diff --git a/web/package-lock.json b/web/package-lock.json
index 5726b89..fc3308e 100644
--- a/web/package-lock.json
+++ b/web/package-lock.json
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@
 				"mode-watcher": "^1.1.0",
 				"svelte-sonner": "^1.1.1",
 				"tailwind-merge": "^3.6.0",
-				"tailwind-variants": "^3.2.2"
+				"tailwind-variants": "^3.2.2",
+				"vidstack": "^1.12.13"
 			},
 			"devDependencies": {
 				"@sveltejs/adapter-static": "^3.0.10",
@@ -1835,6 +1836,15 @@
 				"url": "https://opencollective.com/parcel"
 			}
 		},
+		"node_modules/lit-html": {
+			"version": "2.8.0",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lit-html/-/lit-html-2.8.0.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-o9t+MQM3P4y7M7yNzqAyjp7z+mQGa4NS4CxiyLqFPyFWyc4O+nodLrkrxSaCTrla6M5YOLaT3RpbbqjszB5g3Q==",
+			"license": "BSD-3-Clause",
+			"dependencies": {
+				"@types/trusted-types": "^2.0.2"
+			}
+		},
 		"node_modules/locate-character": {
 			"version": "3.0.0",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/locate-character/-/locate-character-3.0.0.tgz",
@@ -1912,6 +1922,15 @@
 				"node": ">= 0.4"
 			}
 		},
+		"node_modules/media-captions": {
+			"version": "1.0.4",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/media-captions/-/media-captions-1.0.4.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-cyDNmuZvvO4H27rcBq2Eudxo9IZRDCOX/I7VEyqbxsEiD2Ei7UYUhG/Sc5fvMZjmathgz3fEK7iAKqvpY+Ux1w==",
+			"license": "MIT",
+			"engines": {
+				"node": ">=16"
+			}
+		},
 		"node_modules/mime-db": {
 			"version": "1.52.0",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/mime-db/-/mime-db-1.52.0.tgz",
@@ -2513,6 +2532,34 @@
 			"dev": true,
 			"license": "MIT"
 		},
+		"node_modules/unplugin": {
+			"version": "1.16.1",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/unplugin/-/unplugin-1.16.1.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-4/u/j4FrCKdi17jaxuJA0jClGxB1AvU2hw/IuayPc4ay1XGaJs/rbb4v5WKwAjNifjmXK9PIFyuPiaK8azyR9w==",
+			"license": "MIT",
+			"dependencies": {
+				"acorn": "^8.14.0",
+				"webpack-virtual-modules": "^0.6.2"
+			},
+			"engines": {
+				"node": ">=14.0.0"
+			}
+		},
+		"node_modules/vidstack": {
+			"version": "1.12.13",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/vidstack/-/vidstack-1.12.13.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-vuNeyRmWoH/7EoFVDYjp9nkgcqtCMmal518LDeb78dYKgWb+p6+vtY0AzDhrkBv5q1UiCn+xwmjMmwvSlPLuhQ==",
+			"license": "MIT",
+			"dependencies": {
+				"@floating-ui/dom": "^1.6.10",
+				"lit-html": "^2.8.0",
+				"media-captions": "^1.0.4",
+				"unplugin": "^1.12.0"
+			},
+			"engines": {
+				"node": ">=18"
+			}
+		},
 		"node_modules/vite": {
 			"version": "8.0.13",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/vite/-/vite-8.0.13.tgz",
@@ -2611,6 +2658,12 @@
 				}
 			}
 		},
+		"node_modules/webpack-virtual-modules": {
+			"version": "0.6.2",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/webpack-virtual-modules/-/webpack-virtual-modules-0.6.2.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-66/V2i5hQanC51vBQKPH4aI8NMAcBW59FVBs+rC7eGHupMyfn34q7rZIE+ETlJ+XTevqfUhVVBgSUNSW2flEUQ==",
+			"license": "MIT"
+		},
 		"node_modules/zimmerframe": {
 			"version": "1.1.4",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/zimmerframe/-/zimmerframe-1.1.4.tgz",
diff --git a/web/package.json b/web/package.json
index dfc4d5b..90c09a0 100644
--- a/web/package.json
+++ b/web/package.json
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 		"mode-watcher": "^1.1.0",
 		"svelte-sonner": "^1.1.1",
 		"tailwind-merge": "^3.6.0",
-		"tailwind-variants": "^3.2.2"
+		"tailwind-variants": "^3.2.2",
+		"vidstack": "^1.12.13"
 	}
 }
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/preview/PreviewOverlay.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/preview/PreviewOverlay.svelte
index b19dafd..d6f3ad2 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/preview/PreviewOverlay.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/preview/PreviewOverlay.svelte
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 	import { thumbUrl, videoUrl } from '$lib/stores/session.svelte';
 	import { setFocused } from '$lib/stores/selection.svelte';
 	import RightSidebar from '$lib/components/sidebar/RightSidebar.svelte';
+	import VideoPlayer from '$lib/components/preview/VideoPlayer.svelte';
