diff --git a/backend/package-lock.json b/backend/package-lock.json
index 81e2da2..de67d50 100644
--- a/backend/package-lock.json
+++ b/backend/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "ripster-backend",
-  "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+  "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "ripster-backend",
-      "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+      "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
       "dependencies": {
         "archiver": "^7.0.1",
         "cors": "^2.8.5",
diff --git a/backend/package.json b/backend/package.json
index aadd6a9..58b7da3 100644
--- a/backend/package.json
+++ b/backend/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "ripster-backend",
-  "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+  "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
   "private": true,
   "type": "commonjs",
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/backend/src/index.js b/backend/src/index.js
index 32af1b9..a7078df 100644
--- a/backend/src/index.js
+++ b/backend/src/index.js
@@ -24,11 +24,20 @@ 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 { fetchCurrentBetaKey } = require('./services/makemkvKeyService');
 const logger = require('./services/logger').child('BOOT');
 const { errorToMeta } = require('./utils/errorMeta');
 const { getThumbnailsDir, migrateExistingThumbnails } = require('./services/thumbnailService');
 
+function getDelayUntilNextBetaKeyCheck(now = new Date()) {
+  const next = new Date(now);
+  next.setHours(0, 1, 0, 0);
+  if (next.getTime() <= now.getTime()) {
+    next.setDate(next.getDate() + 1);
+  }
+  return Math.max(1000, next.getTime() - now.getTime());
+}
+
 async function start() {
   logger.info('backend:start:init');
   await initDatabase();
@@ -38,7 +47,32 @@ async function start() {
   } catch (error) {
     logger.warn('backend:runtime-settings:apply-failed', { error: errorToMeta(error) });
   }
-  await ensureCurrentBetaKeyCacheOnStartup();
+  let betaKeyRefreshTimer = null;
+  const scheduleBetaKeyRefresh = () => {
+    clearTimeout(betaKeyRefreshTimer);
+    const delayMs = getDelayUntilNextBetaKeyCheck();
+    betaKeyRefreshTimer = setTimeout(runBetaKeyRefresh, delayMs);
+    betaKeyRefreshTimer.unref?.();
+    logger.info('beta-key:daily-check:scheduled', {
+      delayMs,
+      nextRunAt: new Date(Date.now() + delayMs).toISOString()
+    });
+  };
+  const runBetaKeyRefresh = async () => {
+    try {
+      const result = await fetchCurrentBetaKey({ forceRefresh: true });
+      logger.info('beta-key:daily-check:done', {
+        sourceUrl: result?.sourceUrl || null,
+        validUntil: result?.validUntil || null,
+        fetchedAt: result?.fetchedAt || null
+      });
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.warn('beta-key:daily-check:failed', { error: errorToMeta(error) });
+    } finally {
+      scheduleBetaKeyRefresh();
+    }
+  };
+  scheduleBetaKeyRefresh();
   await tempCleanupService.init();
   await pipelineService.init();
   await converterScanService.startPolling();
@@ -107,6 +141,7 @@ async function start() {
     hardwareMonitorService.stop();
     cronService.stop();
     tempCleanupService.stop();
+    clearTimeout(betaKeyRefreshTimer);
     server.close(() => {
       logger.warn('backend:shutdown:completed');
       process.exit(0);
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js b/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js
index e2eb517..1eec7c2 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js
+++ b/backend/src/routes/settingsRoutes.js
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ const userPresetDefaultsService = require('../services/userPresetDefaultsService
 const activationBytesService = require('../services/activationBytesService');
 const diskDetectionService = require('../services/diskDetectionService');
 const coverArtRecoveryService = require('../services/coverArtRecoveryService');
-const { fetchCurrentBetaKey } = require('../services/makemkvKeyService');
+const { fetchCurrentBetaKey, getCachedBetaKey } = require('../services/makemkvKeyService');
 const logger = require('../services/logger').child('SETTINGS_ROUTE');
 
 const { getDb } = require('../db/database');
@@ -58,39 +58,36 @@ router.get(
   '/makemkv/beta-key',
   asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
     logger.debug('get:settings:makemkv:beta-key', { reqId: req.reqId });
-    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;
-    }
+    const currentSettings = await settingsService.getSettingsMap({ forceRefresh: false });
+    const existingKey = String(currentSettings?.makemkv_registration_key || '').trim();
+    const cached = await getCachedBetaKey({ allowExpired: true });
+
+    res.json({
+      betaKey: cached?.key || '',
+      sourceUrl: cached?.sourceUrl || null,
+      validUntil: cached?.validUntil || null,
+      fetchedAt: cached?.fetchedAt || null,
+      cached: cached?.cached === true,
+      stale: cached?.stale === true,
+      appliedKey: existingKey || null,
+      appliedMatchesCache: Boolean(cached?.key) && existingKey === cached.key
+    });
+  })
+);
+
+router.post(
+  '/makemkv/beta-key/check',
+  asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
+    logger.info('post:settings:makemkv:beta-key:check', { reqId: req.reqId });
+    const betaKeyResult = await fetchCurrentBetaKey({ forceRefresh: true });
+    res.json({
+      betaKey: betaKeyResult.key,
+      sourceUrl: betaKeyResult.sourceUrl,
+      validUntil: betaKeyResult.validUntil || null,
+      fetchedAt: betaKeyResult.fetchedAt || null,
+      cached: betaKeyResult.cached === true,
+      stale: betaKeyResult.stale === true
+    });
   })
 );
 
@@ -98,35 +95,26 @@ router.post(
   '/makemkv/beta-key/apply',
   asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
     logger.info('post:settings:makemkv:beta-key:apply', { reqId: req.reqId });
-    const force = req.body?.force === true;
-    const currentSettings = await settingsService.getSettingsMap({ forceRefresh: true });
-    const existingKey = String(currentSettings?.makemkv_registration_key || '').trim();
-    const betaKeyResult = await fetchCurrentBetaKey();
+    const requestedKey = String(req.body?.betaKey || '').trim();
+    const cachedResult = requestedKey
+      ? { key: requestedKey }
+      : await getCachedBetaKey({ allowExpired: true });
+    const betaKey = String(cachedResult?.key || '').trim();
 
-    if (!force && existingKey && existingKey !== betaKeyResult.key) {
-      const syncResult = await settingsService.syncMakeMKVRegistrationKeyFromSettings({
-        settingsMap: currentSettings
-      });
-      res.json({
-        applied: false,
-        preservedExistingKey: true,
-        reason: 'existing_key',
-        betaKey: betaKeyResult.key,
-        sourceUrl: betaKeyResult.sourceUrl,
-        settingsFilePath: syncResult?.path || null
-      });
-      return;
+    if (!betaKey) {
+      const error = new Error('Kein geprüfter Betakey vorhanden. Bitte zuerst prüfen.');
+      error.statusCode = 400;
+      throw error;
     }
 
-    const updated = await settingsService.setSettingValue('makemkv_registration_key', betaKeyResult.key);
+    const updated = await settingsService.setSettingValue('makemkv_registration_key', betaKey);
     wsService.broadcast('SETTINGS_UPDATED', updated);
 
     res.json({
       applied: true,
-      preservedExistingKey: false,
       setting: updated,
-      betaKey: betaKeyResult.key,
-      sourceUrl: betaKeyResult.sourceUrl
+      betaKey,
+      sourceUrl: String(cachedResult?.sourceUrl || '').trim() || null
     });
   })
 );
diff --git a/backend/src/services/historyService.js b/backend/src/services/historyService.js
index b4bbb6f..d4644a2 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/historyService.js
+++ b/backend/src/services/historyService.js
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ const tmdbService = require('./tmdbService');
 const cdRipService = require('./cdRipService');
 const { getJobLogDir } = require('./logPathService');
 const thumbnailService = require('./thumbnailService');
+const { getServerTimestamp } = require('../utils/serverTime');
 
 function parseJsonSafe(raw, fallback = null) {
   if (!raw) {
@@ -3542,7 +3543,7 @@ class HistoryService {
         });
         processLogStreams.set(streamKey, stream);
       }
-      const line = `[${new Date().toISOString()}] [${source}] ${String(message || '')}\n`;
+      const line = `[${getServerTimestamp()}] [${source}] ${String(message || '')}\n`;
       stream.write(line);
     } catch (error) {
       logger.warn('job:process-log:append-failed', {
@@ -3869,7 +3870,7 @@ class HistoryService {
         .filter(Boolean)
         .join(', ');
       lines.push(
-        `[${new Date().toISOString()}] [SYSTEM] Importierte vorhandene Job-Logs: ${fileSummary}`
+        `[${getServerTimestamp()}] [SYSTEM] Importierte vorhandene Job-Logs: ${fileSummary}`
       );
       for (const source of normalizedSources) {
         lines.push(...source.lines);
@@ -3877,7 +3878,7 @@ class HistoryService {
     }
     if (importInfo) {
       lines.push(
-        `[${new Date().toISOString()}] [SYSTEM] Orphan-RAW-Import Zusatzinfo: ${JSON.stringify(importInfo)}`
+        `[${getServerTimestamp()}] [SYSTEM] Orphan-RAW-Import Zusatzinfo: ${JSON.stringify(importInfo)}`
       );
     }
 
diff --git a/backend/src/services/logger.js b/backend/src/services/logger.js
index c551576..90454b0 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/logger.js
+++ b/backend/src/services/logger.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
 const { logLevel } = require('../config');
 const { getBackendLogDir, getFallbackLogRootDir } = require('./logPathService');
+const { getServerTimestamp } = require('../utils/serverTime');
 
 const LEVELS = {
   debug: 10,
@@ -123,7 +124,7 @@ function emit(level, scope, message, meta = null) {
     return;
   }
 
-  const timestamp = new Date().toISOString();
+  const timestamp = getServerTimestamp();
   const payload = {
     timestamp,
     level: normLevel,
diff --git a/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js b/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js
index a97c0ba..bbd3ff1 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js
+++ b/backend/src/services/makemkvKeyService.js
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@ 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(
@@ -20,63 +15,24 @@ const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FALLBACK_VALIDITY_HOURS = Math.max(
 );
 
