diff --git a/docs/spa-conventions.md b/docs/spa-conventions.md
index f7014ab4b..7f1963496 100644
--- a/docs/spa-conventions.md
+++ b/docs/spa-conventions.md
@@ -643,20 +643,30 @@ safe) and mirrors `onError`'s requirements exactly: pass a **stable** `onPlaying
 since it too sits in the attach effect's dependency array and an unstable identity would restart the
 stream every render.
 
-**Autoplay (#554).** The `<video>` element is rendered `muted` unconditionally: browsers permit
-autoplay of muted media without user activation, so the `video.play()` kick above succeeds even when
-`MANIFEST_PARSED` arrives past the browser's transient user-activation window (~5s in Chrome) — the
-failure mode a slow-starting channel (unbounded manifest `maxTimeToFirstByteMs`, see above) used to
-hit, leaving the channel-preview panel sitting at "starting" over a black frame with no indication the
-operator just needs to press play. `controls` stays on so the operator can unmute to verify audio.
-For the residual case where autoplay is still rejected (a stricter browser policy or extension),
-`HlsPlayer` also takes an optional `onAutoplayBlocked()`, called when the `video.play()` promise
-rejects on either path; it is purely additive and does **not** need a stable identity requirement
-beyond what the attach effect's dependency array already requires (same rule as `onError`/`onPlaying`
-— pass a `useCallback`). The channel-preview panel (`ChannelPreviewPanel.tsx`) wires it to a
-"press play" hint shown only while `state` is still `starting`, and clears it the moment `onPlaying`
-actually fires — the panel never claims the fault fixed itself; the hint mirrors an honest, still-not-
-playing state.
+**Autoplay (#554).** `HlsPlayer` takes an optional `muted` prop, **defaulting to `false`**. Muted
+media is the one thing browsers autoplay without user activation, so passing it makes the
+`video.play()` kick above succeed even when `MANIFEST_PARSED` arrives past the browser's transient
+user-activation window (~5s in Chrome) — the failure mode a slow-starting channel (unbounded manifest
+`maxTimeToFirstByteMs`, see above) hits, leaving a player sitting at "starting" over a black frame
+with no indication the operator just needs to press play. It is a **per-consumer** choice rather than
+a player-wide default because muting costs audio-by-default: the channel-preview panel
+(`ChannelPreviewPanel.tsx`) opts in — it answers "does this channel work right now", and starting
+beats being audible — while the playback-troubleshooting screen
+(`PlaybackTroubleshootingScreen.tsx`) must stay unmuted, since verifying the audio side of an FFmpeg
+profile is part of its job. `controls` is always on either way, so a muted player can be unmuted by
+hand.
+
+For the residual case where autoplay is rejected anyway (a stricter browser policy or an extension),
+`HlsPlayer` also takes an optional `onAutoplayBlocked()`. It fires **only** on an autoplay-policy
+rejection — a `DOMException` named `NotAllowedError`; a `play()` promise rejected under any other
+name (notably `AbortError`, which is what a pending `play()` interrupted by a teardown produces, and
+a consumer's own Retry does exactly that) is not reported, or the caller would put a cause in front
+of the operator that did not happen. Like `onError`/`onPlaying` it sits in the attach effect's
+dependency array, so pass a `useCallback`; it is purely additive and omitting it is safe. The
+channel-preview panel wires it to a "press play" hint whose visibility is the render guard
+`state === 'starting'` **alone** — every path back to `starting` (Retry, a channel change) clears the
+flag itself, so a second clear in `onPlaying` would be a guard no test could distinguish. The panel
+never claims the fault fixed itself; the hint mirrors an honest, still-not-playing state.
 