 	import { isVideo, primaryFile, videoFile, type PpPhoto } from '$lib/types/photoprism';
 
 	const photoQuery = createQuery<PpPhoto>(() => ({
@@ -131,15 +132,11 @@
 				{@const pf = primaryFile(photoQuery.data)}
 				{#if isVideo(photoQuery.data)}
 					{@const vf = videoFile(photoQuery.data)}
-					<!-- svelte-ignore a11y_media_has_caption -->
-					<video
+					<VideoPlayer
 						src={videoUrl(vf.Hash)}
 						poster={thumbUrl(pf.Hash, 'fit_1920')}
-						controls
-						autoplay
-						muted
-						class="max-h-full max-w-full rounded-md object-contain shadow-2xl"
-					></video>
+						title={photoQuery.data.OriginalName ?? pf.Name ?? ''}
+					/>
 				{:else}
 					<img
 						src={thumbUrl(pf.Hash, 'fit_1920')}
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/preview/VideoPlayer.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/preview/VideoPlayer.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8fbd73c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/preview/VideoPlayer.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+<!--
+	Vidstack-based video player. Wraps the native `<video>` element with a
+	polished, PhotoPrism-style chrome (gradient bottom bar, large play
+	overlay, hover-revealed scrubber). Element registration is dynamically
+	imported so it never runs during SvelteKit's static prerender.
+
+	Imports are side-effecting:
+	  - `vidstack/player` registers <media-player> / <media-provider>
+	  - `vidstack/player/layouts/default` registers <media-video-layout>
+	  - the two CSS imports ship the dark theme and video-layout styles
+-->
+<script lang="ts">
+	import { onMount } from 'svelte';
+	import 'vidstack/player/styles/default/theme.css';
+	import 'vidstack/player/styles/default/layouts/video.css';
+
+	interface Props {
+		src: string;
+		poster?: string;
+		title?: string;
+	}
+	let { src, poster, title }: Props = $props();
+
+	let ready = $state(false);
+
+	onMount(async () => {
+		// Bundle these into the client chunk only — the modules side-effect
+		// `customElements.define()` calls, which would crash under SSR.
+		await import('vidstack/player');
+		await import('vidstack/player/ui');
+		await import('vidstack/player/layouts/default');
+		ready = true;
+	});
+</script>
+
+{#if ready}
+	<!-- svelte-ignore element_invalid_self_closing_tag -->
+	<media-player
+		class="vds-player max-h-full max-w-full rounded-md shadow-2xl"
+		title={title ?? ''}
+		{src}
+		{poster}
+		autoplay
+		muted
+		playsinline
+		load="eager"
+		posterLoad="eager"
+		crossorigin=""
+		preferNativeHLS="false"
+		streamType="on-demand"
+		viewType="video"
+	>
+		<media-provider></media-provider>
+		<media-video-layout></media-video-layout>
+	</media-player>
+{:else}
+	<!-- Fallback while the Vidstack module is loading. Keeps the poster
+		 visible so the transition into the full chrome isn't jarring. -->
+	<!-- svelte-ignore a11y_media_has_caption -->
+	<video
+		{src}
+		{poster}
+		controls
+		autoplay
+		muted
+		playsinline
+		preload="auto"
+		class="max-h-full max-w-full rounded-md object-contain shadow-2xl"
+	></video>
+{/if}
+
+<style>
+	:global(.vds-player) {
+		width: 100%;
+		height: 100%;
+		max-height: 100%;
+		aspect-ratio: auto;
+		--media-brand: #3b82f6;
+		--media-focus-ring-color: #3b82f6;
+	}
+</style>
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/timeline/PhotoTile.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/timeline/PhotoTile.svelte
index b518a96..8812067 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/timeline/PhotoTile.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/timeline/PhotoTile.svelte
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 	import { Maximize2 } from 'lucide-svelte';
 	import { thumbSrc, thumbSrcSet } from '$lib/stores/session.svelte';
 	import { view } from '$lib/stores/view.svelte';
+	import { cancelVideoPrefetch, startVideoPrefetch } from '$lib/stores/videoPrefetch.svelte';
 	import { isVideo, primaryFile, type PpPhoto } from '$lib/types/photoprism';
 
 	interface Props {
@@ -30,6 +31,17 @@
 	let { photo, selected, onClick, onDblclick, onOpenPreview }: Props = $props();
 
 	const hash = $derived(photo.Hash ?? primaryFile(photo).Hash);
+	const video = $derived(isVideo(photo));
+
+	// Warm the video transcode + browser HTTP cache on hover so opening the
+	// preview feels instant. The helper de-bounces internally — we just
+	// fire-and-cancel on the hover edges.
