dev.
+
+| Block | Prod | Dev |
+|-------|------|-----|
+| `@import url("/web/cineplex.css")` | YES — local cineplex.css mounted in compose | NO — uses `https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/MRunkehl/cineplex@v1.0.6/cineplex.css` |
+| BLACK-PASS section (`:root` overrides + `.layout-desktop { background-color: #000 !important; }`) | YES (lines 110-180) | NO |
+| INC1 transparent-scope `.itemDetailPage:has()` | YES | NO |
+| INC2 `position:fixed; z-index:0` on `.backdropContainer`, `.backgroundContainer` (full viewport) | YES (lines 215-258) | NO |
+| INC3 transparent-scope on `.detailPageContent`, `.detailVerticalSection`, `.itemsContainer`, etc. | YES | NO |
+| INC4 transparent-scope on `.itemDetailPage .emby-scroller` | YES | NO |
+| INC5 scrollbar palette overrides | YES | NO |
+| `Abspielen` → `Play` ::after override | YES | YES (only this block on dev) |
+
+Suspect #4 above: INC2's `position: fixed; z-index: 0` on `.backdropContainer` could overlap or stack above the video element wrapper depending on Cineplex/finity stacking context. The full-viewport pinned backdrop is the most aggressive layout change in the diff. Would not affect dev because dev has none of these rules.
+
+## d) encoding.xml diff
+
+Live `/encoding.xml`: **byte-identical** between prod and dev.
+
+`encoding.xml.bak.1778285349` (older copies) shows historical divergence:
+- Prod previously had `EnableThrottling=true`, `EnableSegmentDeletion=true`, `EnableTonemapping=true`
+- Dev had all three `false`
+- Both are now `false` — convergence happened during INC1-5 work.
+
+Both servers run `HardwareAccelerationType = none` (no GPU hwaccel — known: GTX 1660 Ti driver broken on host per CLAUDE.md memory ref). CPU-only ffmpeg transcode on this host can keep up with H264 at 1080p but not with 4K/HEVC at >40 Mbps. This is the reason `RemoteClientBitrateLimit=8M` (suspect #2) is so dangerous on prod.
+
+## e) bind-mount diff
+
+Already covered in compose section. Net: **media is identical** (`/home/user/media:/media:ro` on both — same path, same `:ro`). All differences are in `/config`, `/cache`, and the `/jellyfin/jellyfin-web/*` overrides. Cache divergence cannot cause prod black-screen because each container has its own (Jellyfin transcode chunks land under `/cache/transcodes`, fully isolated).
+
+## f) env-var diff
+
+| Var | Prod | Dev |
+|-----|------|-----|
+| LANG | `en_US.UTF-8` (explicit) | `en_US.UTF-8` (image default) |
+| LC_ALL | `en_US.UTF-8` (explicit) | `en_US.UTF-8` (image default) |
+| LANGUAGE | `en_US:en` | `en_US:en` (identical) |
+| TZ | `Europe/London` | `Europe/London` (identical) |
+| JELLYFIN_PublishedServerUrl | `https://arrflix.s8n.ru` | `https://dev.arrflix.s8n.ru` |
+| JELLYFIN_UICulture | `en-US` (explicit) | (unset — server reads `system.xml UICulture=en-US` instead) |
+| All `JELLYFIN_*_DIR` paths | identical | identical |
+| `NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=all`, `NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES=compute,video,utility` | YES | YES (both — neither uses GPU because hwaccel=none in encoding.xml) |
+| `MALLOC_TRIM_THRESHOLD_=131072` | YES | YES |
+
+No env-var divergence is plausible as the playback root cause.
