diff --git a/docs/DESIGN.md b/docs/DESIGN.md
index c75ded66..81d4c054 100644
--- a/docs/DESIGN.md
+++ b/docs/DESIGN.md
@@ -112,7 +112,10 @@ style guide.
   own chip), never `--warn`: a score is not a warning. What sits on a picture looks the same in both themes,
   because the picture does: the broadcast red `--live` under `--live-fg` (never `--danger`: "live" is not an
   error), `--rating-media` on a poster's scrim, and `--media-chrome` for the always-dark player's menus
-  (owner decision F16). Black and white are the media scrims and their text. Five schemes × dark
+  (owner decision F16). On that chrome `--media-mark` is a marked place (the playhead, the crop frame, a
+  Plex marker) and every focus ring, and `--media-danger` an error: a form there (`media-scope`) re-points
+  `--focus` and `--danger` to them, as a light theme's accent and danger are dark on the chrome
+  (measured in `theme.contract.test.ts`). Black and white are the media scrims and their text. Five schemes × dark
   and light (B2): **Midnight** (blue), **Forest** (cyan), **Slate** (fuchsia), **Matrix** (moss) each earn their
   place with their own hue family; **Fjord** (Midnight's navy with a calm steel-blue accent) is the one kept
   exception, the calm twin of the vivid Midnight. A new scheme still needs its own hue family. Normal text ≥ 4.5:1 and a control's edge ≥ 3:1 in **every** scheme and mode.
@@ -556,9 +559,11 @@ of a full-width panel and nothing on the right.
   around the selection with the two ends (`ui/RangeTrack`: each end a slider — arrows step a tenth,
   Shift a second; drawn 4px, hit 1.5rem), Start / End fields with a tenth back / forward and "to the
   playhead", the length, Play selection (loops), a name, Cancel / Cut clip. On the always-dark chrome the
-  ends are white, a focused end's ring and the playhead the media amber `--media-mark` (the same in both
-  themes; a light theme's accent and warn all but vanished there). A typed time that cannot be read
-  stays in its field, marked invalid; one past the end shows where it landed (decimal point or comma).
+  ends are white, every focus ring in the panel and the playhead the media amber `--media-mark` (the same
+  in both themes; a light theme's accent and warn all but vanished there). A typed time that cannot be
+  read stays in its field once offered (Enter, leaving it), marked invalid with a line under it saying
+  how to type one; a time typed over a mark that then moves (a nudge, another segment) is dropped; one
+  past the end shows where it landed (decimal point or comma).
   The strip's window follows the selection when it settles, never under a dragging pointer. Plex seeks once a drag is
   released (a seek may restart the transcode); YouTube follows the drag; a mark on the very end seeks a
   moment short of it, and while a clip is marked the end of the item never closes the player or steps the
@@ -760,3 +765,4 @@ of a full-width panel and nothing on the right.
 | 2026-10-09 | A Plex show card plays                           | Its picture plays the show's next episode everywhere (an episode with a resume point → Continue + Restart, else the first unwatched, else S1·E1), resolved on the click; the preview names it once up; title and ⓘ open the show (option A + hover ask)                                                                | The picture opens the show page (as before); every card carrying `next`                                                                                                                                | A show card on Discover had no Play while Home's had one; carrying `next` costs a grid page up to 180 queries for the few cards anyone plays                                                                                 |
 | 2026-10-10 | Clip mode in the players (E38)                   | Scissors in the control row + `C`, `[` `]`; the panel in the player with the watched video as preview; overview + zoomed strip on `ui/RangeTrack` (ends are sliders); a toast + the Ready notification after Cut                                                                                                       | A ⋯ menu entry; permanent In / Out buttons; a big dialog with its own preview (a second Plex transcode / YouTube iframe)                                                                               | Owner's picks A, P1, a; a film is hours and a clip seconds, so only a zoomed strip gives a hand the precision. The Downloads editor's cuts moved onto the same track (keyboard-steppable now)                                |
 | 2026-10-10 | Crop in clip mode (E38)                          | A Crop toggle in the clip panel: a frame over the playing picture (`ui/CropFrame`, the editor's crop too), Free / 16:9 / 9:16 / 1:1, Whole picture; maximised YouTube keeps the panel in the bar's place; the wide side panel shuts while clipping                                                                     | A frame always on the picture in clip mode (K2); a free shape only                                                                                                                                     | Owner's K1 + a: a crop is rare, so it never covers the picture unasked; a phone or square clip needs a held shape. The iframe hides its picture's size: drawn on the 16:9 box, the cut fits it to the real picture           |
+| 2026-10-10 | Marks on the player chrome                       | `--media-mark` (amber) and `--media-danger` (light red), the same in both themes; `media-scope` points its focus rings (`--focus`) and errors at them                                                                                                                                                                  | The theme's accent ring, warn and danger                                                                                                                                                               | On the always-dark chrome a light theme's accent ring (Slate 2.8:1), warn (2.3:1) and danger (2.8:1) all fell under 3:1                                                                                                      |
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.dom.test.tsx
index 30154b48..eabc570c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.dom.test.tsx
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ describe("ClipPanel", () => {
     expect(range()).toBe("102.5-130");
   });
 
-  it("never seeks the player onto the item's very end (that would end it, and the clip with it)", () => {
+  it("never seeks the player onto the item's very end (that would finish the item)", () => {
     const onSeek = vi.fn();
     render(<Harness onSeek={onSeek} duration={600} start={{ start: 590, end: 595 }} />);
     fireEvent.keyDown(screen.getByRole("slider", { name: "clip.out" }), { key: "End" });
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.tsx
index 9119a952..ca202381 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ClipPanel.tsx
@@ -84,15 +84,17 @@ interface Props {
 
 const NUDGE_S = 0.1;
 // How far short of the item's end a seek stops: a mark on the very end moves the player to its last
-// moment, not past it — a player put at its end ENDS (a Plex film closes, a YouTube queue steps on)
-// and takes the clip with it.
