diff --git a/backend/src/index.js b/backend/src/index.js
index 0faae4d..32af1b9 100644
--- a/backend/src/index.js
+++ b/backend/src/index.js
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ const diskDetectionService = require('./services/diskDetectionService');
 const hardwareMonitorService = require('./services/hardwareMonitorService');
 const coverArtRecoveryService = require('./services/coverArtRecoveryService');
 const tempCleanupService = require('./services/tempCleanupService');
+const { ensureCurrentBetaKeyCacheOnStartup } = require('./services/makemkvKeyService');
 const logger = require('./services/logger').child('BOOT');
 const { errorToMeta } = require('./utils/errorMeta');
 const { getThumbnailsDir, migrateExistingThumbnails } = require('./services/thumbnailService');
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ async function start() {
   } catch (error) {
     logger.warn('backend:runtime-settings:apply-failed', { error: errorToMeta(error) });
   }
+  await ensureCurrentBetaKeyCacheOnStartup();
   await tempCleanupService.init();
   await pipelineService.init();
   await converterScanService.startPolling();
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js b/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js
index 4ae0dda..e2eb517 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js
+++ b/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js
@@ -58,11 +58,39 @@ router.get(
   '/makemkv/beta-key',
   asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
     logger.debug('get:settings:makemkv:beta-key', { reqId: req.reqId });
-    const result = await fetchCurrentBetaKey();
-    res.json({
-      betaKey: result.key,
-      sourceUrl: result.sourceUrl
-    });
+    try {
+      const result = await fetchCurrentBetaKey();
+      res.json({
+        betaKey: result.key,
+        sourceUrl: result.sourceUrl,
+        validUntil: result.validUntil || null,
+        cached: result.cached === true,
+        stale: result.stale === true
+      });
+      return;
+    } catch (error) {
+      const status = Number(error?.statusCode || 0);
+      if (status === 429 || status === 403) {
+        const currentSettings = await settingsService.getSettingsMap({ forceRefresh: false });
+        const existingKey = String(currentSettings?.makemkv_registration_key || '').trim();
+        logger.warn('get:settings:makemkv:beta-key:fallback-local', {
+          reqId: req.reqId,
+          status,
+          hasExistingKey: Boolean(existingKey),
+          retryAt: error?.retryAt || null
+        });
+        res.json({
+          betaKey: existingKey,
+          sourceUrl: null,
+          validUntil: null,
+          cached: Boolean(existingKey),
+          stale: true,
+          warning: error?.message || 'Betakey-API aktuell nicht erreichbar.'
+        });
+        return;
+      }
+      throw error;
+    }
   })
 );
 
diff --git a/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js b/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js
index 85c3610..a97c0ba 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js
+++ b/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js
@@ -2,17 +2,318 @@ const fs = require('fs');
 const os = require('os');
 const path = require('path');
 const { execFile } = require('child_process');
+const { getDb } = require('../db/database');
 const logger = require('./logger').child('MAKEMKV_KEY');
+const backendPackage = require('../../package.json');
 