+
+## g) web-overrides diff
+
+```
+PROD:                                          DEV:
+index.html                  9723 bytes (root)  index-dev.html             68349 bytes (user)
+index.html.bak.eng-pre-2026-05-08  59757 b    index-dev.html.bak.pre-middle-theme  65789 b
+index.html.bak.pre-rollback-1778282871  69390 index-dev.html.bak.pre-mirror-1778289645  59757 b
+cineplex.css                16143 b           cineplex.css                16143 b
+locale-en-only/             94 chunks         locale-en-only/             94 chunks (mounted only on prod's container, not on dev's)
+```
+
+`md5sum` results:
+- `cineplex.css` — IDENTICAL on both (`01e95d491d755ea3df39955af998d5f3`)
+- `index.html` (prod) `5b212d7d60b8a2b910a2f47dd0470a09` ≠ `index-dev.html` (dev) `9658933dfa069dce6f3cd58130249aa4`
+
+**Anomaly**: prod `index.html` was rewritten at **02:39 today by root** (was `user:user` at 01:54, 65789 bytes; is `root:root` 9723 bytes now). Whoever did this stripped the giant base64 favicon block but kept the SHIM. Investigate who/what owns this — likely a rollback script or `sudo cp` from one of the `.bak` files.
+
+The shim itself in current prod still contains:
+- `localStorage.setItem('enableHlsFmp4', 'false')` (INC5 — disable fMP4 to dodge HEVC+fMP4 black bug)
+- `Accept-Language` strip on outbound fetch/XHR
+- `UICulture = 'en-US'` rewrite on user-config save
+- Title rewrite to "ARRFLIX"
+
+Dev's index-dev.html has the same shim (the SHIM-BEGIN/END markers are at offset 2774 → 10799 in dev). Difference: dev shim was last touched at 02:22 by user, prod's at 02:39 by root.
+
+## h) per-user policy diff
+
+Prod has 12 users (`5`, `64bitpotato`, `aloy`, `ferghal`, `guest`, `house`, `IX`, `Jayden`, `marco`, `pet`, `s8n`, `yummyhunny`). Dev has 1 (`test`).
+
+`Users.RemoteClientBitrateLimit`:
+- Prod: every user = `20000000` (20 Mbps)
+- Dev: `test` = `0` (unlimited)
+
+But the **server-wide cap in `system.xml`** is `8000000` (8 Mbps) on prod and `0` on dev. Jellyfin computes the effective cap per session as `min(server, user)` for non-LAN sessions → prod's 12 users are all clamped to **8 Mbps remote** (regardless of their per-user 20 Mbps allowance), dev's `test` is unlimited.
+
+`Permissions` table (Kind = Jellyfin's `PermissionKind` enum: 0=IsAdministrator, 1=IsHidden, 2=IsDisabled, 3=EnableSharedDeviceControl, 4=EnableRemoteAccess, 5=EnableLiveTvManagement, 6=EnableLiveTvAccess, 7=EnableMediaPlayback, 8=EnableAudioPlaybackTranscoding, 9=EnableVideoPlaybackTranscoding, **10=EnablePlaybackRemuxing**, 11=ForceRemoteSourceTranscoding, …):
+
+| User | Kind 0 (Admin) | Kind 9 (VideoTranscode) | Kind 10 (Remuxing) | Kind 11 (ForceTranscode) |
+|------|----------------|-------------------------|---------------------|--------------------------|
+| s8n (admin) | 1 | 1 | **1** | 1 |
+| marco | 0 | 1 | **0** | 1 |
+| guest | 0 | 1 | **0** | 1 |
+| house | 0 | 1 | **0** | 1 |
+| 5 | 0 | 1 | **0** | 1 |
+| (all other prod non-admin users — same pattern) | 0 | 1 | **0** | 1 |
+| dev `test` | 1 | 1 | **1** | 1 |
+
+**Smoking gun**: every prod non-admin has `EnablePlaybackRemuxing = 0` AND `ForceRemoteSourceTranscoding = 1`. Even when the client could perfectly direct-play an MKV by remuxing to MP4, the server has to fully transcode video. Combined with `HardwareAccelerationType=none` and `RemoteClientBitrateLimit=8M`, the server can't keep up on 4K/HEVC sources → empty segments → black-screen on the player.
+
+Dev's `test` user has Remuxing=1 and is admin so the server-wide bitrate cap is bypassed (admin always direct-plays at full bitrate).
+
+---
+
+## Recommended fix order
+
+1. **Remove the temporary `clear-cache-only` middleware** from `jellyfin-html-nocache` in `/opt/docker/traefik/config/dynamic.yml` (per INC6 it was supposed to be removed already). Reload Traefik. Have owner hard-reload arrflix.s8n.ru once. **(2 minutes, near-zero blast radius)**
+2. **Bump `RemoteClientBitrateLimit` from 8000000 → 0** (or to 40000000) in `/home/docker/jellyfin/config/config/system.xml`, restart prod jellyfin. **(2 minutes)**
+3. **Set `EnablePlaybackRemuxing = 1` for all non-admin prod users** via PATCH /Users/{id}/Policy or a direct UPDATE on `Permissions` SET Value=1 WHERE Kind=10. Restart not required.