+// moment, not past it. A player put at its end ENDS, and the item counts as finished — YouTube marks
+// it watched and shows its end screen, a Plex position reads as the whole — while a mark there is only
+// a place. (The players keep themselves and the clip open at an end while one is marked; this keeps
+// the item unfinished.)
 const LAST_MOMENT_S = 0.25;
 // On the always-dark chrome the ends are white (a light theme's accent is a dark blue there, which
 // all but vanished on the bar) and the playhead amber, so an end and the playhead are never confused.
-// A focused end is ringed in amber too, as the crop frame is: the accent ring was under 3:1 there.
-// The media amber (`--media-mark`), not the theme's warn: a light theme's is dark on this bar.
+// The media amber (`--media-mark`), not the theme's warn: a light theme's is dark on this bar. Every
+// focus ring in the panel is that amber as well (media-scope re-points --focus), as the crop frame's
+// is: the theme accent's ring was under 3:1 on the chrome.
 const PLAYHEAD = "bg-media-mark";
-const END_RING = "focus-visible:outline-media-mark";
 
 export default function ClipPanel({
   src,
@@ -247,7 +249,6 @@ export default function ClipPanel({
         playhead={current}
         playheadClassName={PLAYHEAD}
         onSeek={seek}
-        handleRingClassName={END_RING}
         className="h-14 cursor-pointer rounded-md bg-white/10 text-white/45"
         background={
           <RulerTicks view={view} format={(s) => formatTimecode(s, hours).replace(/\.\d$/, "")} />
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PlexPlayer.tsx b/frontend/src/components/PlexPlayer.tsx
index 69e03af2..e797d4e0 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PlexPlayer.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PlexPlayer.tsx
@@ -950,7 +950,8 @@ export default function PlexPlayer({ itemId, onClose, queue, fromStart = false }
   // (`useHistorySubview`'s back).
   //  - The on-screen arrow is a click on "leave", not a cancel, so it does not stop a countdown.
   //  - Escape in fullscreen leaves fullscreen (the browser's own Escape) and not the player.
-  //  - The arrow leaves past a clip as it does past a panel; the keys step out of it.
+  //  - The arrow still closes an open panel or the stats first, but it leaves past a clip, as past a
+  //    countdown: only the keys step out of a clip.
   const back = useCallback(
     (from: "arrow" | "key" | "escape") => {
       if (from !== "arrow" && skipProgressRef.current != null) cancelAutoSkipRef.current();
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.partial.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.partial.dom.test.tsx
index ee6fb873..96459b7a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.partial.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.partial.dom.test.tsx
@@ -102,6 +102,41 @@ describe("VideoEditor — a split export that fails part-way", () => {
   });
 });
 
+// A time typed into the selected segment's field belongs to that segment: selecting another one
+// drops it, and never commits it to the new selection's cut.
+describe("VideoEditor — a typed time and another segment", () => {
+  it("does not move the newly selected segment's cut with a time typed for the old one", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(api, "downloadStoryboard").mockResolvedValue({ available: false } as never);
+    render(
+      <QueryClientProvider client={new QueryClient()}>
+        <VideoEditor job={job} onClose={() => {}} />
+      </QueryClientProvider>,
+    );
+    const video = document.querySelector("video")!;
+    for (const at of [30, 60]) {
+      Object.defineProperty(video, "currentTime", {
+        value: at,
+        configurable: true,
+        writable: true,
+      });
+      fireEvent.timeUpdate(video);
+      fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("editor.splitHere"));
+    }
+    const segs = () => screen.getAllByTitle("editor.keptSeg");
+    fireEvent.pointerDown(segs()[1]!);
+    const inField = screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "editor.in" });
+    act(() => inField.focus());
+    fireEvent.change(inField, { target: { value: "0:40" } });
+    // Another segment is selected before the field loses the focus (a press on it).