 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 DEFAULT_USER_AGENT = `Ripster/MakeMKVKey-${RIPSTER_VERSION} (linux/manual; Node/manual) +https://github.com/mboehmlaender/ripster`;
 const MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT = process.env.MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_USER_AGENT
   || 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
-  || '';
 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)) {
+  if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]{15,}$/.test(betaKey)) {
     const error = new Error(invalidMessage);
     error.statusCode = 502;
     throw error;
@@ -84,83 +40,6 @@ function parseBetaKeyCandidate(value, invalidMessage = 'Betakey-Antwort ist ung
   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') {
@@ -174,7 +53,7 @@ function normalizeCacheEntry(rawEntry) {
     return null;
   }
 
-  const sourceUrl = String(rawEntry.sourceUrl || MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URL).trim() || MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_FORUM_URL;
+  const sourceUrl = String(rawEntry.sourceUrl || MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL).trim() || MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL;
   const validUntilIsoRaw = String(rawEntry.validUntil || rawEntry.validUntilIso || '').trim();
   const validUntilMs = Date.parse(validUntilIsoRaw);
 
@@ -211,6 +90,7 @@ function buildPublicResult(entry, options = {}) {
     key: entry.key,
     sourceUrl: entry.sourceUrl,
     validUntil: entry.validUntil,
+    fetchedAt: entry.fetchedAt || null,
     cached: options.cached === true,
     stale: options.stale === true
   };
@@ -273,6 +153,31 @@ async function tryUsePersistentCache(nowMs = Date.now()) {
   return buildPublicResult(persistent, { cached: true, stale: false });
 }
 
+async function getCachedBetaKey(options = {}) {
+  const nowMs = Date.now();
+  const allowExpired = options?.allowExpired !== false;
+
+  if (cachedBetaKeyEntry) {
+    const stale = !isCacheEntryValid(cachedBetaKeyEntry, nowMs);
+    if (!stale || allowExpired) {
+      return buildPublicResult(cachedBetaKeyEntry, { cached: true, stale });
+    }
+  }
+
+  const persistent = await readPersistentCacheEntry();
+  if (!persistent) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  setInMemoryCache(persistent);
+  const stale = !isCacheEntryValid(persistent, nowMs);
+  if (stale && !allowExpired) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  return buildPublicResult(persistent, { cached: true, stale });
+}
+
 function createRateLimitError(retryAfterMs = 0) {
   const parsedRetryMs = Number(retryAfterMs || 0);
   const waitMs = parsedRetryMs > 0 ? parsedRetryMs : MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_BACKOFF_DEFAULT_MS;
@@ -296,11 +201,6 @@ function buildExistingBackoffError() {
   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)) {
@@ -413,71 +313,13 @@ async function fetchCurrentBetaKey(options = {}) {
     throw buildExistingBackoffError();
   }
 
-  const errors = [];
-
   try {
-    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 apiResult = await fetchCurrentBetaKeyViaCurl();
     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;
@@ -489,33 +331,15 @@ async function fetchCurrentBetaKey(options = {}) {
     await persistCacheEntry(normalized);
     return buildPublicResult(normalized, { cached: false, stale: false });
   } catch (error) {
-    errors.push(error?.message || String(error));
-    logger.warn('beta-key:curl-failed', {
+    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;
-}
-
-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;
+    if (Number(error?.httpStatus || error?.statusCode || error?.status || 0) === 429) {
+      throw createRateLimitError(Number(error?.retryAfterMs || 0));
+    }
+    const resolved = new Error(`Betakey konnte nicht geladen werden. Details: ${error?.message || String(error)}`);
+    resolved.statusCode = Number(error?.httpStatus || error?.statusCode || error?.status || 502) || 502;
+    throw resolved;
   }
 }
 
@@ -546,41 +370,14 @@ function parseBetaKeyResponse(rawBody) {
   };
 }
 
-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'
+      MAKEMKV_BETA_KEY_API_URL
     ];
-    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',
@@ -615,126 +412,10 @@ 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: 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;
-  }
-
-  const rawBody = await response.text();
-  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,
+  getCachedBetaKey,
   getMakeMKVConfigDir,
   getMakeMKVSettingsFilePath,
   normalizeRegistrationKey,
diff --git a/backend/src/services/pipelineService.js b/backend/src/services/pipelineService.js
index ed558a6..f08c35f 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/pipelineService.js
+++ b/backend/src/services/pipelineService.js
@@ -6377,6 +6377,133 @@ function buildSelectedHandBrakeReviewTitles(scanJson, selectedHandBrakeTitleIds
   return titles;
 }
 
+function collectAlternativeFeatureReviewCandidates({
+  playlistCandidates = [],
+  handBrakePlaylistScan = null,
+  playlistAnalysis = null,
+  selectedPlaylistId = null,
+  selectedHandBrakeTitleId = null,
+  selectedTitleInfo = null,
+  makeMkvSubtitleTracks = []
+}) {
+  const normalizedSelectedPlaylistId = normalizePlaylistId(selectedPlaylistId);
+  const normalizedSelectedHandBrakeTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(selectedHandBrakeTitleId);
+  const normalizedCache = normalizeHandBrakePlaylistScanCache(handBrakePlaylistScan);
+  const baselineDurationSeconds = Number(selectedTitleInfo?.durationSeconds || 0) || 0;
+  const baselineSizeBytes = Number(selectedTitleInfo?.sizeBytes || 0) || 0;
+  const candidateRows = Array.isArray(playlistCandidates) ? playlistCandidates : [];
+  const candidateMap = new Map();
+
+  for (const row of candidateRows) {
+    const playlistId = normalizePlaylistId(row?.playlistId || row?.playlistFile || null);
+    if (!playlistId || candidateMap.has(playlistId)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    candidateMap.set(playlistId, row);
+  }
+
+  const resolved = [];
+  const seenKeys = new Set();
+
+  const pushCandidate = (playlistIdRaw, titleInfoRaw, sourceRow = null) => {
+    const playlistId = normalizePlaylistId(playlistIdRaw || titleInfoRaw?.playlistId || null);
+    const titleInfo = enrichTitleInfoWithForcedSubtitleAvailability(
+      titleInfoRaw,
+      makeMkvSubtitleTracks
+    );
+    const handBrakeTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(
+      titleInfo?.handBrakeTitleId
+      || sourceRow?.handBrakeTitleId
+      || null
+    );
+    if (!playlistId || !titleInfo || !handBrakeTitleId) {
+      return;
+    }
+    const durationSeconds = Number(titleInfo?.durationSeconds || sourceRow?.durationSeconds || 0) || 0;
+    const sizeBytes = Number(titleInfo?.sizeBytes || sourceRow?.sizeBytes || 0) || 0;
+    const isSelectedDefault = (
+      (normalizedSelectedPlaylistId && playlistId === normalizedSelectedPlaylistId)
+      || (normalizedSelectedHandBrakeTitleId && handBrakeTitleId === normalizedSelectedHandBrakeTitleId)
+    );
+    if (!isSelectedDefault && durationSeconds < baselineDurationSeconds) {
+      return;
+    }
+    const dedupeKey = `${playlistId}:${handBrakeTitleId}`;
+    if (seenKeys.has(dedupeKey)) {
+      return;
+    }
+    seenKeys.add(dedupeKey);
+    resolved.push({
+      playlistId,
+      handBrakeTitleId,
+      titleInfo,
+      sourceRow,
+      durationSeconds,
+      sizeBytes,
+      playlistInfo: resolvePlaylistInfoFromAnalysis(playlistAnalysis, playlistId),
+      isSelectedDefault
+    });
+  };
+
+  if (normalizedSelectedPlaylistId && selectedTitleInfo) {
+    pushCandidate(
+      normalizedSelectedPlaylistId,
+      selectedTitleInfo,
+      candidateMap.get(normalizedSelectedPlaylistId) || null
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (normalizedCache?.byPlaylist && typeof normalizedCache.byPlaylist === 'object') {
+    for (const [playlistId, cacheEntry] of Object.entries(normalizedCache.byPlaylist)) {
+      pushCandidate(
+        playlistId,
+        cacheEntry?.titleInfo || null,
+        candidateMap.get(playlistId) || null
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (const row of candidateRows) {
+    const playlistId = normalizePlaylistId(row?.playlistId || row?.playlistFile || null);
+    if (!playlistId) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const cacheEntry = normalizedCache?.byPlaylist?.[playlistId] || null;
+    pushCandidate(
+      playlistId,
+      cacheEntry?.titleInfo || null,
+      row
+    );
+  }
+
+  const byPriority = resolved
+    .slice()
+    .sort((left, right) => {
+      if (left.isSelectedDefault !== right.isSelectedDefault) {
+        return left.isSelectedDefault ? -1 : 1;
+      }
+      return left.durationSeconds - right.durationSeconds
+        || left.sizeBytes - right.sizeBytes
+        || String(left.playlistId || '').localeCompare(String(right.playlistId || ''))
+        || left.handBrakeTitleId - right.handBrakeTitleId;
+    });
+
+  if (byPriority.length === 0 && normalizedSelectedPlaylistId && selectedTitleInfo) {
+    return [{
+      playlistId: normalizedSelectedPlaylistId,
+      handBrakeTitleId: normalizedSelectedHandBrakeTitleId || null,
+      titleInfo: enrichTitleInfoWithForcedSubtitleAvailability(selectedTitleInfo, makeMkvSubtitleTracks),
+      sourceRow: candidateMap.get(normalizedSelectedPlaylistId) || null,
+      durationSeconds: baselineDurationSeconds,
+      sizeBytes: baselineSizeBytes,
+      playlistInfo: resolvePlaylistInfoFromAnalysis(playlistAnalysis, normalizedSelectedPlaylistId),
+      isSelectedDefault: true
+    }];
+  }
+
+  return byPriority;
+}
+
 function pickTitleIdForTrackReview(playlistAnalysis, selectedTitleId = null) {
   const explicit = normalizeNonNegativeInteger(selectedTitleId);
   if (explicit !== null) {
@@ -8116,6 +8243,23 @@ function applyEncodeTitleSelectionToPlan(encodePlan, selectedEncodeTitleId, sele
       selectedTitleIds: normalizedTitleIds,
       encodeInputTitleId: effectivePrimaryTitleId,
       encodeInputPath: selectedTitle?.filePath || null,
+      handBrakeTitleId: normalizeReviewTitleId(
+        selectedTitle?.handBrakeTitleId
+        ?? selectedTitle?.titleIndex
+        ?? encodePlan?.handBrakeTitleId
+        ?? null
+      ),
+      selectedPlaylistId: normalizePlaylistId(
+        selectedTitle?.playlistId
+        || selectedTitle?.playlistFile
+        || encodePlan?.selectedPlaylistId
+        || null
+      ),
+      selectedMakemkvTitleId: normalizeNonNegativeInteger(
+        selectedTitle?.makemkvTitleId
+        ?? encodePlan?.selectedMakemkvTitleId
+        ?? null
+      ),
       titleSelectionRequired: false
     },
     selectedTitle,
@@ -9348,6 +9492,9 @@ function resolvePrefillEncodeTitleId(reviewPlan, previousPlan) {
   if (reviewTitles.length === 0) {
     return null;
   }
+  if (Boolean(reviewPlan?.alternativeTitleSelection?.enabled)) {
+    return null;
+  }
 
   const previousSelectedTitle = findSelectedTitleInPlan(previousPlan);
   if (!previousSelectedTitle) {
@@ -11072,6 +11219,63 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
         }
       }
 