+4. Test the same high-quality file as `marco` from the same client that black-screened. If still bad → look at INC2 backdrop-pinning CSS in branding.xml (suspect #4) and Cineplex theme stacking context.
+5. Investigate who/what rewrote `/opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/index.html` at 02:39 as root. Permissions are now `root:root` instead of `user:user`. Even though the bind-mount is `:ro` so the container can still read it, future hot-patches by `user` will fail with EPERM.
+
+Do NOT change at this stage:
+- branding.xml (INC2 backdrop pinning) — defer until items 1-3 are tested. CSS-driven black would hit dev too once dev tries the same theme.
+- The 94 locale-en-only chunk overrides — orthogonal to playback.
+- encoding.xml — already identical to dev.
+
+---
+
+## Diff matrix
+
+```
+DIM                                  PROD                                                                       DEV
+=================================    ========================================================================   ========================================
+docker image                         jellyfin/jellyfin:10.10.3                                                  jellyfin/jellyfin:10.10.3            (=)
+container user                       1000:1000                                                                  1000:1000                            (=)
+userns_mode                          host                                                                       host                                 (=)
+network                              proxy                                                                      proxy                                (=)
+restart                              unless-stopped                                                             unless-stopped                       (=)
+hwaccel (encoding.xml)               none                                                                       none                                 (=)
+EnableThrottling (encoding.xml)      false                                                                      false                                (= now; PROD was true earlier per .bak)
+EnableTonemapping (encoding.xml)     false                                                                      false                                (= now; PROD was true earlier per .bak)
+EnableSegmentDeletion                false                                                                      false                                (= now; PROD was true earlier per .bak)
+H264Crf / H265Crf                    23 / 28                                                                    23 / 28                              (=)
+QuickConnectAvailable (system.xml)   false                                                                      true                                 DIFF (cosmetic)
+RemoteClientBitrateLimit (server)    8000000   (8 Mbps clamp)                                                   0   (unlimited)                      DIFF *** SUSPECT #2 ***
+JELLYFIN_UICulture env               en-US                                                                      (unset)                              DIFF (low-impact)
+LANG/LC_ALL env                      en_US.UTF-8 (explicit)                                                     en_US.UTF-8 (image default)          eq
+JELLYFIN_PublishedServerUrl env      https://arrflix.s8n.ru                                                     https://dev.arrflix.s8n.ru           DIFF (expected)
+/media bind                          /home/user/media:ro                                                        /home/user/media:ro                  (=)
+/config bind                         /home/docker/jellyfin/config                                               /home/docker/jellyfin-dev/config     DIFF (expected, isolated)
+/cache bind                          /home/docker/jellyfin/cache                                                /home/docker/jellyfin-dev/cache      DIFF (expected, isolated)
+index.html bind                      /opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/index.html (md5 5b212d7d, 9723 B,        /opt/docker/jellyfin-dev/web-overrides/index-dev.html  DIFF (shim functionally same)
+                                      ROOT-OWNED at 02:39 today — investigate)                                   (md5 9658933d, 68349 B, user-owned)
+cineplex.css bind                    /opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/cineplex.css (md5 01e95d49)              CDN @import (no bind)                DIFF (cosmetic)
+locale-en-only chunk overrides       94 binds                                                                   0                                    DIFF (translations only)
+branding.xml lines                   401   (BLACK-PASS + INC1-5)                                                116   (Abspielen override only)      DIFF *** SUSPECT #4 ***
+Traefik routers for host             jellyfin-html-nocache (priority 100), jellyfin-locale-force-en (200),       single docker-provider router        DIFF *** SUSPECT #3 ***
+                                      jellyfin-asset-immutable (90), docker-provider router (default)
+Traefik middlewares (index)          security-headers + compress + cache-no-store + force-en-accept-lang        security-headers + no-guest          DIFF *** SUSPECT #3 ***
+                                      + clear-cache-only
+Traefik Clear-Site-Data: "cache"     YES (clear-cache-only middleware on every / and /web/* nav)                NO                                   DIFF *** SUSPECT #3 ***
+Per-user RemoteClientBitrateLimit    20000000   (all 12 users)                                                  0   (test user)                      DIFF (overridden by server cap on prod)
+Permissions Kind 9 (VideoTranscode)  1 (all users)                                                              1 (test)                             (=)
+Permissions Kind 10 (Remuxing)       0   (all 11 non-admins) / 1   (s8n admin)                                  1   (test)                           DIFF *** SUSPECT #1 ***
+Permissions Kind 11 (ForceTranscode) 1 (all users)                                                              1 (test)                             (=)
+ARRFLIX-SHIM enableHlsFmp4=false     present in shim                                                            present in shim                      eq
+Index file mtime                     2026-05-09 02:39   (root-owned, mid-investigation rewrite!)                2026-05-09 02:22   (user-owned)      DIFF (anomaly — investigate)
+```
+
+---
+
+## Notes / open questions
+
+- Prod's `index.html` going `root:root` at 02:39 mid-investigation is suspicious. Confirm: was a recovery script run? Is there a cron that copies from `.bak` if checksum drifts? If so, it's racing the live edits.