+	function onMouseEnter() {
+		if (video) startVideoPrefetch(hash);
+	}
+	function onMouseLeave() {
+		if (video) cancelVideoPrefetch(hash);
+	}
 	// Render-size hint for the browser's srcset picker. `view.thumbnailSize`
 	// is the grid's `minmax(<px>, 1fr)` minimum — real tiles may be a hair
 	// wider when the grid stretches to fill the column, but `tile_*` is
@@ -46,7 +58,12 @@
 	sits as a sibling of the main tile button (not nested) — nesting <button>
 	in <button> is invalid HTML.
 -->
-<div class="group relative h-full w-full">
+<div
+	class="group relative h-full w-full"
+	onmouseenter={onMouseEnter}
+	onmouseleave={onMouseLeave}
+	role="presentation"
+>
 	<!--
 		Selection animation: scale to 90% + blue ring + blue tint overlay,
 		driven by a springy `cubic-bezier(0.34, 1.3, 0.64, 1)` over 300ms.
diff --git a/web/src/lib/stores/videoPrefetch.svelte.ts b/web/src/lib/stores/videoPrefetch.svelte.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7912fed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/lib/stores/videoPrefetch.svelte.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/**
+ * Hover-warm cache for video playback URLs.
+ *
+ * When a user hovers a video tile, we ask the browser to fetch the first
+ * chunk of the playback URL. That single Range request:
+ *   1. Forces the backend's pre-transcoded MP4 cache file open (paging it
+ *      into the OS page cache so the real player request hits warm bytes).
+ *   2. Lands in the browser's HTTP cache, so when the player mounts and
+ *      issues its own Range: bytes=0- request the response is satisfied
+ *      from disk and playback starts within a frame or two.
+ *
+ * We delay the fetch slightly so users who are scrubbing their cursor
+ * across the grid don't pay the cost; cancellation via AbortController
+ * keeps wasted bytes bounded.
+ *
+ * Each hash is warmed at most once per session — the prefetch is purely
+ * cache-warming, so a second hover would be a no-op anyway.
+ */
+import { videoUrl } from '$lib/stores/session.svelte';
+
+const HOVER_DELAY_MS = 120;
+const PREFETCH_BYTES = 524288; // 512 KB — enough to start playback in most cases.
+
+const warmed = new Set<string>();
+const pending = new Map<string, { timer: number; controller: AbortController }>();
+
+export function startVideoPrefetch(hash: string): void {
+	if (!hash || warmed.has(hash) || pending.has(hash)) return;
+
+	const url = videoUrl(hash);
+	if (!url) return;
+
+	const controller = new AbortController();
+	const timer = window.setTimeout(async () => {
+		try {
+			await fetch(url, {
+				method: 'GET',
+				headers: { Range: `bytes=0-${PREFETCH_BYTES - 1}` },
+				signal: controller.signal,
+				credentials: 'same-origin',
+				cache: 'default'
+			});
+			warmed.add(hash);
+		} catch {
+			// Aborted hovers or network blips are expected — silently drop.
+		} finally {
+			pending.delete(hash);
+		}
+	}, HOVER_DELAY_MS);
+
+	pending.set(hash, { timer, controller });
+}
+
+export function cancelVideoPrefetch(hash: string): void {
+	const entry = pending.get(hash);
+	if (!entry) return;
+	clearTimeout(entry.timer);
+	entry.controller.abort();
+	pending.delete(hash);
+}