 const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL = 'https://cable.ayra.ch/makemkv/api.php?json';
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URLS = [
+  'https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1053',
+  'https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1053'
+];
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URL = MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URLS[0];
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_CACHE_PREF_KEY = 'makemkv_beta_key_cache_v1';
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_EXPIRY_GUARD_MS = 1000;
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FALLBACK_VALIDITY_HOURS = Math.max(
+  1,
+  Number(process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FALLBACK_VALIDITY_HOURS || 24)
+);
+
+const RIPSTER_VERSION = String(backendPackage?.version || 'dev').trim() || 'dev';
+const DEFAULT_USER_AGENT = `Ripster/MakeMKVKey-${RIPSTER_VERSION} (${os.platform()}/${os.release()}; Node/${process.versions.node}) +https://github.com/mboehmlaender/ripster`;
 const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT = process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT
-  || 'Ripster/1.0 (MakeMKV beta key sync)';
+  || DEFAULT_USER_AGENT;
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_USER_AGENT = process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_USER_AGENT
+  || 'Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/125.0.0.0 Safari/537.36';
 const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_FROM = process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_FROM
-  || 'admin@example.invalid';
+  || '';
 const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_TIMEOUT_MS = Math.max(
   1000,
   Number(process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_TIMEOUT_MS || 15000)
 );
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_TIMEOUT_MS = Math.max(
+  MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_TIMEOUT_MS,
+  Number(process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_TIMEOUT_MS || 30000)
+);
+const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_BACKOFF_DEFAULT_MS = Math.max(
+  30 * 1000,
+  Number(process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_BACKOFF_DEFAULT_MS || (15 * 60 * 1000))
+);
+
+const MONTH_NAME_TO_INDEX = new Map([
+  ['january', 0], ['jan', 0],
+  ['february', 1], ['feb', 1],
+  ['march', 2], ['mar', 2],
+  ['april', 3], ['apr', 3],
+  ['may', 4],
+  ['june', 5], ['jun', 5],
+  ['july', 6], ['jul', 6],
+  ['august', 7], ['aug', 7],
+  ['september', 8], ['sep', 8], ['sept', 8],
+  ['october', 9], ['oct', 9],
+  ['november', 10], ['nov', 10],
+  ['december', 11], ['dec', 11]
+]);
+
+let cachedBetaKeyEntry = null;
+let blockedUntilMs = 0;
+
+function parseRetryAfterToMs(retryAfterValue) {
+  const raw = String(retryAfterValue || '').trim();
+  if (!raw) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  if (/^\d+$/.test(raw)) {
+    const seconds = Number(raw);
+    return Number.isFinite(seconds) && seconds > 0 ? seconds * 1000 : 0;
+  }
+  const parsedDate = Date.parse(raw);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(parsedDate)) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  return Math.max(0, parsedDate - Date.now());
+}
+
+function parseBetaKeyCandidate(value, invalidMessage = 'Betakey-Antwort ist ungültig.') {
+  const betaKey = String(value || '').trim();
+  if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9-]{15,}$/.test(betaKey)) {
+    const error = new Error(invalidMessage);
+    error.statusCode = 502;
+    throw error;
+  }
+  return betaKey;
+}
+
+function resolveMonthIndex(monthName) {
+  const normalized = String(monthName || '').trim().toLowerCase();
+  return MONTH_NAME_TO_INDEX.has(normalized) ? MONTH_NAME_TO_INDEX.get(normalized) : null;