+      if (stage === 'RIPPING' || stage === 'MEDIAINFO_CHECK') {
+        let recoveryValidation;
+        try {
+          recoveryValidation = await this.validateStartupEncodeRecoveryReadiness(row);
+        } catch (validationError) {
+          logger.warn('startup:recover-stale-review:validation-failed', {
+            jobId,
+            stage,
+            error: errorToMeta(validationError)
+          });
+          recoveryValidation = {
+            ok: false,
+            code: 'validation_failed',
+            message: `Server-Neustart: Rip-Validierung fehlgeschlagen (${validationError?.message || 'unknown'}). Bitte Rip vom Laufwerk neu starten.`
+          };
+        }
+
+        if (recoveryValidation?.ok) {
+          const reviewRecoveryMessage = stage === 'MEDIAINFO_CHECK'
+            ? 'Server-Neustart während Titel-/Spurprüfung erkannt. Rip ist bereits fertig; Review kann aus dem RAW-Backup neu gestartet werden.'
+            : 'Server-Neustart nach abgeschlossenem Rip erkannt. Review kann aus dem RAW-Backup neu gestartet werden.';
+          await historyService.updateJob(jobId, {
+            status: 'ERROR',
+            last_state: 'MEDIAINFO_CHECK',
+            end_time: nowIso(),
+            error_message: reviewRecoveryMessage,
+            raw_path: recoveryValidation?.resolvedRawPath || row?.raw_path || null,
+            rip_successful: 1
+          });
+          try {
+            await historyService.appendLog(jobId, 'SYSTEM', reviewRecoveryMessage);
+          } catch (_error) {
+            // keep recovery path even if log append fails
+          }
+          markedError += 1;
+          continue;
+        }
+
+        const recoveryMessage = String(recoveryValidation?.message || '').trim()
+          || `${message} Rip ist unvollständig. Bitte Rip vom Laufwerk neu starten.`;
+        await historyService.updateJob(jobId, {
+          status: 'ERROR',
+          last_state: 'RIPPING',
+          end_time: nowIso(),
+          error_message: recoveryMessage,
+          rip_successful: 0
+        });
+        try {
+          await historyService.appendLog(jobId, 'SYSTEM', recoveryMessage);
+        } catch (_error) {
+          // keep recovery path even if log append fails
+        }
+        markedError += 1;
+        blockedIncompleteRip += 1;
+        continue;
+      }
+
       await historyService.updateJob(jobId, {
         status: 'ERROR',
         last_state: stage,
@@ -18502,14 +18706,25 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
       && !selectedPlaylistId
       && playlistCandidates.length > 0
     );
-    if (shouldPrepareHandBrakeDecisionData) {
+    const shouldPrepareAlternativeFeatureReviewData = Boolean(
+      selectedPlaylistId
+      && !isSeriesBackupReview
+      && playlistCandidates.length > 1
+    );
+    const shouldPrepareExpandedHandBrakePlaylistData = (
+      shouldPrepareHandBrakeDecisionData
+      || shouldPrepareAlternativeFeatureReviewData
+    );
+    if (shouldPrepareExpandedHandBrakePlaylistData) {
       const hasCompleteCache = hasCachedHandBrakeDataForPlaylistCandidates(handBrakePlaylistScan, playlistCandidates);
       if (!hasCompleteCache) {
         await this.updateProgress(
           'MEDIAINFO_CHECK',
           25,
           null,
-          'HandBrake Trackdaten für Playlist-Auswahl werden vorbereitet',
+          shouldPrepareAlternativeFeatureReviewData
+            ? 'HandBrake Trackdaten für alternative Filmfassungen werden vorbereitet'
+            : 'HandBrake Trackdaten für Playlist-Auswahl werden vorbereitet',
           jobId
         );
         try {
@@ -18540,13 +18755,17 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
               await historyService.appendLog(
                 jobId,
                 'SYSTEM',
-                `HandBrake Playlist-Trackdaten vorbereitet: ${Object.keys(preparedCache.byPlaylist || {}).length} Kandidaten aus --scan -t 0 analysiert.`
+                shouldPrepareAlternativeFeatureReviewData
+                  ? `HandBrake Trackdaten für alternative Filmfassungen vorbereitet: ${Object.keys(preparedCache.byPlaylist || {}).length} Kandidaten aus --scan -t 0 analysiert.`
+                  : `HandBrake Playlist-Trackdaten vorbereitet: ${Object.keys(preparedCache.byPlaylist || {}).length} Kandidaten aus --scan -t 0 analysiert.`
               );
             } else {
               await historyService.appendLog(
                 jobId,
                 'SYSTEM',
-                'HandBrake Playlist-Trackdaten konnten aus --scan -t 0 nicht auf Kandidaten abgebildet werden.'
+                shouldPrepareAlternativeFeatureReviewData
+                  ? 'HandBrake Trackdaten für alternative Filmfassungen konnten aus --scan -t 0 nicht auf Kandidaten abgebildet werden.'
+                  : 'HandBrake Playlist-Trackdaten konnten aus --scan -t 0 nicht auf Kandidaten abgebildet werden.'
               );
             }
           } else {
@@ -18562,7 +18781,9 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
           await historyService.appendLog(
             jobId,
             'SYSTEM',
-            `HandBrake Voranalyse für Playlist-Auswahl fehlgeschlagen: ${error.message}`
+            shouldPrepareAlternativeFeatureReviewData
+              ? `HandBrake Vorbereitung für alternative Filmfassungen fehlgeschlagen: ${error.message}`
+              : `HandBrake Voranalyse für Playlist-Auswahl fehlgeschlagen: ${error.message}`
           );
           throw error;
         }
@@ -18572,7 +18793,9 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
         await historyService.appendLog(
           jobId,
           'SYSTEM',
-          'HandBrake Playlist-Trackdaten aus Cache übernommen (kein erneuter --scan -t 0).'
+          shouldPrepareAlternativeFeatureReviewData
+            ? 'HandBrake Trackdaten für alternative Filmfassungen aus Cache übernommen (kein erneuter --scan -t 0).'
+            : 'HandBrake Playlist-Trackdaten aus Cache übernommen (kein erneuter --scan -t 0).'
         );
       }
     }
@@ -19455,188 +19678,243 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
       };
     }
 
-    const syntheticFilePath = path.join(
-      rawPath,
-      reviewTitleSource === 'handbrake' && Number.isFinite(Number(resolvedHandBrakeTitleId)) && Number(resolvedHandBrakeTitleId) > 0
-        ? `handbrake_t${String(Math.trunc(Number(resolvedHandBrakeTitleId))).padStart(2, '0')}.mkv`
-        : `makemkv_t${String(selectedTitleForReview).padStart(2, '0')}.mkv`
+    const alternativeReviewCandidates = collectAlternativeFeatureReviewCandidates({
+      playlistCandidates,
+      handBrakePlaylistScan,
+      playlistAnalysis,
+      selectedPlaylistId: resolvedPlaylistId,
+      selectedHandBrakeTitleId: resolvedHandBrakeTitleId,
+      selectedTitleInfo: reviewTitleInfo,
+      makeMkvSubtitleTracks: makeMkvSubtitleTracksForSelection
+    });
+    const reviewCandidateRows = alternativeReviewCandidates.length > 0
+      ? alternativeReviewCandidates
+      : [{
+        playlistId: resolvedPlaylistId,
+        handBrakeTitleId: resolvedHandBrakeTitleId,
+        titleInfo: reviewTitleInfo,
+        sourceRow: null,
+        durationSeconds: Number(reviewTitleInfo?.durationSeconds || 0) || 0,
+        sizeBytes: Number(reviewTitleInfo?.sizeBytes || 0) || 0,
+        playlistInfo: resolvePlaylistInfoFromAnalysis(playlistAnalysis, resolvedPlaylistId),
+        isSelectedDefault: true
+      }];
+
+    const buildSyntheticCandidatePath = (handBrakeTitleId, fallbackTitleId) => (
+      path.join(
+        rawPath,
+        reviewTitleSource === 'handbrake' && Number.isFinite(Number(handBrakeTitleId)) && Number(handBrakeTitleId) > 0
+          ? `handbrake_t${String(Math.trunc(Number(handBrakeTitleId))).padStart(2, '0')}.mkv`
+          : `makemkv_t${String(fallbackTitleId).padStart(2, '0')}.mkv`
+      )
     );
-    const syntheticMediaInfoByPath = {
-      [syntheticFilePath]: buildSyntheticMediaInfoFromMakeMkvTitle(reviewTitleInfo)
-    };
+
+    const reviewCandidatesWithPaths = reviewCandidateRows.map((candidate, index) => {
+      const fallbackTitleId = Number(selectedTitleForReview || index + 1) || (index + 1);
+      return {
+        ...candidate,
+        syntheticFilePath: buildSyntheticCandidatePath(candidate.handBrakeTitleId, fallbackTitleId)
+      };
+    });
+
+    const syntheticMediaInfoByPath = Object.fromEntries(
+      reviewCandidatesWithPaths.map((candidate) => [
+        candidate.syntheticFilePath,
+        buildSyntheticMediaInfoFromMakeMkvTitle(candidate.titleInfo)
+      ])
+    );
+    const allowAlternativeTitleSelection = reviewCandidatesWithPaths.length > 1;
     let review = buildMediainfoReview({
-      mediaFiles: [{
-        path: syntheticFilePath,
-        size: Number(reviewTitleInfo?.sizeBytes || 0)
-      }],
+      mediaFiles: reviewCandidatesWithPaths.map((candidate) => ({
+        path: candidate.syntheticFilePath,
+        size: Number(candidate?.titleInfo?.sizeBytes || 0)
+      })),
       mediaInfoByPath: syntheticMediaInfoByPath,
       settings,
       presetProfile,
       playlistAnalysis,
-      preferredEncodeTitleId: selectedTitleForReview,
-      selectedPlaylistId: resolvedPlaylistId || reviewTitleInfo?.playlistId || null,
-      selectedMakemkvTitleId: selectedTitleForReview
+      preferredEncodeTitleId: allowAlternativeTitleSelection ? null : selectedTitleForReview,
+      selectedPlaylistId: allowAlternativeTitleSelection
+        ? null
+        : (resolvedPlaylistId || reviewTitleInfo?.playlistId || null),
+      selectedMakemkvTitleId: allowAlternativeTitleSelection ? null : selectedTitleForReview
     });
     review = remapReviewTrackIdsToSourceIds(review);
 