 **Resolving a `/iptv/*` src under JWT auth (#552).** Before feeding an `/iptv/*` manifest URL to
 `HlsPlayer`, pass it through `withIptvToken(url)` (`web/src/media/iptvToken.ts`): under a JWT-enabled
diff --git a/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.test.tsx b/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.test.tsx
index d4122249e..c8ed7fd16 100644
--- a/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.test.tsx
+++ b/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.test.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { render } from '@testing-library/react';
-import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { HlsPlayer } from './HlsPlayer';
 
 const hlsMock = {
@@ -107,20 +107,27 @@ describe('HlsPlayer', () => {
   });
 
   // #554: the panel used to sit at "starting" over a black frame with no hint when the browser
-  // rejected the manifest-parsed play() kick as blocked autoplay. Rendering the video muted lets
-  // browsers autoplay it without user activation in the common case.
-  it('renders the video element muted', () => {
+  // rejected the manifest-parsed play() kick as blocked autoplay. Muted media autoplays without user
+  // activation, but muting costs audio-by-default, so it is the caller's decision, not the player's.
+  it('renders the video element unmuted by default', () => {
     const { container } = render(<HlsPlayer src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />);
 
+    const video = container.querySelector('video');
+    expect(video?.muted).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('renders the video element muted when the caller opts in', () => {
+    const { container } = render(<HlsPlayer muted src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />);
+
     const video = container.querySelector('video');
     expect(video?.muted).toBe(true);
   });
 
-  it('reports onAutoplayBlocked when the manifest-parsed play() kick is rejected', async () => {
+  it('reports onAutoplayBlocked when the manifest-parsed play() kick is rejected by autoplay policy', async () => {
     const onAutoplayBlocked = vi.fn();
     const playSpy = vi
       .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
-      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked'));
+      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked', 'NotAllowedError'));
 
     try {
       render(<HlsPlayer onAutoplayBlocked={onAutoplayBlocked} src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />);
@@ -138,6 +145,30 @@ describe('HlsPlayer', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  // A play() interrupted by teardown rejects with AbortError — which is what a caller's own Retry
+  // produces while the manifest-parsed play() is still pending. Reporting that as blocked autoplay
+  // would put a false cause in front of the operator.
+  it('does not report onAutoplayBlocked when play() is rejected for another reason', async () => {
+    const onAutoplayBlocked = vi.fn();
+    const playSpy = vi
+      .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
+      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('The play() request was interrupted', 'AbortError'));
+
+    try {
+      render(<HlsPlayer onAutoplayBlocked={onAutoplayBlocked} src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />);
+
+      const manifestHandler = hlsMock.on.mock.calls.find((call) => call[0] === 'hlsManifestParsed')?.[1];
+      manifestHandler();
+
+      await Promise.resolve();
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      expect(onAutoplayBlocked).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    } finally {
+      playSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
   it('does not report onAutoplayBlocked when the play() kick succeeds', async () => {
     const onAutoplayBlocked = vi.fn();
     render(<HlsPlayer onAutoplayBlocked={onAutoplayBlocked} src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />);
@@ -154,7 +185,7 @@ describe('HlsPlayer', () => {
   it('is safe with no onAutoplayBlocked provided', async () => {
     const playSpy = vi
       .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
-      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked'));
+      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked', 'NotAllowedError'));
 