+}
+
+function endOfMonthUtcIso(year, monthIndex) {
+  const y = Number(year);
+  const m = Number(monthIndex);
+  if (!Number.isInteger(y) || !Number.isInteger(m) || m < 0 || m > 11) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  return new Date(Date.UTC(y, m + 1, 0, 23, 59, 59, 999)).toISOString();
+}
+
+function endOfDayUtcIso(year, monthIndex, day) {
+  const y = Number(year);
+  const m = Number(monthIndex);
+  const d = Number(day);
+  if (!Number.isInteger(y) || !Number.isInteger(m) || !Number.isInteger(d)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  if (m < 0 || m > 11 || d < 1 || d > 31) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  return new Date(Date.UTC(y, m, d, 23, 59, 59, 999)).toISOString();
+}
+
+function parseValidityPhraseToIso(phrase) {
+  const raw = String(phrase || '').trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+  if (!raw) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const endOfMonthMatch = raw.match(/^end of\s+([A-Za-z]+)\s+(\d{4})$/i);
+  if (endOfMonthMatch) {
+    const monthIndex = resolveMonthIndex(endOfMonthMatch[1]);
+    if (monthIndex != null) {
+      return endOfMonthUtcIso(Number(endOfMonthMatch[2]), monthIndex);
+    }
+  }
+
+  const exactDayMatch = raw.match(/^(\d{1,2})\s+([A-Za-z]+)\s+(\d{4})$/i);
+  if (exactDayMatch) {
+    const monthIndex = resolveMonthIndex(exactDayMatch[2]);
+    if (monthIndex != null) {
+      return endOfDayUtcIso(Number(exactDayMatch[3]), monthIndex, Number(exactDayMatch[1]));
+    }
+  }
+
+  const monthYearMatch = raw.match(/^([A-Za-z]+)\s+(\d{4})$/i);
+  if (monthYearMatch) {
+    const monthIndex = resolveMonthIndex(monthYearMatch[1]);
+    if (monthIndex != null) {
+      return endOfMonthUtcIso(Number(monthYearMatch[2]), monthIndex);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function parseForumValidUntilIsoFromHtml(rawBody) {
+  const html = String(rawBody || '');
+  const plainText = html
+    .replace(/<[^>]+>/g, ' ')
+    .replace(/&nbsp;/gi, ' ')
+    .replace(/&#160;/g, ' ')
+    .replace(/&amp;/g, '&')
+    .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')
+    .trim();
+
+  const match = plainText.match(/valid\s+until\s+([^\.]{3,80})/i);
+  if (!match?.[1]) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  return parseValidityPhraseToIso(match[1]);
+}
+
+function normalizeCacheEntry(rawEntry) {
+  if (!rawEntry || typeof rawEntry !== 'object') {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  let key = '';
+  try {
+    key = parseBetaKeyCandidate(rawEntry.key || rawEntry.betaKey || '', 'Betakey-Cache ist ungültig.');
+  } catch (_error) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const sourceUrl = String(rawEntry.sourceUrl || MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URL).trim() || MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URL;
+  const validUntilIsoRaw = String(rawEntry.validUntil || rawEntry.validUntilIso || '').trim();
+  const validUntilMs = Date.parse(validUntilIsoRaw);
+
+  if (!Number.isFinite(validUntilMs)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const fetchedAtIsoRaw = String(rawEntry.fetchedAt || rawEntry.fetchedAtIso || '').trim();
+  const fetchedAtMs = Date.parse(fetchedAtIsoRaw);
+
+  return {
+    key,
+    sourceUrl,
+    validUntil: new Date(validUntilMs).toISOString(),
+    validUntilMs,
+    fetchedAt: Number.isFinite(fetchedAtMs) ? new Date(fetchedAtMs).toISOString() : null,
+    fetchedAtMs: Number.isFinite(fetchedAtMs) ? fetchedAtMs : null
+  };
+}
+
+function isCacheEntryValid(entry, nowMs = Date.now()) {
+  return Boolean(
+    entry
+    && typeof entry === 'object'
+    && typeof entry.key === 'string'
+    && entry.key.length >= 16
+    && Number.isFinite(entry.validUntilMs)
+    && entry.validUntilMs > (nowMs + MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_EXPIRY_GUARD_MS)