+    fireEvent.pointerDown(segs()[2]!);
+    fireEvent.blur(inField);
+    const cuts = screen
+      .getAllByRole("slider", { name: "editor.cutN" })
+      .map((c) => c.getAttribute("aria-valuenow"));
+    expect(cuts).toEqual(["30", "60"]);
+  });
+});
+
 // The cuts sit on the shared time track: each is a slider the keyboard steps, and a step stops a
 // tenth short of the next cut, so no segment ever closes up.
 describe("VideoEditor — a cut on the keyboard", () => {
@@ -172,6 +207,34 @@ describe("VideoEditor — a cut's remove button", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("a remove refused while the clips are queued leaves no focus to take later", async () => {
+    let refuse: (e: unknown) => void = () => {};
+    vi.spyOn(api, "enqueueEdit").mockImplementation(
+      () =>
+        new Promise((_, reject) => {
+          refuse = reject;
+        }) as never,
+    );
+    split();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("editor.createN"));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(api.enqueueEdit).toHaveBeenCalled());
+    // The cut list holds still while the clips are queued: the remove is refused.
+    const remove = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "editor.removeCut" });
+    act(() => remove.focus());
+    fireEvent.click(remove);
+    expect(screen.getByRole("slider", { name: "editor.cutN" })).toBeTruthy();
+    await act(async () => refuse(new Error("refused")));
+    // The create failed and the editor stays; a later split keeps the focus where it was.
+    const video = document.querySelector("video")!;
+    Object.defineProperty(video, "currentTime", { value: 70, configurable: true, writable: true });
+    fireEvent.timeUpdate(video);
+    const splitButton = screen.getByText("editor.splitHere").closest("button")!;
+    act(() => splitButton.focus());
+    fireEvent.click(splitButton);
+    expect(screen.getAllByRole("slider", { name: "editor.cutN" })).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(splitButton);
+  });
+
   it("sits at the cut's foot, under the next segment's keep toggle at its head", () => {
     split();
     const remove = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "editor.removeCut" });
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx b/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx
index f334909b..74648050 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx
@@ -435,12 +435,16 @@ export default function VideoEditor({ job, onClose }: { job: DownloadJob; onClos
                   <Pressable
                     onPointerDown={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
                     onClick={() => {
+                      // Refused while the clips are queued (the list holds still): then nothing is
+                      // removed, and no focus is left waiting to be taken by a later change.
+                      if (creating.current) return;
                       refocusAfterRemove.current = bi;
                       deleteBoundary(bi);
                     }}
-                    className="pointer-events-auto absolute bottom-0 -right-0.5 p-0.5 rounded-full bg-black/70 text-muted hover:text-danger focus-visible:-outline-offset-2"
-                    aria-label={t("editor.removeCut")}
-                    title={t("editor.removeCut")}
+                    // 24px, the target floor; white on its black disc in either theme.