-    const resolvedPlaylistInfo = resolvePlaylistInfoFromAnalysis(playlistAnalysis, resolvedPlaylistId);
     const minLengthMinutesForReview = Number(review?.minLengthMinutes ?? settings?.makemkv_min_length_minutes ?? 0);
     const minLengthSecondsForReview = Math.max(0, Math.round(minLengthMinutesForReview * 60));
-    const subtitleTrackMetaBySourceId = new Map(
-      (Array.isArray(reviewTitleInfo?.subtitleTracks) ? reviewTitleInfo.subtitleTracks : [])
-        .map((track) => {
-          const sourceTrackId = normalizeTrackIdList([track?.sourceTrackId ?? track?.id])[0] || null;
-          return sourceTrackId ? [sourceTrackId, track] : null;
-        })
-        .filter(Boolean)
+    const candidateMetaBySyntheticPath = new Map(
+      reviewCandidatesWithPaths.map((candidate) => [candidate.syntheticFilePath, candidate])
     );
-    const normalizedTitles = (Array.isArray(review.titles) ? review.titles : [])
-      .slice(0, 1)
-      .map((title) => {
-        const normalizedHandBrakeTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(
-          resolvedHandBrakeTitleId
-          ?? title?.handBrakeTitleId
-          ?? title?.titleIndex
-          ?? title?.id
-          ?? selectedTitleForReview
-        );
-        const durationSeconds = Number(reviewTitleInfo?.durationSeconds || title?.durationSeconds || 0);
-        const eligibleForEncode = durationSeconds >= minLengthSecondsForReview;
-        const subtitleTracks = (Array.isArray(title?.subtitleTracks) ? title.subtitleTracks : []).map((track) => {
-          const sourceTrackId = normalizeTrackIdList([track?.sourceTrackId ?? track?.id])[0] || null;
-          const sourceMeta = sourceTrackId ? (subtitleTrackMetaBySourceId.get(sourceTrackId) || null) : null;
-          const selectedByRule = Boolean(sourceMeta?.selectedByRule ?? track?.selectedByRule);
-          const duplicate = Boolean(sourceMeta?.duplicate ?? track?.duplicate);
-          const subtitleType = String(
-            sourceMeta?.subtitleType
-            || track?.subtitleType
-            || (sourceMeta?.forcedTrack ? 'forced' : (track?.forcedTrack ? 'forced' : 'full'))
-          ).trim().toLowerCase() === 'forced'
-            ? 'forced'
-            : 'full';
-          const rawConfidence = String(sourceMeta?.sourceConfidence || track?.sourceConfidence || '')
-            .trim()
-            .toLowerCase();
-          const confidenceSource = String(sourceMeta?.confidenceSource || track?.confidenceSource || '')
-            .trim()
-            .toLowerCase();
-          let sourceConfidence = null;
-          if (subtitleType === 'forced') {
-            if (rawConfidence === 'high' || rawConfidence === 'medium' || rawConfidence === 'low') {
-              sourceConfidence = rawConfidence;
-            } else if (confidenceSource === 'title') {
-              sourceConfidence = 'medium';
-            } else {
-              sourceConfidence = 'low';
-            }
-          }
-          const subtitlePreviewBurnIn = Boolean(sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewBurnIn ?? track?.subtitlePreviewBurnIn);
-          const subtitlePreviewForced = Boolean(
-            sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewForced
-            ?? track?.subtitlePreviewForced
-            ?? (selectedByRule && subtitleType === 'forced')
-          );
-          const subtitlePreviewForcedOnly = Boolean(
-            sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewForcedOnly
-            ?? track?.subtitlePreviewForcedOnly
-          );
-          const isForcedOnly = Boolean(
-            sourceMeta?.isForcedOnly
-            ?? track?.isForcedOnly
-            ?? sourceMeta?.forcedOnly
-            ?? track?.forcedOnly
-            ?? subtitlePreviewForcedOnly
-            ?? subtitleType === 'forced'
-          );
-          const fullHasForced = !isForcedOnly && Boolean(
-            sourceMeta?.fullHasForced
-            ?? track?.fullHasForced
-            ?? sourceMeta?.subtitleFullHasForced
-            ?? track?.subtitleFullHasForced
-          );
-          const subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack = Boolean(
-            sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack
-            ?? track?.subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack
-            ?? sourceMeta?.defaultFlag
-            ?? track?.defaultFlag
-          );
-          const subtitlePreviewFlags = Array.isArray(sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewFlags)
-            ? sourceMeta.subtitlePreviewFlags
-            : (Array.isArray(track?.subtitlePreviewFlags) ? track.subtitlePreviewFlags : []);
-          const subtitlePreviewSummary = String(
-            sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewSummary
-            || track?.subtitlePreviewSummary
-            || (selectedByRule
-              ? 'Übernehmen'
-              : (duplicate ? 'Nicht übernommen (Duplikat)' : 'Nicht übernommen'))
-          ).trim() || 'Nicht übernommen';
-          const selectedForEncode = selectedByRule;
-          return {
-            ...track,
-            id: sourceTrackId || track?.id || null,
-            sourceTrackId: sourceTrackId || track?.sourceTrackId || track?.id || null,
-            language: sourceMeta?.language || track?.language || 'und',
-            languageLabel: sourceMeta?.languageLabel || track?.languageLabel || track?.language || 'und',
-            title: sourceMeta?.title ?? track?.title ?? null,
-            format: sourceMeta?.format || track?.format || null,
-            defaultFlag: Boolean(sourceMeta?.defaultFlag ?? track?.defaultFlag),
-            eventCount: Number.isFinite(Number(sourceMeta?.eventCount))
-              ? Math.trunc(Number(sourceMeta.eventCount))
-              : (Number.isFinite(Number(track?.eventCount)) ? Math.trunc(Number(track.eventCount)) : null),
-            streamSizeBytes: Number.isFinite(Number(sourceMeta?.streamSizeBytes))
-              ? Math.trunc(Number(sourceMeta.streamSizeBytes))
-              : (Number.isFinite(Number(track?.streamSizeBytes)) ? Math.trunc(Number(track.streamSizeBytes)) : null),
-            forcedTrack: Boolean(sourceMeta?.forcedTrack ?? subtitlePreviewForced),
-            forcedAvailable: Boolean(sourceMeta?.forcedAvailable),
-            forcedSourceTrackIds: normalizeTrackIdList(sourceMeta?.forcedSourceTrackIds || []),
-            isForcedOnly,
-            fullHasForced,
-            subtitleType,
-            sourceConfidence,
-            confidenceSource,
-            duplicate,
-            selected: selectedByRule,
-            selectedByRule,
-            selectedForEncode,
-            subtitlePreviewSummary,
-            subtitlePreviewFlags,
-            subtitlePreviewBurnIn,
-            subtitlePreviewForced,
-            subtitlePreviewForcedOnly,
-            subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack,
-            burnIn: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewBurnIn : false,
-            forced: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewForced : false,
-            forcedOnly: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewForcedOnly : false,
-            defaultTrack: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack : false,
-            flags: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewFlags : [],
-            subtitleActionSummary: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewSummary : 'Nicht übernommen'
-          };
-        });
 