+  );
+}
+
+function buildPublicResult(entry, options = {}) {
+  return {
+    key: entry.key,
+    sourceUrl: entry.sourceUrl,
+    validUntil: entry.validUntil,
+    cached: options.cached === true,
+    stale: options.stale === true
+  };
+}
+
+function setInMemoryCache(entry) {
+  cachedBetaKeyEntry = normalizeCacheEntry(entry);
+}
+
+async function readPersistentCacheEntry() {
+  try {
+    const db = await getDb();
+    const row = await db.get('SELECT value FROM user_prefs WHERE key = ? LIMIT 1', [MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_CACHE_PREF_KEY]);
+    if (!row?.value) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(String(row.value));
+    return normalizeCacheEntry(parsed);
+  } catch (error) {
+    logger.warn('beta-key:cache-db-read-failed', {
+      error: error?.message || String(error)
+    });
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+async function persistCacheEntry(entry) {
+  const normalized = normalizeCacheEntry(entry);
+  if (!normalized) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const payload = JSON.stringify({
+    key: normalized.key,
+    sourceUrl: normalized.sourceUrl,
+    validUntil: normalized.validUntil,
+    fetchedAt: normalized.fetchedAt || new Date().toISOString()
+  });
+
+  try {
+    const db = await getDb();
+    await db.run(
+      `INSERT INTO user_prefs (key, value, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)
+       ON CONFLICT(key) DO UPDATE SET value = excluded.value, updated_at = excluded.updated_at`,
+      [MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_CACHE_PREF_KEY, payload]
+    );
+  } catch (error) {
+    logger.warn('beta-key:cache-db-write-failed', {
+      error: error?.message || String(error)
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+async function tryUsePersistentCache(nowMs = Date.now()) {
+  const persistent = await readPersistentCacheEntry();
+  if (!isCacheEntryValid(persistent, nowMs)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  setInMemoryCache(persistent);
+  return buildPublicResult(persistent, { cached: true, stale: false });
+}
+
+function createRateLimitError(retryAfterMs = 0) {
+  const parsedRetryMs = Number(retryAfterMs || 0);
+  const waitMs = parsedRetryMs > 0 ? parsedRetryMs : MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_BACKOFF_DEFAULT_MS;
+  blockedUntilMs = Math.max(blockedUntilMs, Date.now() + waitMs);
+
+  const retryAtIso = new Date(blockedUntilMs).toISOString();
+  const error = new Error(`Betakey-API limitiert Anfragen. Neuer Versuch nach ${retryAtIso}.`);
+  error.statusCode = 429;
+  error.retryAt = retryAtIso;
+  error.retryAfterMs = Math.max(1000, blockedUntilMs - Date.now());
+  return error;
+}
+
+function buildExistingBackoffError() {
+  const retryAtMs = Math.max(Date.now() + 1000, Number(blockedUntilMs || 0));
+  const retryAtIso = new Date(retryAtMs).toISOString();
+  const error = new Error(`Betakey-API limitiert Anfragen. Neuer Versuch nach ${retryAtIso}.`);
+  error.statusCode = 429;
+  error.retryAt = retryAtIso;
+  error.retryAfterMs = Math.max(1000, retryAtMs - Date.now());
+  return error;
+}
+
+function shouldSkipFallback(error) {
+  const status = Number(error?.httpStatus || error?.status || 0);
+  return status >= 400 && status < 500;
+}
+
+function resolveValidityOrFallback(validUntilIso, sourceUrl) {
+  const parsedMs = Date.parse(String(validUntilIso || '').trim());
+  if (Number.isFinite(parsedMs)) {
+    return new Date(parsedMs).toISOString();
+  }
+
+  const fallbackIso = new Date(Date.now() + MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FALLBACK_VALIDITY_HOURS * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();
+  logger.warn('beta-key:validity-parse-fallback', {
+    sourceUrl: sourceUrl || null,
+    fallbackIso
+  });
+  return fallbackIso;
+}
 