     try {
       render(<HlsPlayer src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />);
@@ -168,4 +199,84 @@ describe('HlsPlayer', () => {
       playSpy.mockRestore();
     }
   });
+
+  // The native-HLS (Safari) branch carries its own copies of the play() kick and of the playing/error
+  // wiring; without MediaSource in jsdom nothing else in this file executes it, so it is exercised
+  // here explicitly rather than assumed to mirror the MSE path.
+  describe('native HLS (Safari) path', () => {
+    let canPlayTypeSpy: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      hlsMock.isSupported = false;
+      canPlayTypeSpy = vi.spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'canPlayType').mockReturnValue('maybe');
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      canPlayTypeSpy.mockRestore();
+    });
+
+    it('reports onAutoplayBlocked when the canplay play() kick is rejected by autoplay policy', async () => {
+      const onAutoplayBlocked = vi.fn();
+      const playSpy = vi
+        .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
+        .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked', 'NotAllowedError'));
+
+      try {
+        const { container } = render(
+          <HlsPlayer onAutoplayBlocked={onAutoplayBlocked} src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />
+        );
+
+        // Confirm this really is the native branch: hls.js was never constructed.
+        expect(hlsMock.loadSource).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+        const video = container.querySelector('video');
+        video?.dispatchEvent(new Event('canplay'));
+
+        await Promise.resolve();
+        await Promise.resolve();
+
+        expect(onAutoplayBlocked).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      } finally {
+        playSpy.mockRestore();
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('does not report onAutoplayBlocked when the canplay play() kick is rejected for another reason', async () => {
+      const onAutoplayBlocked = vi.fn();
+      const playSpy = vi
+        .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
+        .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('The play() request was interrupted', 'AbortError'));
+
+      try {
+        const { container } = render(
+          <HlsPlayer onAutoplayBlocked={onAutoplayBlocked} src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />
+        );
+
+        const video = container.querySelector('video');
+        video?.dispatchEvent(new Event('canplay'));
+
+        await Promise.resolve();
+        await Promise.resolve();
+
+        expect(onAutoplayBlocked).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      } finally {
+        playSpy.mockRestore();
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('reports onPlaying and onError from the element\'s own events', () => {
+      const onError = vi.fn();
+      const onPlaying = vi.fn();
+      const { container } = render(
+        <HlsPlayer onError={onError} onPlaying={onPlaying} src="/iptv/channel/12.1.m3u8" />
+      );
+
+      const video = container.querySelector('video');
+      video?.dispatchEvent(new Event('playing'));
+      expect(onPlaying).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+      video?.dispatchEvent(new Event('error'));
+      expect(onError).toHaveBeenCalledWith('The browser could not play this stream');
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.tsx b/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.tsx
index 591989ac8..25fdcc874 100644
--- a/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.tsx
+++ b/web/src/media/HlsPlayer.tsx
@@ -20,13 +20,29 @@ export interface HlsPlayerProps {
   // before any media has decoded (an HttpLiveStreamingDirect manifest always parses even over a
   // black video). Optional and purely additive — omitting it is safe.
   onPlaying?: () => void;
-  // Called when the browser rejects the player's own `video.play()` kick (autoplay blocked). The
-  // element is rendered `muted`, which lets Chromium/Firefox autoplay without user activation in
-  // the common case (#554), but a stricter policy (e.g. an extension, or a browser configured to
-  // block all autoplay) can still reject it — this is the fallback so a caller can tell the operator
-  // to press play rather than let the panel sit at "starting" with no explanation. Optional and
-  // purely additive.
+  // Called when the browser rejects the player's own `video.play()` kick under its autoplay policy
+  // — and only then: the promise is rejected with a `NotAllowedError` DOMException in that case, and
+  // with a different name (e.g. `AbortError`) when a pending play() is merely interrupted by
+  // teardown, which must not be reported as blocked autoplay or the caller names a cause that did
+  // not happen. Passing `muted` lets Chromium/Firefox autoplay without user activation in the common
+  // case (#554), but a stricter policy (an extension, or a browser configured to block all autoplay)
+  // can still reject it — this is the fallback so a caller can tell the operator to press play rather
+  // than let the panel sit at "starting" with no explanation. Optional and purely additive.
   onAutoplayBlocked?: () => void;
+  // Render the element muted. Off by default: the playback-troubleshooting screen exists partly to
+  // verify the audio side of an FFmpeg profile, so it must stay audible. The channel preview opts in
+  // (#554) because browsers permit autoplay of muted media without user activation, which is what
+  // keeps a slow-starting preview from sitting at "starting" over a black frame. `controls` is always
+  // on, so a muted player can still be unmuted by hand.
+  muted?: boolean;
+}
+
+// A rejected video.play() says why in the DOMException's name. Only NotAllowedError is the autoplay
+// policy refusing to start unprompted; AbortError (a pending play() interrupted by a teardown — what
+// the preview panel's own Retry does while MANIFEST_PARSED's play() is still pending) and
+// NotSupportedError are different faults and must not be reported as blocked autoplay.
+function isAutoplayPolicyRejection(error: unknown): boolean {
+  return error instanceof DOMException && error.name === 'NotAllowedError';
 }
 