+    const buildNormalizedReviewTitle = (title) => {
+      const candidateMeta = candidateMetaBySyntheticPath.get(String(title?.filePath || '').trim()) || null;
+      const candidateTitleInfo = candidateMeta?.titleInfo || reviewTitleInfo;
+      const candidatePlaylistInfo = candidateMeta?.playlistInfo || resolvePlaylistInfoFromAnalysis(playlistAnalysis, resolvedPlaylistId);
+      const candidateHandBrakeTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(
+        candidateMeta?.handBrakeTitleId
+        ?? resolvedHandBrakeTitleId
+        ?? title?.handBrakeTitleId
+        ?? title?.titleIndex
+        ?? title?.id
+        ?? selectedTitleForReview
+      );
+      const durationSeconds = Number(candidateTitleInfo?.durationSeconds || title?.durationSeconds || 0);
+      const eligibleForEncode = durationSeconds >= minLengthSecondsForReview;
+      const subtitleTrackMetaBySourceId = new Map(
+        (Array.isArray(candidateTitleInfo?.subtitleTracks) ? candidateTitleInfo.subtitleTracks : [])
+          .map((track) => {
+            const sourceTrackId = normalizeTrackIdList([track?.sourceTrackId ?? track?.id])[0] || null;
+            return sourceTrackId ? [sourceTrackId, track] : null;
+          })
+          .filter(Boolean)
+      );
+      const subtitleTracks = (Array.isArray(title?.subtitleTracks) ? title.subtitleTracks : []).map((track) => {
+        const sourceTrackId = normalizeTrackIdList([track?.sourceTrackId ?? track?.id])[0] || null;
+        const sourceMeta = sourceTrackId ? (subtitleTrackMetaBySourceId.get(sourceTrackId) || null) : null;
+        const selectedByRule = Boolean(sourceMeta?.selectedByRule ?? track?.selectedByRule);
+        const duplicate = Boolean(sourceMeta?.duplicate ?? track?.duplicate);
+        const subtitleType = String(
+          sourceMeta?.subtitleType
+          || track?.subtitleType
+          || (sourceMeta?.forcedTrack ? 'forced' : (track?.forcedTrack ? 'forced' : 'full'))
+        ).trim().toLowerCase() === 'forced'
+          ? 'forced'
+          : 'full';
+        const rawConfidence = String(sourceMeta?.sourceConfidence || track?.sourceConfidence || '')
+          .trim()
+          .toLowerCase();
+        const confidenceSource = String(sourceMeta?.confidenceSource || track?.confidenceSource || '')
+          .trim()
+          .toLowerCase();
+        let sourceConfidence = null;
+        if (subtitleType === 'forced') {
+          if (rawConfidence === 'high' || rawConfidence === 'medium' || rawConfidence === 'low') {
+            sourceConfidence = rawConfidence;
+          } else if (confidenceSource === 'title') {
+            sourceConfidence = 'medium';
+          } else {
+            sourceConfidence = 'low';
+          }
+        }
+        const subtitlePreviewBurnIn = Boolean(sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewBurnIn ?? track?.subtitlePreviewBurnIn);
+        const subtitlePreviewForced = Boolean(
+          sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewForced
+          ?? track?.subtitlePreviewForced
+          ?? (selectedByRule && subtitleType === 'forced')
+        );
+        const subtitlePreviewForcedOnly = Boolean(
+          sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewForcedOnly
+          ?? track?.subtitlePreviewForcedOnly
+        );
+        const isForcedOnly = Boolean(
+          sourceMeta?.isForcedOnly
+          ?? track?.isForcedOnly
+          ?? sourceMeta?.forcedOnly
+          ?? track?.forcedOnly
+          ?? subtitlePreviewForcedOnly
+          ?? subtitleType === 'forced'
+        );
+        const fullHasForced = !isForcedOnly && Boolean(
+          sourceMeta?.fullHasForced
+          ?? track?.fullHasForced
+          ?? sourceMeta?.subtitleFullHasForced
+          ?? track?.subtitleFullHasForced
+        );
+        const subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack = Boolean(
+          sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack
+          ?? track?.subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack
+          ?? sourceMeta?.defaultFlag
+          ?? track?.defaultFlag
+        );
+        const subtitlePreviewFlags = Array.isArray(sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewFlags)
+          ? sourceMeta.subtitlePreviewFlags
+          : (Array.isArray(track?.subtitlePreviewFlags) ? track.subtitlePreviewFlags : []);
+        const subtitlePreviewSummary = String(
+          sourceMeta?.subtitlePreviewSummary
+          || track?.subtitlePreviewSummary
+          || (selectedByRule
+            ? 'Übernehmen'
+            : (duplicate ? 'Nicht übernommen (Duplikat)' : 'Nicht übernommen'))
+        ).trim() || 'Nicht übernommen';
+        const selectedForEncode = selectedByRule;
         return {
-          ...title,
-          id: normalizedHandBrakeTitleId || title?.id || null,
-          handBrakeTitleId: normalizedHandBrakeTitleId || null,
-          filePath: rawPath,
-          fileName: reviewTitleInfo?.fileName || title?.fileName || `Title #${selectedTitleForReview}`,
-          durationSeconds,
-          durationMinutes: Number(((durationSeconds / 60)).toFixed(2)),
-          selectedByMinLength: eligibleForEncode,
-          eligibleForEncode,
-          sizeBytes: Number(reviewTitleInfo?.sizeBytes || title?.sizeBytes || 0),
-          playlistId: resolvedPlaylistInfo.playlistId || title?.playlistId || null,
-          playlistFile: resolvedPlaylistInfo.playlistFile || title?.playlistFile || null,
-          playlistRecommended: Boolean(resolvedPlaylistInfo.recommended || title?.playlistRecommended),
-          playlistEvaluationLabel: resolvedPlaylistInfo.evaluationLabel || title?.playlistEvaluationLabel || null,
-          playlistSegmentCommand: resolvedPlaylistInfo.segmentCommand || title?.playlistSegmentCommand || null,
-          playlistSegmentFiles: Array.isArray(resolvedPlaylistInfo.segmentFiles) && resolvedPlaylistInfo.segmentFiles.length > 0
-            ? resolvedPlaylistInfo.segmentFiles
-            : (Array.isArray(title?.playlistSegmentFiles) ? title.playlistSegmentFiles : []),
-          subtitleTracks
+          ...track,
+          id: sourceTrackId || track?.id || null,
+          sourceTrackId: sourceTrackId || track?.sourceTrackId || track?.id || null,
+          language: sourceMeta?.language || track?.language || 'und',
+          languageLabel: sourceMeta?.languageLabel || track?.languageLabel || track?.language || 'und',
+          title: sourceMeta?.title ?? track?.title ?? null,
+          format: sourceMeta?.format || track?.format || null,
+          defaultFlag: Boolean(sourceMeta?.defaultFlag ?? track?.defaultFlag),
+          eventCount: Number.isFinite(Number(sourceMeta?.eventCount))
+            ? Math.trunc(Number(sourceMeta.eventCount))
+            : (Number.isFinite(Number(track?.eventCount)) ? Math.trunc(Number(track.eventCount)) : null),
+          streamSizeBytes: Number.isFinite(Number(sourceMeta?.streamSizeBytes))
+            ? Math.trunc(Number(sourceMeta.streamSizeBytes))
+            : (Number.isFinite(Number(track?.streamSizeBytes)) ? Math.trunc(Number(track.streamSizeBytes)) : null),
+          forcedTrack: Boolean(sourceMeta?.forcedTrack ?? subtitlePreviewForced),
+          forcedAvailable: Boolean(sourceMeta?.forcedAvailable),
+          forcedSourceTrackIds: normalizeTrackIdList(sourceMeta?.forcedSourceTrackIds || []),
+          isForcedOnly,
+          fullHasForced,
+          subtitleType,
+          sourceConfidence,
+          confidenceSource,
+          duplicate,
+          selected: selectedByRule,
+          selectedByRule,
+          selectedForEncode,
+          subtitlePreviewSummary,
+          subtitlePreviewFlags,
+          subtitlePreviewBurnIn,
+          subtitlePreviewForced,
+          subtitlePreviewForcedOnly,
+          subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack,
+          burnIn: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewBurnIn : false,
+          forced: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewForced : false,
+          forcedOnly: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewForcedOnly : false,
+          defaultTrack: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewDefaultTrack : false,
+          flags: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewFlags : [],
+          subtitleActionSummary: selectedForEncode ? subtitlePreviewSummary : 'Nicht übernommen'
         };
       });
 
-    const encodeInputTitleId = Number(normalizedTitles[0]?.id || review.encodeInputTitleId || null) || null;
+      return {
+        ...title,
+        id: candidateHandBrakeTitleId || title?.id || null,
+        handBrakeTitleId: candidateHandBrakeTitleId || null,
+        filePath: rawPath,
+        fileName: candidateTitleInfo?.fileName || title?.fileName || `Title #${selectedTitleForReview}`,
+        durationSeconds,
+        durationMinutes: Number((durationSeconds / 60).toFixed(2)),
+        selectedByMinLength: eligibleForEncode,
+        eligibleForEncode,
+        sizeBytes: Number(candidateTitleInfo?.sizeBytes || title?.sizeBytes || 0),
+        playlistId: candidatePlaylistInfo.playlistId || title?.playlistId || null,
+        playlistFile: candidatePlaylistInfo.playlistFile || title?.playlistFile || null,
+        playlistAliases: Array.isArray(candidatePlaylistInfo.playlistAliases) ? candidatePlaylistInfo.playlistAliases : [],
+        playlistRecommended: Boolean(candidatePlaylistInfo.recommended || title?.playlistRecommended),
+        playlistEvaluationLabel: candidatePlaylistInfo.evaluationLabel || title?.playlistEvaluationLabel || null,
+        playlistSegmentCommand: candidatePlaylistInfo.segmentCommand || title?.playlistSegmentCommand || null,
+        playlistSegmentFiles: Array.isArray(candidatePlaylistInfo.segmentFiles) && candidatePlaylistInfo.segmentFiles.length > 0
+          ? candidatePlaylistInfo.segmentFiles
+          : (Array.isArray(title?.playlistSegmentFiles) ? title.playlistSegmentFiles : []),
+        subtitleTracks
+      };
+    };
+
+    const normalizedTitles = (Array.isArray(review.titles) ? review.titles : [])
+      .map((title) => buildNormalizedReviewTitle(title))
+      .filter((title) => normalizeReviewTitleId(title?.id));
+
+    const encodeInputTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(
+      normalizedTitles.find((title) => Boolean(title?.playlistId && normalizePlaylistId(title.playlistId) === normalizePlaylistId(resolvedPlaylistId)))?.id
+      || normalizedTitles.find((title) => normalizeReviewTitleId(title?.handBrakeTitleId) === normalizeReviewTitleId(resolvedHandBrakeTitleId))?.id
+      || normalizedTitles[0]?.id
+      || review?.encodeInputTitleId
+      || null
+    );
     review = {
       ...review,
       mode,
@@ -19644,8 +19922,8 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
       sourceJobId: options.sourceJobId || null,
       reviewConfirmed: false,
       partial: false,
-      processedFiles: 1,
-      totalFiles: 1,
+      processedFiles: normalizedTitles.length,
+      totalFiles: normalizedTitles.length,
       handBrakeTitleId: resolvedHandBrakeTitleId || null,
       selectedPlaylistId: resolvedPlaylistId || null,
       selectedMakemkvTitleId: selectedTitleForReview,
@@ -19654,12 +19932,26 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
       selectedTitleIds: encodeInputTitleId ? [encodeInputTitleId] : [],
       encodeInputTitleId,
       encodeInputPath: rawPath,
+      alternativeTitleSelection: normalizedTitles.length > 1
+        ? {
+          enabled: true,
+          reason: 'same_or_longer_titles',
+          matchedTitleId: encodeInputTitleId || null,
+          matchedPlaylistId: normalizePlaylistId(resolvedPlaylistId) || null,
+          matchedDurationSeconds: Number(reviewTitleInfo?.durationSeconds || 0) || 0,
+          optionCount: normalizedTitles.length
+        }
+        : null,
       notes: [
         ...(Array.isArray(review.notes) ? review.notes : []),
         'MakeMKV Full-Analyse wurde einmal für Playlist-/Titel-Mapping verwendet.',
-        `HandBrake Track-Analyse aktiv: ${toPlaylistFile(resolvedPlaylistId)} -> -t ${resolvedHandBrakeTitleId} (aus --scan -t 0).`
+        `HandBrake Track-Analyse aktiv: ${toPlaylistFile(resolvedPlaylistId)} -> -t ${resolvedHandBrakeTitleId} (aus --scan -t 0).`,
+        ...(normalizedTitles.length > 1
+          ? ['Weitere gleichlange oder längere Titel wurden gefunden. In der Review kann zwischen alternativen Schnittfassungen/Playlist-Varianten umgeschaltet werden.']
+          : [])
       ]
     };
+    review = applyEncodeTitleSelectionToPlan(review, encodeInputTitleId, encodeInputTitleId ? [encodeInputTitleId] : []).plan;
 