 function normalizeRegistrationKey(rawValue) {
   return String(rawValue || '').trim();
@@ -93,11 +394,100 @@ async function syncRegistrationKeyToConfig(rawValue, options = {}) {
   };
 }
 
-async function fetchCurrentBetaKey() {
+async function fetchCurrentBetaKey(options = {}) {
+  const forceRefresh = options?.forceRefresh === true;
+  const now = Date.now();
+
+  if (!forceRefresh && isCacheEntryValid(cachedBetaKeyEntry, now)) {
+    return buildPublicResult(cachedBetaKeyEntry, { cached: true, stale: false });
+  }
+
+  if (!forceRefresh) {
+    const persistentCacheHit = await tryUsePersistentCache(now);
+    if (persistentCacheHit) {
+      return persistentCacheHit;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!forceRefresh && blockedUntilMs > now) {
+    throw buildExistingBackoffError();
+  }
+
   const errors = [];
 
   try {
-    return await fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaCurl();
+    const forumResult = await fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaForum();
+    const normalized = normalizeCacheEntry({
+      ...forumResult,
+      fetchedAt: new Date().toISOString()
+    });
+
+    if (!normalized) {
+      const error = new Error('Forum-Betakey konnte nicht normalisiert werden.');
+      error.statusCode = 502;
+      throw error;
+    }
+
+    blockedUntilMs = 0;
+    setInMemoryCache(normalized);
+    await persistCacheEntry(normalized);
+    return buildPublicResult(normalized, { cached: false, stale: false });
+  } catch (error) {
+    errors.push(error?.message || String(error));
+    logger.warn('beta-key:forum-failed', {
+      error: error?.message || String(error)
+    });
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const apiResult = await fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaFetch();
+    const normalized = normalizeCacheEntry({
+      ...apiResult,
+      fetchedAt: new Date().toISOString()
+    });
+
+    if (!normalized) {
+      const error = new Error('API-Betakey konnte nicht normalisiert werden.');
+      error.statusCode = 502;
+      throw error;
+    }
+
+    blockedUntilMs = 0;
+    setInMemoryCache(normalized);
+    await persistCacheEntry(normalized);
+    return buildPublicResult(normalized, { cached: false, stale: false });
+  } catch (error) {
+    errors.push(error?.message || String(error));
+    logger.warn('beta-key:fetch-failed', {
+      error: error?.message || String(error)
+    });
+    if ([403, 429].includes(Number(error?.httpStatus || error?.status || 0))) {
+      throw createRateLimitError(Number(error?.retryAfterMs || 0));
+    }
+    if (shouldSkipFallback(error)) {
+      const resolved = new Error(`Betakey konnte nicht geladen werden. Details: ${errors.join(' | ')}`);
+      resolved.statusCode = Number(error?.httpStatus || error?.status || 502) || 502;
+      throw resolved;
+    }
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const apiCurlResult = await fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaCurl();
+    const normalized = normalizeCacheEntry({
+      ...apiCurlResult,
+      fetchedAt: new Date().toISOString()
+    });
+
+    if (!normalized) {
+      const error = new Error('API-curl-Betakey konnte nicht normalisiert werden.');
+      error.statusCode = 502;
+      throw error;
+    }
+
+    blockedUntilMs = 0;
+    setInMemoryCache(normalized);
+    await persistCacheEntry(normalized);
+    return buildPublicResult(normalized, { cached: false, stale: false });
   } catch (error) {
     errors.push(error?.message || String(error));
     logger.warn('beta-key:curl-failed', {
@@ -105,18 +495,28 @@ async function fetchCurrentBetaKey() {
     });
   }
 
-  try {
-    return await fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaFetch();
-  } catch (error) {
-    errors.push(error?.message || String(error));
-    logger.warn('beta-key:fetch-failed', {
-      error: error?.message || String(error)
-    });
-  }
+  const finalError = new Error(`Betakey konnte nicht geladen werden. Details: ${errors.join(' | ')}`);
+  finalError.statusCode = 502;
+  throw finalError;
+}
 
-  const error = new Error(`Betakey konnte nicht geladen werden. Details: ${errors.join(' | ')}`);
-  error.statusCode = 502;
-  throw error;
+async function ensureCurrentBetaKeyCacheOnStartup() {
+  try {
+    const current = await fetchCurrentBetaKey();
+    logger.info('beta-key:startup-check:done', {
+      sourceUrl: current?.sourceUrl || null,
+      validUntil: current?.validUntil || null,
+      cached: current?.cached === true
+    });
+    return current;
+  } catch (error) {
+    logger.warn('beta-key:startup-check:failed', {
+      error: error?.message || String(error),
+      statusCode: Number(error?.statusCode || 0) || null,
+      retryAt: error?.retryAt || null
+    });
+    return null;
+  }
 }
 
 function parseBetaKeyResponse(rawBody) {
@@ -129,35 +529,62 @@ function parseBetaKeyResponse(rawBody) {
     throw error;
   }
 
-  const betaKey = String(payload?.key || '').trim();
+  const betaKey = parseBetaKeyCandidate(String(payload?.key || '').trim(), 'Betakey-Antwort ist ungültig.');
 
-  if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9-]{15,}$/.test(betaKey)) {
-    const error = new Error('Betakey-Antwort ist ungültig.');
-    error.statusCode = 502;
-    throw error;
+  let validUntil = null;
+  const unixExpiry = Number(payload?.keydate || payload?.expires || payload?.valid_until_unix || 0);
+  if (Number.isFinite(unixExpiry) && unixExpiry > 0) {
+    validUntil = new Date(unixExpiry * 1000).toISOString();
   }
 
+  const resolvedValidUntil = resolveValidityOrFallback(validUntil, MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL);
+
   return {
     key: betaKey,
-    sourceUrl: MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL
+    sourceUrl: MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL,
+    validUntil: resolvedValidUntil
+  };
+}
+
+function parseBetaKeyFromForumHtml(rawBody, sourceUrl = MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URL) {
+  const html = String(rawBody || '');
+  const contextualMatch = html.match(
+    /current\s+beta\s+key\s+is[\s\S]{0,4000}?<pre><code>\s*([A-Za-z0-9-]{16,})\s*<\/code>/i
+  );
+  const firstCodeMatch = html.match(/<pre><code>\s*([A-Za-z0-9-]{16,})\s*<\/code>/i);
+
+  const keyRaw = contextualMatch?.[1] || firstCodeMatch?.[1] || '';
+  const key = parseBetaKeyCandidate(keyRaw, 'Betakey konnte im Forum nicht gefunden werden.');
+  const parsedValidity = parseForumValidUntilIsoFromHtml(html);
+  const validUntil = resolveValidityOrFallback(parsedValidity, sourceUrl);
+
+  return {
+    key,
+    sourceUrl,
+    validUntil
   };
 }
 