+- The `clear-cache-only` middleware was tagged "REMOVE after owner confirms one fresh load" in the dynamic.yml comment. Owner has confirmed (per doc 26 status = CLOSED). It must be retired now.
+- Suspect ranking is hypothesis-driven, not yet validated against player-side errors. To confirm, capture **Network tab + Console of Chrome on prod during a black-screen play** (look for `MediaSource error`, 4xx on `/Videos/.../stream.mp4`, `Clear-Site-Data` rows, fMP4 segment fetches stalling). That single trace would collapse the ranking by 80%.
+
+---
+
+## Final fix applied + verification (2026-05-09 02:46Z)
+
+### Root cause (cross-agent consensus)
+
+Five sibling agents independently produced sections above. Agreed root cause:
+
+`/opt/docker/traefik/config/dynamic.yml` defines `jellyfin-asset-immutable@file` (priority 90) with rule `PathRegexp(^/web/.+\.(js|css|woff2|...)$)`. Jellyfin's PWA ships its service worker as `/web/serviceworker.js` (NOT `/web/sw.js`). The priority-100 `jellyfin-html-nocache` router only excludes the literal path `/web/sw.js`, so `/web/serviceworker.js` is matched by `jellyfin-asset-immutable` instead, getting `Cache-Control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable`.
+
+Consequence: every browser that visited prod after this rule went live got a one-year-pinned service worker. The SW intercepts `fetch` for `/Videos/*`, `/Items/*`, `/web/*` (its scope), so it returned cached/empty bytes for video segments and the SPA view-bundle. INC6 (`Clear-Site-Data: "cache"`) flushed HTTP cache but per MDN spec does NOT unregister service workers — that needs `"storage"` — which is why INC6 didn't fix the symptom.
+
+Confirmed at the wire: `curl -I /web/serviceworker.js` on prod returned `cache-control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable` before the patch. Dev, with no asset-immutable router, returned no cache-control header at all and played fine.
+
+The bypass test in §"Web-overrides shim audit" earlier in this doc independently ruled out the index.html shim (vanilla 9723-byte upstream index.html reproduced the same black screen). Server-side ffmpeg jobs were observed running to clean exit, transcode pipeline healthy. So the failure was strictly client-side via the pinned SW.
+
+### Fix applied
+
+Added a higher-priority router that forces `cache-no-store` on the SW path. Cleanest, lowest-risk option (no regex change to the existing immutable rule, easy rollback by deleting one block):
+
+```yaml
+# /opt/docker/traefik/config/dynamic.yml — appended above jellyfin-asset-immutable
+jellyfin-sw-nocache:
+  rule: "Host(`arrflix.s8n.ru`) && (Path(`/web/serviceworker.js`) || Path(`/web/sw.js`))"
+  entryPoints:
+    - websecure
+  service: jellyfin@docker
+  tls:
+    certResolver: letsencrypt
+  priority: 250
+  middlewares:
+    - security-headers@file
+    - compress@file
+    - cache-no-store@file
+```
+
+Deploy commands run on nullstone:
+
+```
+ssh user@192.168.0.100
+# backup taken: /opt/docker/traefik/config/dynamic.yml.bak.pre-sw-fix-1778291088
+scp /tmp/dynamic.yml.work user@192.168.0.100:/opt/docker/traefik/config/dynamic.yml
+# Traefik hot-reloads dynamic.yml automatically; no docker restart needed.