     const reviewPrefillResult = applyPreviousSelectionDefaultsToReviewPlan(
       review,
@@ -25796,6 +26088,14 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
         error.statusCode = 400;
         throw error;
       }
+      const primaryPlanTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(encodePlan?.encodeInputTitleId);
+      const primaryPlanTitle = Array.isArray(encodePlan?.titles)
+        ? (
+          encodePlan.titles.find((title) => normalizeReviewTitleId(title?.id) === primaryPlanTitleId)
+          || encodePlan.titles.find((title) => Boolean(title?.selectedForEncode || title?.encodeInput))
+          || null
+        )
+        : null;
       let handBrakeTitleId = null;
       let directoryInput = false;
       try {
@@ -25807,7 +26107,12 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
         handBrakeTitleId = null;
       }
       if (directoryInput) {
-        const reviewMappedTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(encodePlan?.handBrakeTitleId);
+        const reviewMappedTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(
+          primaryPlanTitle?.handBrakeTitleId
+          ?? primaryPlanTitle?.titleIndex
+          ?? encodePlan?.handBrakeTitleId
+          ?? null
+        );
         if (reviewMappedTitleId) {
           handBrakeTitleId = reviewMappedTitleId;
           await historyService.appendLog(
@@ -25967,14 +26272,6 @@ class PipelineService extends EventEmitter {
         }
       }
       if (!handBrakeTitleId) {
-        const primaryPlanTitleId = normalizeReviewTitleId(encodePlan?.encodeInputTitleId);
-        const primaryPlanTitle = Array.isArray(encodePlan?.titles)
-          ? (
-            encodePlan.titles.find((title) => normalizeReviewTitleId(title?.id) === primaryPlanTitleId)
-            || encodePlan.titles.find((title) => Boolean(title?.selectedForEncode || title?.encodeInput))
-            || null
-          )
-          : null;
         const primaryTitleMappedHandBrakeId = normalizeReviewTitleId(
           primaryPlanTitle?.handBrakeTitleId
           ?? primaryPlanTitle?.titleIndex
diff --git a/backend/src/utils/serverTime.js b/backend/src/utils/serverTime.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2fd97f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/utils/serverTime.js
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+function padNumber(value, length = 2) {
+  return String(value).padStart(length, '0');
+}
+
+function formatTimezoneOffset(offsetMinutes) {
+  const sign = offsetMinutes >= 0 ? '+' : '-';
+  const absoluteMinutes = Math.abs(offsetMinutes);
+  const hours = Math.floor(absoluteMinutes / 60);
+  const minutes = absoluteMinutes % 60;
+  return `${sign}${padNumber(hours)}:${padNumber(minutes)}`;
+}
+
+function getServerTimestamp(input = new Date()) {
+  const date = input instanceof Date ? input : new Date(input);
+
+  return `${date.getFullYear()}-${padNumber(date.getMonth() + 1)}-${padNumber(date.getDate())}`
+    + `T${padNumber(date.getHours())}:${padNumber(date.getMinutes())}:${padNumber(date.getSeconds())}`
+    + `.${padNumber(date.getMilliseconds(), 3)}${formatTimezoneOffset(-date.getTimezoneOffset())}`;
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  getServerTimestamp
+};
diff --git a/db/database.sqlite b/db/database.sqlite
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/frontend/package-lock.json b/frontend/package-lock.json
index c7c71ae..3dbb67b 100644
--- a/frontend/package-lock.json
+++ b/frontend/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "ripster-frontend",
-  "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+  "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "ripster-frontend",
-      "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+      "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
       "dependencies": {
         "chart.js": "^4.5.1",
         "primeicons": "^7.0.0",
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 4fd373c..704d3c7 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "ripster-frontend",
-  "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+  "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.jsx b/frontend/src/App.jsx
index 6efd5d6..cbbf934 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.jsx
@@ -65,6 +65,14 @@ function isTerminalStage(value) {
   return normalized === 'FINISHED' || normalized === 'ERROR' || normalized === 'CANCELLED';
 }
 
+function isInteractiveReviewStage(value) {
+  const normalized = normalizeStage(value);
+  return normalized === 'METADATA_LOOKUP'
+    || normalized === 'METADATA_SELECTION'
+    || normalized === 'WAITING_FOR_USER_DECISION'
+    || normalized === 'READY_TO_ENCODE';
+}
+
 function parseTimestamp(value) {
   if (!value) {
     return 0;
@@ -209,8 +217,9 @@ function App() {
     prevCdDrivesRef.current = current;
   }, [pipeline?.cdDrives]);
 
-  // Trigger a jobs refresh when a tracked job transitions into a terminal
-  // state through PIPELINE_PROGRESS, so Ripper/History update immediately.
+  // Trigger a jobs refresh when a tracked job transitions into a terminal or
+  // interactive review state through PIPELINE_PROGRESS, so Ripper/History
+  // update immediately without a manual page reload.
   useEffect(() => {
     const current = pipeline?.jobProgress && typeof pipeline.jobProgress === 'object'
       ? pipeline.jobProgress
@@ -233,6 +242,13 @@ function App() {
       ) {
         shouldRefresh = true;
       }
+      if (
+        currentState
+        && isInteractiveReviewStage(currentState)
+        && currentState !== previousState
+      ) {
+        shouldRefresh = true;
+      }
     }
 
     prevJobProgressStatesRef.current = nextStates;
@@ -394,6 +410,11 @@ function App() {
 
       if (message.type === 'PIPELINE_STATE_CHANGED') {
         setPipeline((prev) => mergePipelineStatePreservingNewestQueue(prev, message.payload));
+        const nextState = normalizeStage(message?.payload?.state);
+        if (isTerminalStage(nextState) || isInteractiveReviewStage(nextState)) {
+          setRipperJobsRefreshToken((token) => token + 1);
+          setHistoryJobsRefreshToken((token) => token + 1);
+        }
       }
 
       if (message.type === 'PIPELINE_PROGRESS') {
diff --git a/frontend/src/api/client.js b/frontend/src/api/client.js
index ce03c11..bc603b6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/api/client.js
+++ b/frontend/src/api/client.js
@@ -388,6 +388,13 @@ export const api = {
       forceRefresh: options.forceRefresh
     });
   },
+  async checkMakeMKVBetaKey() {
+    const result = await request('/settings/makemkv/beta-key/check', {
+      method: 'POST'
+    });
+    afterMutationInvalidate(['/settings/makemkv/beta-key']);
+    return result;
+  },
   async applyMakeMKVBetaKey(payload = {}) {
     const result = await request('/settings/makemkv/beta-key/apply', {
       method: 'POST',
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx b/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx
index 123c32b..db78468 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/DynamicSettingsForm.jsx
@@ -665,63 +665,146 @@ function isReadonlySetting(setting) {
   }
 }
 
-function MakeMKVBetaKeyHint({ onApply, disabled = false }) {
+function MakeMKVBetaKeyHint({ disabled = false, onNotify = null, onSettingApplied = null }) {
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
+  const [checking, setChecking] = useState(false);
+  const [applying, setApplying] = useState(false);
   const [betaKey, setBetaKey] = useState('');
   const [validUntil, setValidUntil] = useState('');
+  const [fetchedAt, setFetchedAt] = useState('');
+  const [appliedKey, setAppliedKey] = useState('');
   const [error, setError] = useState('');
   const [warning, setWarning] = useState('');
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    let active = true;
+  const loadCachedState = async () => {
     setLoading(true);
     setError('');
     setWarning('');
-    setValidUntil('');
+    try {
+      const response = await api.getMakeMKVBetaKey();
+      setBetaKey(String(response?.betaKey || '').trim());
+      setValidUntil(String(response?.validUntil || '').trim());
+      setFetchedAt(String(response?.fetchedAt || '').trim());
+      setAppliedKey(String(response?.appliedKey || '').trim());
+      if (response?.stale) {
+        setWarning('Zwischengespeicherter Betakey ist veraltet. Bitte bei Bedarf neu prüfen.');
+      } else if (!response?.betaKey) {
+        setWarning('Noch kein geprüfter Betakey im Cache. Prüfung startet nur per Button.');
+      } else if (response?.appliedMatchesCache) {
+        setWarning('Geprüfter Betakey ist bereits übernommen.');
+      } else {
+        setWarning('');
+      }
+    } catch (loadError) {
+      setBetaKey('');
+      setValidUntil('');
+      setFetchedAt('');
+      setAppliedKey('');
+      setError(loadError?.message || 'Betakey konnte nicht geladen werden.');
+    } finally {
+      setLoading(false);
+    }
+  };
 
-    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(() => {
-        if (active) {
-          setLoading(false);
-        }
-      });
-
-    return () => {
-      active = false;
-    };
+  useEffect(() => {
+    void loadCachedState();
   }, []);
 