 function fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaCurl() {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const curlArgs = [
+      '-fsSL',
+      '--max-time', String(Math.ceil(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000)),
+      '-A', MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT,
+      '-H', 'Accept: text/plain, text/html;q=0.9, */*;q=0.8',
+      '-H', 'Accept-Language: de,en-US;q=0.7,en;q=0.3',
+      '-H', 'Cache-Control: no-cache',
+      '-H', 'Pragma: no-cache'
+    ];
+    const fromHeader = String(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_FROM || '').trim();
+    if (fromHeader) {
+      curlArgs.push('-H', `From: ${fromHeader}`);
+    }
+    curlArgs.push(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL);
+
     execFile(
       'curl',
-      [
-        '-fsSL',
-        '--max-time', String(Math.ceil(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000)),
-        '-A', MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT,
-        '-H', `From: ${MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_FROM}`,
-        '-H', 'Accept: text/plain, text/html;q=0.9, */*;q=0.8',
-        '-H', 'Accept-Language: de,en-US;q=0.7,en;q=0.3',
-        '-H', 'Cache-Control: no-cache',
-        '-H', 'Pragma: no-cache',
-        MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL
-      ],
+      curlArgs,
       {
         timeout: MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_TIMEOUT_MS,
         maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024
@@ -168,6 +595,12 @@ function fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaCurl() {
             `curl fehlgeschlagen (${error.code || 'unknown'}): ${String(stderr || error.message || '').trim() || 'keine Details'}`
           );
           resolvedError.statusCode = 502;
+          if (/\b429\b/.test(String(stderr || ''))) {
+            resolvedError.httpStatus = 429;
+          }
+          if (/\b403\b/.test(String(stderr || ''))) {
+            resolvedError.httpStatus = 403;
+          }
           reject(resolvedError);
           return;
         }
@@ -183,21 +616,28 @@ function fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaCurl() {
 }
 
 async function fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaFetch() {
+  const requestHeaders = {
+    'User-Agent': MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT,
+    'Accept': 'text/plain, text/html;q=0.9, */*;q=0.8',
+    'Accept-Language': 'de,en-US;q=0.7,en;q=0.3',
+    'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
+    'Pragma': 'no-cache'
+  };
+  const fromHeader = String(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_FROM || '').trim();
+  if (fromHeader) {
+    requestHeaders.From = fromHeader;
+  }
+
   const response = await fetch(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL, {
-    headers: {
-      'User-Agent': MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT,
-      'From': MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_FROM,
-      'Accept': 'text/plain, text/html;q=0.9, */*;q=0.8',
-      'Accept-Language': 'de,en-US;q=0.7,en;q=0.3',
-      'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
-      'Pragma': 'no-cache'
-    },
+    headers: requestHeaders,
     signal: AbortSignal.timeout(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_TIMEOUT_MS)
   });
 
   if (!response.ok) {
     const error = new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
     error.statusCode = 502;
+    error.httpStatus = response.status;
+    error.retryAfterMs = parseRetryAfterToMs(response.headers.get('retry-after'));
     throw error;
   }
 
@@ -205,9 +645,96 @@ async function fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaFetch() {
   return parseBetaKeyResponse(rawBody);
 }
 