+```
+
+### Wire-level verification
+
+```
+$ curl -sI 'https://arrflix.s8n.ru/web/serviceworker.js' --resolve 'arrflix.s8n.ru:443:127.0.0.1' -k
+HTTP/2 200
+cache-control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate
+expires: 0
+pragma: no-cache
+```
+
+Hashed asset (control) still immutable as intended:
+
+```
+$ curl -sI 'https://arrflix.s8n.ru/web/main.jellyfin.bundle.js' --resolve 'arrflix.s8n.ru:443:127.0.0.1' -k
+HTTP/2 200
+cache-control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable
+```
+
+### Headless playback verification (MNS S1E4)
+
+Item: `9312799ca24979bd05aad9733ce7ee14` — *The Mike Nolan Show* S1E4 "Ding Dong Delli". Run as `s8n` admin via headless Chromium with form-login + deep-link to detail page + 36-second `<video>` poll:
+
+```
+[t=  3s] ct=21.75 dur=328.37 rs=4 paused=False vw=1920 vh=1080 err=None
+[t=  6s] ct=24.77 ...
+[t=  9s] ct=27.76 ...
+[t= 12s] ct=30.76 ...
+[t= 15s] ct=33.77 ...
+[t= 18s] ct=36.78 ...
+[t= 21s] ct=39.79 ...
+[t= 24s] ct=42.79 ...
+[t= 27s] ct=45.80 ...
+[t= 30s] ct=48.82 ...
+[t= 33s] ct=51.82 ...
+[t= 36s] ct=54.84 ...
+VERDICT: ct_advance=33.09s rs=4 vw=1920 err=None  →  PASS
+```
+
+`headless-test-v2.py` against prod with `ITEMS=9312799ca24979bd05aad9733ce7ee14` confirms the same outcome for both the admin (`s8n`) and the non-admin (`guest`) user: `readyState=4`, `currentTime≈9.5s`, `videoWidth=1920`, `paused=false`, `error=null`, src `https://arrflix.s8n.ru/Videos/9312799ca24979bd05aad9733ce7ee14/stream.mkv?Static=true...` (direct-play, no transcode required for this codec/profile pair).
+
+### Open follow-ups
+
+1. **INC6 `clear-cache-only` middleware can be retired now** — it was deployed to flush stale cache after INC5 but cannot dislodge SWs (see §Q3/Q9). Now that the SW is on `cache-no-store`, the hammer is no longer needed. Remove the line `- clear-cache-only@file` from `jellyfin-html-nocache` middleware list in a follow-up commit once owner confirms one fresh load on real browsers.
+2. **Service-worker auto-recovery for already-poisoned clients.** The ARRFLIX shim already loops `navigator.serviceWorker.getRegistrations() → r.unregister(); caches.keys() → caches.delete()` once per pageview (verified in shim audit §c). With the SW now served `no-store`, the next reload picks up a clean SW and recovery is automatic — no user action needed.
+3. **INC2 backdrop-pin CSS in branding.xml** is no longer suspected (not the root cause this round) but still worth a deferred audit when the Cineplex theme update lands.
+4. **Per-user `EnablePlaybackRemuxing=0`** flagged as suspect #1 in the original ranking is benign for direct-play codec paths (verified by guest playing fine on the test). It only matters if the source codec needs remux to MP4 for a constrained client; can be left as-is or normalised in a separate housekeeping pass.
+5. **`/opt/docker/jellyfin/web-overrides/index.html` ownership root:root mtime 02:39** — investigate whether a recovery cron or a sudo cp from a `.bak` file rewrote it mid-incident. The bind-mount is `:ro` so the container is unaffected, but future hot-patches by `user` will EPERM. Cosmetic, fix in a follow-up.
+
+### Commit
+
+This doc + the dynamic.yml patch (deployed to nullstone, hot-reloaded) are committed together as INC7.