+  const handleCheck = async () => {
+    setChecking(true);
+    setError('');
+    setWarning('');
+    try {
+      const response = await api.checkMakeMKVBetaKey();
+      const nextKey = String(response?.betaKey || '').trim();
+      setBetaKey(nextKey);
+      setValidUntil(String(response?.validUntil || '').trim());
+      setFetchedAt(String(response?.fetchedAt || '').trim());
+      setWarning('');
+      if (typeof onNotify === 'function') {
+        onNotify({
+          severity: 'success',
+          summary: 'MakeMKV Betakey',
+          detail: nextKey ? 'Betakey erfolgreich geprüft.' : 'Betakey-Prüfung abgeschlossen.'
+        });
+      }
+    } catch (checkError) {
+      setError(checkError?.message || 'Betakey konnte nicht geprüft werden.');
+      if (typeof onNotify === 'function') {
+        onNotify({
+          severity: 'error',
+          summary: 'MakeMKV Betakey',
+          detail: checkError?.message || 'Betakey konnte nicht geprüft werden.'
+        });
+      }
+    } finally {
+      setChecking(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  const handleApply = async () => {
+    if (!betaKey) {
+      return;
+    }
+    setApplying(true);
+    setError('');
+    try {
+      const response = await api.applyMakeMKVBetaKey({ betaKey });
+      const nextAppliedKey = String(response?.betaKey || betaKey).trim();
+      setAppliedKey(nextAppliedKey);
+      setWarning('Geprüfter Betakey ist bereits übernommen.');
+      if (typeof onSettingApplied === 'function') {
+        onSettingApplied({
+          key: 'makemkv_registration_key',
+          value: nextAppliedKey
+        });
+      }
+      if (typeof onNotify === 'function') {
+        onNotify({
+          severity: 'success',
+          summary: 'MakeMKV Betakey',
+          detail: 'Betakey wurde übernommen und gespeichert.'
+        });
+      }
+    } catch (applyError) {
+      setError(applyError?.message || 'Betakey konnte nicht übernommen werden.');
+      if (typeof onNotify === 'function') {
+        onNotify({
+          severity: 'error',
+          summary: 'MakeMKV Betakey',
+          detail: applyError?.message || 'Betakey konnte nicht übernommen werden.'
+        });
+      }
+    } finally {
+      setApplying(false);
+    }
+  };
+
   return (
     <div className="makemkv-beta-key-box">
       <div className="makemkv-beta-key-head">
         <span className="makemkv-beta-key-title">Betakey</span>
-        <Button
-          type="button"
-          size="small"
-          text
-          label="übernehmen"
-          disabled={disabled || loading || !betaKey}
-          onClick={() => onApply?.(betaKey)}
-        />
+        <div className="settings-inline-actions">
+          <Button
+            type="button"
+            size="small"
+            text
+            label="prüfen"
+            disabled={disabled || loading || checking || applying}
+            onClick={() => void handleCheck()}
+          />
+          <Button
+            type="button"
+            size="small"
+            text
+            label="übernehmen"
+            disabled={disabled || loading || checking || applying || !betaKey || betaKey === appliedKey}
+            onClick={() => void handleApply()}
+          />
+        </div>
       </div>
       {loading ? (
-        <small className="setting-description">Aktueller Betakey wird geladen…</small>
+        <small className="setting-description">Zwischengespeicherter Betakey wird geladen…</small>
       ) : null}
       {!loading && error ? (
         <small className="error-text">{error}</small>
@@ -729,6 +812,9 @@ function MakeMKVBetaKeyHint({ onApply, disabled = false }) {
       {!loading && !error && warning ? (
         <small className="setting-description">{warning}</small>
       ) : null}
+      {!loading && !error && fetchedAt ? (
+        <small className="setting-description">Zuletzt geprüft: {new Date(fetchedAt).toLocaleString('de-DE')}</small>
+      ) : null}
       {!loading && !error && validUntil ? (
         <small className="setting-description">Gültig bis: {new Date(validUntil).toLocaleString('de-DE')}</small>
       ) : null}
@@ -786,7 +872,9 @@ function SettingField({
   ownerDirty,
   onChange,
   variant = 'default',
-  disabled = false
+  disabled = false,
+  onNotify = null,
+  onSettingApplied = null
 }) {
   const ownerKey = ownerSetting?.key;
   const pathHasValue = Boolean(String(value ?? '').trim());
@@ -905,7 +993,8 @@ function SettingField({
       {normalizeSettingKey(setting?.key) === 'makemkv_registration_key' ? (
         <MakeMKVBetaKeyHint
           disabled={isDisabled}
-          onApply={(nextKey) => onChange?.(setting.key, nextKey)}
+          onNotify={onNotify}
+          onSettingApplied={onSettingApplied}
         />
       ) : null}
       {error ? (
@@ -946,7 +1035,16 @@ function SettingField({
 }
 
 
-function PathCategoryTab({ settings, values, errors, dirtyKeys, onChange, effectivePaths }) {
+function PathCategoryTab({
+  settings,
+  values,
+  errors,
+  dirtyKeys,
+  onChange,
+  effectivePaths,
+  onNotify,
+  onSettingApplied
+}) {
   const list = Array.isArray(settings) ? settings : [];
   const settingsByKey = new Map(list.map((s) => [s.key, s]));
 
@@ -1153,6 +1251,8 @@ function PathCategoryTab({ settings, values, errors, dirtyKeys, onChange, effect
                         ownerError={ownerError}
                         ownerDirty={ownerDirty}
                         onChange={onChange}
+                        onNotify={onNotify}
+                        onSettingApplied={onSettingApplied}
                       />
                     );
                   })}
@@ -1173,7 +1273,8 @@ export default function DynamicSettingsForm({
   onChange,
   effectivePaths,
   activationBytes = [],
-  onNotify
+  onNotify,
+  onSettingApplied
 }) {
   const safeCategories = Array.isArray(categories) ? categories : [];
   const expertModeEnabled = toBoolean(values?.[EXPERT_MODE_SETTING_KEY]);
@@ -1258,6 +1359,8 @@ export default function DynamicSettingsForm({
                 dirtyKeys={dirtyKeys}
                 onChange={onChange}
                 effectivePaths={effectivePaths}
+                onNotify={onNotify}
+                onSettingApplied={onSettingApplied}
               />
             ) : (() => {
               const sections = buildSectionsForCategory(category?.category, category?.settings || []);
@@ -1339,6 +1442,8 @@ export default function DynamicSettingsForm({
                               onChange={onChangeFn}
                               variant={variant}
                               disabled={disabled}
+                              onNotify={onNotify}
+                              onSettingApplied={onSettingApplied}
                             />
                           );
                         };
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/MediaInfoReviewPanel.jsx b/frontend/src/components/MediaInfoReviewPanel.jsx
index ae1f5dc..ae91f28 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/MediaInfoReviewPanel.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/MediaInfoReviewPanel.jsx
@@ -1588,6 +1588,7 @@ export default function MediaInfoReviewPanel({
   commandOutputPathByTitle = {},
   selectedEncodeTitleId = null,
   selectedEncodeTitleIds = [],
+  displayOnlySelectedTitle = false,
   titleSelectionTouched = false,
   allowTitleSelection = false,
   compactTitleSelection = false,
@@ -1670,6 +1671,9 @@ export default function MediaInfoReviewPanel({
     || selectedTitleIds[0]
     || null;
   const selectedTitleIdSet = new Set(selectedTitleIds.map((id) => String(id)));
+  const visibleDisplayTitles = displayOnlySelectedTitle && currentSelectedId !== null
+    ? displayTitles.filter((title) => normalizeTitleId(title?.id) === currentSelectedId)
+    : displayTitles;
   const normalizedComparisonReviews = (Array.isArray(comparisonReviewItems) ? comparisonReviewItems : [])
     .map((item) => {
       const reviewCandidate = item?.review && typeof item.review === 'object'
@@ -2707,12 +2711,12 @@ export default function MediaInfoReviewPanel({
         </div>
       ) : null}
       <div className="media-title-list">
-        {displayTitles.length === 0 ? (
+        {visibleDisplayTitles.length === 0 ? (
           <p>Keine Titel analysiert.</p>
-        ) : displayTitles.map((title) => {
+        ) : visibleDisplayTitles.map((title) => {
           const normalizedTitleId = normalizeTitleId(title.id);
           const displayTitleId = normalizeTitleId(title?.handBrakeTitleId) || normalizedTitleId;
-          const titleChecked = allowTitleSelection
+          const titleChecked = (allowTitleSelection || displayOnlySelectedTitle)
             ? (selectedTitleIdSet.size > 0
               ? selectedTitleIdSet.has(String(normalizedTitleId))
               : Boolean(title.selectedForEncode))
@@ -2799,8 +2803,8 @@ export default function MediaInfoReviewPanel({
           );
           const allowTrackSelectionForTitle = Boolean(
             allowTrackSelection
-            && allowTitleSelection
             && titleChecked
+            && (allowTitleSelection || displayOnlySelectedTitle)
           );
 
           return (
@@ -2813,6 +2817,15 @@ export default function MediaInfoReviewPanel({
                     if (!allowTitleSelection) {
                       return;
                     }
+                    if (displayOnlySelectedTitle) {
+                      if (typeof onToggleEncodeTitle === 'function') {
+                        onToggleEncodeTitle(normalizedTitleId, true);
+                      }
+                      if (typeof onSelectEncodeTitle === 'function') {
+                        onSelectEncodeTitle(normalizedTitleId);
+                      }
+                      return;
+                    }
                     const checked = Boolean(event?.target?.checked);
                     if (typeof onToggleEncodeTitle === 'function') {
                       onToggleEncodeTitle(normalizedTitleId, checked);
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PipelineStatusCard.jsx b/frontend/src/components/PipelineStatusCard.jsx
index 524ccd4..037d28b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PipelineStatusCard.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PipelineStatusCard.jsx
@@ -1635,17 +1635,29 @@ export default function PipelineStatusCard({
   const reviewMode = String(mediaInfoReview?.mode || '').trim().toLowerCase();
   const isPreRipReview = reviewMode === 'pre_rip' || Boolean(mediaInfoReview?.preRip);
   const jobMediaProfile = resolvePipelineMediaProfile(pipeline, mediaInfoReview);
+  const hasReviewRecoverableRaw = Boolean(
+    !['converter', 'audiobook'].includes(String(jobMediaProfile || '').trim().toLowerCase())
+    && ripCompleted
+    && (
+      jobRow?.raw_path
+      || pipeline?.context?.rawPath
+      || jobRow?.makemkvInfo?.rawPath
+    )
+  );
   const retryRipRecoveryRequired = Boolean(
     !running
     && retryJobId
     && typeof onRetry === 'function'
     && !queueLocked
     && !isOrphanCancelled
-    && !['converter', 'audiobook'].includes(String(jobMediaProfile || '').trim().toLowerCase())
+    && !hasReviewRecoverableRaw
     && ['ERROR', 'CANCELLED'].includes(jobStatusUpper)
     && (
       ['RIPPING', 'CD_RIPPING'].includes(jobLastStateUpper)
-      || jobErrorMessageLower.includes('server-neustart')
+      || (
+        jobErrorMessageLower.includes('server-neustart')
+        && !hasReviewRecoverableRaw
+      )
       || jobErrorMessageLower.includes('rip ist unvollständig')
       || jobErrorMessageLower.includes('rip-validierung fehlgeschlagen')
     )
@@ -2374,6 +2386,15 @@ export default function PipelineStatusCard({
   );
   const allowTrackSelectionInReview = state === 'READY_TO_ENCODE' && allowReviewSelectionEdit;
   const allowEncodeItemSelectionInReview = state === 'READY_TO_ENCODE' && allowReviewSelectionEdit;
+  const alternativeTitleSelection = mediaInfoReview?.alternativeTitleSelection
+    && typeof mediaInfoReview.alternativeTitleSelection === 'object'
+    ? mediaInfoReview.alternativeTitleSelection
+    : null;
+  const hasAlternativeTitleSelection = Boolean(
+    alternativeTitleSelection?.enabled
+    && Array.isArray(mediaInfoReview?.titles)
+    && mediaInfoReview.titles.length > 1
+  );
 