 // A small HLS video player. Uses hls.js when Media Source Extensions are available (config mirrors
@@ -41,7 +57,8 @@ export function HlsPlayer({
   style,
   onError,
   onPlaying,
-  onAutoplayBlocked
+  onAutoplayBlocked,
+  muted = false
 }: HlsPlayerProps) {
   const videoRef = useRef<HTMLVideoElement | null>(null);
   const hlsRef = useRef<Hls | null>(null);
@@ -78,9 +95,11 @@ export function HlsPlayer({
       hls.loadSource(src);
       hls.attachMedia(video);
       hls.on(Hls.Events.MANIFEST_PARSED, () => {
-        void video.play().catch(() => {
-          // Autoplay may be blocked despite `muted` (#554); the user can press play manually.
-          onAutoplayBlocked?.();
+        void video.play().catch((error: unknown) => {
+          // Autoplay can be blocked even when muted (#554); the user can press play manually.
+          if (isAutoplayPolicyRejection(error)) {
+            onAutoplayBlocked?.();
+          }
         });
       });
       hls.on(Hls.Events.ERROR, (_event, data) => {
@@ -102,9 +121,11 @@ export function HlsPlayer({
     if (video.canPlayType('application/vnd.apple.mpegurl')) {
       video.src = src;
       const onCanPlay = () => {
-        void video.play().catch(() => {
-          // Autoplay may be blocked despite `muted` (#554); the user can press play manually.
-          onAutoplayBlocked?.();
+        void video.play().catch((error: unknown) => {
+          // Autoplay can be blocked even when muted (#554); the user can press play manually.
+          if (isAutoplayPolicyRejection(error)) {
+            onAutoplayBlocked?.();
+          }
         });
       };
       video.addEventListener('canplay', onCanPlay);
@@ -137,10 +158,7 @@ export function HlsPlayer({
     []
   );
 
-  // muted: browsers permit autoplay of muted media without user activation (#554) — without it,
-  // MANIFEST_PARSED can arrive past the ~5s transient-activation window on a slow-starting channel
-  // and video.play() is rejected as blocked autoplay, leaving the panel at "starting" over a black
-  // frame with no indication the operator just needs to press play. `controls` still lets the
-  // operator unmute to verify audio.
-  return <video className={className} controls muted ref={videoRef} style={style} />;
+  // `muted` is the caller's call (see HlsPlayerProps): muted media autoplays without user activation
+  // (#554), but that trades away audio-by-default, which the troubleshooting screen needs.
+  return <video className={className} controls muted={muted} ref={videoRef} style={style} />;
 }
diff --git a/web/src/screens/PlaybackTroubleshootingScreen.test.tsx b/web/src/screens/PlaybackTroubleshootingScreen.test.tsx
index cdd720e52..dfaf9cfbe 100644
--- a/web/src/screens/PlaybackTroubleshootingScreen.test.tsx
+++ b/web/src/screens/PlaybackTroubleshootingScreen.test.tsx
@@ -277,6 +277,31 @@ describe('PlaybackTroubleshootingScreen', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  // This screen exists partly to verify the audio side of an FFmpeg profile, so its player must stay
+  // audible. HlsPlayer's `muted` is opt-in for that reason (#554) — the channel preview opts in, this
+  // one must not, and a default flipped to muted here would be silent in both senses.
+  it('leaves the troubleshooting player unmuted', async () => {
+    setLocation('/app/troubleshooting/playback?mediaItem=5');
+    const statusRef = { current: IDLE };
+    installFetch(statusRef);
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+
+    try {
+      render(<PlaybackTroubleshootingScreen />);
+      await vi.waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText(/Movie Settings/i)).toBeTruthy());
+
+      statusRef.current = { state: 'running', exitCode: null, speed: null, logs: null };
+      fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Play' }));
+      await vi.waitFor(() => expect(hlsMock.loadSource).toHaveBeenCalledWith(LIVE_MANIFEST));
+
+      const video = document.querySelector('video');
+      expect(video).not.toBeNull();
+      expect(video?.muted).toBe(false);
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+
   it('surfaces the ProblemDetails detail and returns to idle when start fails (409)', async () => {
     setLocation('/app/troubleshooting/playback?mediaItem=5');
     const statusRef = { current: IDLE };
diff --git a/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.test.tsx b/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.test.tsx
index bca173d44..72e66ccc0 100644
--- a/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.test.tsx
+++ b/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.test.tsx
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ describe('ChannelPreviewPanel', () => {
   it('shows a hint when autoplay is blocked', async () => {
     const playSpy = vi
       .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
-      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked'));
+      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked', 'NotAllowedError'));
 