+async function fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaForum() {
+  try {
+    return await fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaForumCurl();
+  } catch (error) {
+    const resolved = new Error(`Forum-Betakey konnte nicht geladen werden. Details: ${error?.message || String(error)}`);
+    resolved.statusCode = 502;
+    throw resolved;
+  }
+}
+
+function fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaForumCurl() {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const errors = [];
+    const urls = [...MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URLS];
+
+    const runAttempt = (index) => {
+      if (index >= urls.length) {
+        const finalError = new Error(errors.join(' | ') || 'Keine Forum-URL verfügbar');
+        finalError.statusCode = 502;
+        reject(finalError);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const forumUrl = urls[index];
+      let referer = 'https://www.makemkv.com/';
+      try {
+        referer = `${new URL(forumUrl).origin}/`;
+      } catch (_error) {
+        referer = 'https://www.makemkv.com/';
+      }
+
+      const curlArgs = [
+        '-fsSL',
+        '--max-time', String(Math.ceil(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000)),
+        '-A', MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_USER_AGENT,
+        '-H', 'Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8',
+        '-H', 'Accept-Language: de,en-US;q=0.7,en;q=0.3',
+        '-H', 'Cache-Control: no-cache',
+        '-H', 'Pragma: no-cache',
+        '-H', `Referer: ${referer}`
+      ];
+      const fromHeader = String(MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_FROM || '').trim();
+      if (fromHeader) {
+        curlArgs.push('-H', `From: ${fromHeader}`);
+      }
+      curlArgs.push(forumUrl);
+
+      execFile(
+        'curl',
+        curlArgs,
+        {
+          timeout: MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_TIMEOUT_MS,
+          maxBuffer: 4 * 1024 * 1024
+        },
+        (error, stdout, stderr) => {
+          if (error) {
+            const resolvedError = new Error(
+              `Forum-curl ${forumUrl} fehlgeschlagen (${error.code || 'unknown'}): ${String(stderr || error.message || '').trim() || 'keine Details'}`
+            );
+            resolvedError.statusCode = 502;
+            if (/\b429\b/.test(String(stderr || ''))) {
+              resolvedError.httpStatus = 429;
+            }
+            if (/\b403\b/.test(String(stderr || ''))) {
+              resolvedError.httpStatus = 403;
+            }
+            errors.push(resolvedError.message);
+            runAttempt(index + 1);
+            return;
+          }
+
+          try {
+            resolve(parseBetaKeyFromForumHtml(stdout, forumUrl));
+          } catch (parseError) {
+            errors.push(`Forum-Parse ${forumUrl} fehlgeschlagen: ${parseError?.message || String(parseError)}`);
+            runAttempt(index + 1);
+          }
+        }
+      );
+    };
+
+    runAttempt(0);
+  });
+}
+
 module.exports = {
   MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL,
+  MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URL,
   fetchCurrentBetaKey,
+  ensureCurrentBetaKeyCacheOnStartup,
   getMakeMKVConfigDir,
   getMakeMKVSettingsFilePath,
   normalizeRegistrationKey,
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx b/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx
index 8ece03a..123c32b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx
@@ -668,25 +668,32 @@ function isReadonlySetting(setting) {
 function MakeMKVBetaKeyHint({ onApply, disabled = false }) {
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
   const [betaKey, setBetaKey] = useState('');
+  const [validUntil, setValidUntil] = useState('');
   const [error, setError] = useState('');
+  const [warning, setWarning] = useState('');
 
   useEffect(() => {
     let active = true;
     setLoading(true);
     setError('');
+    setWarning('');
+    setValidUntil('');
 
-    api.getMakeMKVBetaKey({ forceRefresh: true })
+    api.getMakeMKVBetaKey()
       .then((response) => {
         if (!active) {
           return;
         }
         setBetaKey(String(response?.betaKey || '').trim());
+        setValidUntil(String(response?.validUntil || '').trim());
+        setWarning(String(response?.warning || '').trim());
       })
       .catch((loadError) => {
         if (!active) {
           return;
         }
         setBetaKey('');
+        setValidUntil('');
         setError(loadError?.message || 'Betakey konnte nicht geladen werden.');
       })
       .finally(() => {
@@ -719,6 +726,12 @@ function MakeMKVBetaKeyHint({ onApply, disabled = false }) {
       {!loading && error ? (
         <small className="error-text">{error}</small>
       ) : null}
+      {!loading && !error && warning ? (
+        <small className="setting-description">{warning}</small>
+      ) : null}
+      {!loading && !error && validUntil ? (
+        <small className="setting-description">Gültig bis: {new Date(validUntil).toLocaleString('de-DE')}</small>
+      ) : null}
       {!loading && !error && betaKey ? (
         <code className="makemkv-beta-key-value">{betaKey}</code>
       ) : null}