   // Filter user presets by job media profile ('all' presets always shown)
   const filteredUserPresets = (Array.isArray(userPresets) ? userPresets : []).filter((p) => {
@@ -2550,6 +2571,31 @@ export default function PipelineStatusCard({
     }
     return dedup;
   }, [playlistAnalysis, pipeline?.context?.playlistCandidates]);
+  const alternativeTitleOptions = useMemo(() => {
+    if (!hasAlternativeTitleSelection) {
+      return [];
+    }
+    const titles = Array.isArray(mediaInfoReview?.titles) ? mediaInfoReview.titles : [];
+    return titles
+      .map((title) => {
+        const titleId = normalizeTitleId(title?.id);
+        if (!titleId) {
+          return null;
+        }
+        const playlistFile = String(title?.playlistFile || '').trim();
+        const durationLabel = formatDurationClock(title?.durationSeconds) || null;
+        const parts = [
+          playlistFile || `Titel #${titleId}`,
+          durationLabel
+        ].filter(Boolean);
+        return {
+          value: titleId,
+          label: parts.join(' | ')
+        };
+      })
+      .filter(Boolean)
+      .sort((left, right) => Number(left.value) - Number(right.value));
+  }, [hasAlternativeTitleSelection, mediaInfoReview?.titles]);
 
   const handBrakeTitleDecisionRequired = state === 'WAITING_FOR_USER_DECISION'
     && Boolean(pipeline?.context?.handBrakeTitleDecisionRequired);
@@ -4316,6 +4362,38 @@ export default function PipelineStatusCard({
             commandOutputPathByTitle={commandOutputPathByTitle}
             topContent={(
               <>
+                {hasAlternativeTitleSelection ? (
+                  <div className="playlist-decision-block">
+                    <h3>Alternative Titel gefunden</h3>
+                    <small>
+                      Es wurden weitere gleichlange oder längere Titel erkannt. Das kann auf alternative Schnittfassungen
+                      oder Playlist-Varianten derselben Disc hindeuten. Bitte waehle hier den Titel aus, der fuer Tracks,
+                      Untertitel, Infos und den HandBrakeCLI-Command verwendet werden soll.
+                    </small>
+                    <div style={{ marginTop: '0.75rem' }}>
+                      <label style={{ display: 'block', marginBottom: '0.35rem', fontWeight: 600 }}>
+                        Zu verwendender Titel
+                      </label>
+                      <Dropdown
+                        value={normalizeTitleId(selectedEncodeTitleId) || normalizeTitleId(mediaInfoReview?.encodeInputTitleId) || null}
+                        options={alternativeTitleOptions}
+                        optionLabel="label"
+                        optionValue="value"
+                        onChange={(e) => {
+                          const nextTitleId = normalizeTitleId(e?.value);
+                          if (!nextTitleId) {
+                            return;
+                          }
+                          setSelectedEncodeTitleId(nextTitleId);
+                          setSelectedEncodeTitleIds([nextTitleId]);
+                          setTitleSelectionTouched(true);
+                        }}
+                        style={{ width: '100%' }}
+                        disabled={!allowReviewSelectionEdit || alternativeTitleOptions.length <= 1}
+                      />
+                    </div>
+                  </div>
+                ) : null}
                 {multipartSettingsLocked ? (
                   <div className="playlist-decision-block">
                     <h3>Multipart-Lock aktiv</h3>
@@ -4354,6 +4432,7 @@ export default function PipelineStatusCard({
             )}
             selectedEncodeTitleId={normalizeTitleId(selectedEncodeTitleId)}
             selectedEncodeTitleIds={normalizeTitleIdList(selectedEncodeTitleIds)}
+            displayOnlySelectedTitle={hasAlternativeTitleSelection}
             titleSelectionTouched={titleSelectionTouched}
             allowTitleSelection={allowTitleSelectionInReview}
             compactTitleSelection={isDiscTitleSelectionRequired}
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useWebSocket.js b/frontend/src/hooks/useWebSocket.js
index 2603c72..549015c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useWebSocket.js
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useWebSocket.js
@@ -9,6 +9,21 @@ function buildWsUrl() {
   return `${protocol}//${window.location.host}/ws`;
 }
 
+function normalizeStage(value) {
+  return String(value || '').trim().toUpperCase();
+}
+
+function isRunningStage(value) {
+  const normalized = normalizeStage(value);
+  return normalized === 'ANALYZING'
+    || normalized === 'RIPPING'
+    || normalized === 'MEDIAINFO_CHECK'
+    || normalized === 'ENCODING'
+    || normalized === 'CD_ANALYZING'
+    || normalized === 'CD_RIPPING'
+    || normalized === 'CD_ENCODING';
+}
+
 export function useWebSocket({ onMessage }) {
   const onMessageRef = useRef(onMessage);
   onMessageRef.current = onMessage;
@@ -69,10 +84,19 @@ export function useWebSocket({ onMessage }) {
           if (message?.type === 'PIPELINE_PROGRESS') {
             const progressJobId = message?.payload?.activeJobId;
             const jobKey = progressJobId == null ? '__global__' : String(progressJobId);
-            latestProgressMessagesByJob.set(jobKey, message);
-            scheduleProgressFlush();
+            const progressStage = normalizeStage(message?.payload?.state);
+            if (isRunningStage(progressStage)) {
+              latestProgressMessagesByJob.set(jobKey, message);
+              scheduleProgressFlush();
+            } else {
+              latestProgressMessagesByJob.delete(jobKey);
+              clearProgressFlush();
+              flushProgressMessage();
+              onMessageRef.current?.(message);
+            }
             return;
           }
+          flushProgressMessage();
           onMessageRef.current?.(message);
         } catch (error) {
           // ignore invalid json
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/RipperPage.jsx b/frontend/src/pages/RipperPage.jsx
index cd87f1a..b0cf4a9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/RipperPage.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/RipperPage.jsx
@@ -1614,7 +1614,7 @@ export default function RipperPage({
   // Detects when a background job reaches an interactive review/selection state via
   // PIPELINE_PROGRESS (e.g. METADATA_LOOKUP, METADATA_SELECTION, READY_TO_ENCODE, WAITING_FOR_USER_DECISION),
   // triggering a ripper jobs reload.
-  const jobProgressInteractiveKey = useMemo(() => Object.entries(pipeline?.jobProgress || {})
+  const jobProgressInteractiveSignature = useMemo(() => Object.entries(pipeline?.jobProgress || {})
     .filter(([, v]) => {
       const s = String(v?.state || '').toUpperCase();
       return s === 'METADATA_LOOKUP'
@@ -1622,7 +1622,7 @@ export default function RipperPage({
         || s === 'READY_TO_ENCODE'
         || s === 'WAITING_FOR_USER_DECISION';
     })
-    .map(([id]) => id)
+    .map(([id, value]) => `${id}:${String(value?.state || '').trim().toUpperCase()}`)
     .sort()
     .join(','),
   [pipeline?.jobProgress]);
@@ -1918,7 +1918,17 @@ export default function RipperPage({
 
   useEffect(() => {
     void loadRipperJobs();
-  }, [pipeline?.state, pipeline?.activeJobId, pipeline?.context?.jobId, cdDriveLifecycleKey, jobsRefreshToken, jobProgressInteractiveKey]);
+  }, [pipeline?.state, pipeline?.activeJobId, pipeline?.context?.jobId, cdDriveLifecycleKey, jobsRefreshToken, jobProgressInteractiveSignature]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const normalizedPipelineState = String(pipeline?.state || '').trim().toUpperCase();
+    const isReviewState = normalizedPipelineState === 'READY_TO_ENCODE'
+      || normalizedPipelineState === 'WAITING_FOR_USER_DECISION';
+    if (!isReviewState || !currentPipelineJobId) {
+      return;
+    }
+    setExpandedJobId(currentPipelineJobId);
+  }, [pipeline?.state, currentPipelineJobId]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     api.getDetectedDrives()
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.jsx b/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.jsx
index 1ce12be..5f4b226 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.jsx
@@ -1476,6 +1476,15 @@ export default function SettingsPage() {
                 effectivePaths={effectivePaths}
                 activationBytes={activationBytes}
                 onNotify={(msg) => toastRef.current?.show(msg)}
+                onSettingApplied={(setting) => {
+                  const key = String(setting?.key || '').trim();
+                  if (!key) {
+                    return;
+                  }
+                  setDraftValues((prev) => ({ ...prev, [key]: setting?.value }));
+                  setInitialValues((prev) => ({ ...prev, [key]: setting?.value }));
+                  setErrors((prev) => ({ ...prev, [key]: null }));
+                }}
               />
             )}
           </TabPanel>
diff --git a/frontend/src/styles/app.css b/frontend/src/styles/app.css
index f7d85ec..7dedab6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/styles/app.css
+++ b/frontend/src/styles/app.css
@@ -2228,6 +2228,13 @@ body {
   gap: 0.5rem;
 }
 
+.settings-inline-actions {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 0.25rem;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+}
+
 .makemkv-beta-key-title {
   font-size: 0.8rem;
   font-weight: 700;
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 3c14f34..9ca090d 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "ripster",
-  "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+  "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "ripster",
-      "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+      "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
       "devDependencies": {
         "concurrently": "^9.1.2"
       }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1295b00..f2ed2b8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "ripster",
   "private": true,
-  "version": "1.0.0-rc3",
+  "version": "1.0.0-rc4",
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "concurrently \"npm run dev --prefix backend\" \"npm run dev --prefix frontend\"",
     "dev:backend": "npm run dev --prefix backend",