     try {
       await renderPanel(
@@ -239,10 +239,12 @@ describe('ChannelPreviewPanel', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  // The hint is hidden by the `state === 'starting'` render guard alone — removing that guard must
+  // redden this test, which it can only do because nothing else clears the flag on this path.
   it('does not show the autoplay-blocked hint once playback actually starts', async () => {
     const playSpy = vi
       .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
-      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked'));
+      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('blocked', 'NotAllowedError'));
 
     try {
       await renderPanel(
@@ -271,6 +273,43 @@ describe('ChannelPreviewPanel', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  // A play() interrupted by teardown rejects with AbortError, which is exactly what Retry produces
+  // while the manifest-parsed play() is still pending. The hint names blocked autoplay as the cause,
+  // so it must not appear for a rejection that was not the autoplay policy.
+  it('does not show the autoplay-blocked hint when play() is rejected for another reason', async () => {
+    const playSpy = vi
+      .spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, 'play')
+      .mockRejectedValue(new DOMException('The play() request was interrupted', 'AbortError'));
+
+    try {
+      await renderPanel(
+        <ChannelPreviewPanel channel={channel(available)} nowPlaying={null} onClose={vi.fn()} open />
+      );
+
+      const manifestHandler = getManifestHandler();
+      await act(async () => {
+        manifestHandler();
+        await Promise.resolve();
+        await Promise.resolve();
+      });
+
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/autoplay was blocked/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    } finally {
+      playSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  // The preview is the consumer that opts into a muted player (#554): muted media autoplays without
+  // user activation, which is what stops a slow-starting preview from sitting at "starting".
+  it('mutes the preview player', async () => {
+    await renderPanel(
+      <ChannelPreviewPanel channel={channel(available)} nowPlaying={null} onClose={vi.fn()} open />
+    );
+
+    // SlideOver portals its content, so query the whole document rather than the render container.
+    expect(document.querySelector('video')?.muted).toBe(true);
+  });
+
   it('does not show the autoplay-blocked hint when play() succeeds', async () => {
     await renderPanel(
       <ChannelPreviewPanel channel={channel(available)} nowPlaying={null} onClose={vi.fn()} open />
diff --git a/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.tsx b/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.tsx
index 3222228e7..67de3b5aa 100644
--- a/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.tsx
+++ b/web/src/screens/channels/ChannelPreviewPanel.tsx
@@ -45,9 +45,12 @@ export function ChannelPreviewPanel({ channel, nowPlaying, onClose, open }: Chan
   const [started, setStarted] = useState(availability === 'Available');
   const [state, setState] = useState<PlaybackState>(availability === 'Available' ? 'starting' : 'idle');
   const [error, setError] = useState<null | string>(null);
-  // Set when the browser rejects HlsPlayer's own play() kick despite the player being muted (#554).
-  // Purely informational — `state` stays 'starting' (still honest: playback has not actually begun)
-  // — so the operator knows to press the native play button instead of assuming a stall.
+  // Set when the browser's autoplay policy rejects HlsPlayer's own play() kick despite the player
+  // being muted (#554). Purely informational — `state` stays 'starting' (still honest: playback has
+  // not actually begun) — so the operator knows to press the native play button instead of assuming
+  // a stall. The hint's visibility is the render guard on `state === 'starting'` alone: every path
+  // back to 'starting' (Retry, a channel change) clears this flag itself, so a second clear in
+  // onPlaying would be unreachable as a guard and could not be pinned by a test.
   const [autoplayBlocked, setAutoplayBlocked] = useState(false);
   // Bumped on every (re)play. The manifest GET itself starts a server-side session, so a repeat play
   // of an identical URL — e.g. Retry after a failure — must re-issue the request rather than be a
@@ -107,7 +110,6 @@ export function ChannelPreviewPanel({ channel, nowPlaying, onClose, open }: Chan
       return;
     }
     setError(null);
-    setAutoplayBlocked(false);
     setState('playing');
   }, []);
 
@@ -193,6 +195,7 @@ export function ChannelPreviewPanel({ channel, nowPlaying, onClose, open }: Chan
             <>
               <HlsPlayer
                 className="ctv-preview-video"
+                muted
                 onAutoplayBlocked={onAutoplayBlocked}
                 onError={onError}
                 onPlaying={onPlaying}