+                    className="pointer-events-auto absolute bottom-0 -right-0.5 p-1.5 rounded-full bg-black/70 text-white/80 hover:text-white focus-visible:-outline-offset-2"
+                    aria-label={t("editor.removeCut", { n: bi + 1 })}
+                    title={t("editor.removeCut", { n: bi + 1 })}
                   >
                     <X className="w-3 h-3" />
                   </Pressable>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/README.md b/frontend/src/components/ui/README.md
index a1024716..a8779ca3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/README.md
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/README.md
@@ -35,13 +35,13 @@ Counter-examples, deliberately NOT here: `PosterTile` (knows about Plex montage
 
 ## What lives here
 
-| area                   | components                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
-| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| overlays & anchoring   | `AnchoredPopover` + `anchoredPopoverHooks` (the popover engine: arrows, typeahead, Escape, anchor-flip), `ActionMenu`, `MembershipMenu` (the body of a "which sets is it in" menu: checkbox rows + a field naming a new set), `ContextMenu` + `useContextMenu` (the SAME menu, opened by right-click / long-press / Shift+F10 / a row's `MoreButton` "…" via `buttonProps`; `anchor` for a panel a row opens; `PageMenu` for a page's background menu), `Modal` (+ `ModalFooter`; `initialFocus` by purpose, C4), `Overlay`, `SidePanel`, `Tooltip`, `Toaster` (+ `toastLevels`, `overlayOrder`; `lib/toastDock` docks one control under the stack, in every host), `CommandPalette`, `KeyboardHelp`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
-| actions & inputs       | `Button`, `IconButton`, `Pressable` (`selectable` when its text is a title or a name), `Chip` + `chipStyles`, `DragHandle` + `OrderButtons` / `useOrderItems` (the non-drag reorder, WCAG 2.5.7) (one per button family, docs/DESIGN.md; a raw `<button>` or a bare `FocusSafeButton` outside the control primitives — eslint `BUTTON_PRIMITIVES` — is a lint error), `Input` + `fieldStyles`, `TimecodeField` (a cut's time typed in: the draft until Enter or blur takes it, then the value as it landed; unreadable stays, marked invalid), `NativeControls`, `MenuCheck` (the drawn check of a menu row or a whole-row checkbox button), `SelectTrigger` (the field family; a raw `<input>` is a lint error), `useReturnFocus`, `surfaces` (the B5 glass roles; a bare glass class is a lint error), `Badge` (a static label), `LinkButton` / `IconLink` (a link wearing the button face) over `buttonStyles`, `Skeleton` (B8 first loads, through `LoadingState shape`), `NavRail` (B7; `NavRailGroup` folds a set of rare pages into one row with a panel), `form`, `DraftSaveBar`, `Combobox`, `FilterSelect`, `SegmentedToggle`, `SortControl`, `ColumnSortControl`, `PriorityStepper`, `UndoToolbar`                                                       |
-| data display           | `DataTable` (+ `progressiveRows`: a long page mounts in steps), `tableHeader` + `tableAlign`, `HiddenFilterCue` (names a filter whose column is off screen), `Pager` + `pagerContent`, `VirtualGrid` + `gridColumns` (the column/width maths, incl. the ultrawide `maxCols` cap), `readAhead`, `Carousel`, `MediaCard` + `mediaCardStyles` (the one media card, docs/DESIGN.md "Media card") + `MediaPreview` / `useMediaPreview` (its mouse-rest preview), `NavGrid` (a plain grid, list or table body the keyboard walks — `DataTable`, `VirtualGrid` and `Carousel` take `keyboardNav`), `Avatar`, `CountBadge`, `ItemCount`, `FilterChipGroup`, `RelativeTime` ("3d ago" with the exact minute on hover, docs/DESIGN.md "Copy"), `ClampedText` (a long text clamped to a few lines; More / Less only when it is cut), `StatTiles` + `StatTile` / `StatBars` (number tiles, a breakdown as horizontal bars), `RangeTrack` + `RulerTicks` (a time track over a window of a media item: regions, slider ends the arrows step, a playhead, a background slot — the editor's cuts, the players' clip panel), `CropFrame` (a crop frame over a picture, on the picture and not its bars: drag, edges, corners, the arrows; the editor's crop, the players' clip crop) |
-| page & panel structure | `PageShell` + `pageToolbarSlot` + `pageHeading`, `PageScroller`, `Headings` (`PageHeading`, `SectionLabel`), `SkipLink` + `landmarks`, `FilterFold` (B4), `scrollFold` (`useScrollFold`: a fixed header that folds once its content scrolls), `PanelGroup`, `PanelGroups`, `Tabs`, `BackToTop`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
-| state & messaging      | `QueryState`, `Banner`, `InlineNotice`, `CrashBoundary`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
+| area                   | components                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
+| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| overlays & anchoring   | `AnchoredPopover` + `anchoredPopoverHooks` (the popover engine: arrows, typeahead, Escape, anchor-flip), `ActionMenu`, `MembershipMenu` (the body of a "which sets is it in" menu: checkbox rows + a field naming a new set), `ContextMenu` + `useContextMenu` (the SAME menu, opened by right-click / long-press / Shift+F10 / a row's `MoreButton` "…" via `buttonProps`; `anchor` for a panel a row opens; `PageMenu` for a page's background menu), `Modal` (+ `ModalFooter`; `initialFocus` by purpose, C4), `Overlay`, `SidePanel`, `Tooltip`, `Toaster` (+ `toastLevels`, `overlayOrder`; `lib/toastDock` docks one control under the stack, in every host), `CommandPalette`, `KeyboardHelp`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
+| actions & inputs       | `Button`, `IconButton`, `Pressable` (`selectable` when its text is a title or a name), `Chip` + `chipStyles`, `DragHandle` + `OrderButtons` / `useOrderItems` (the non-drag reorder, WCAG 2.5.7) (one per button family, docs/DESIGN.md; a raw `<button>` or a bare `FocusSafeButton` outside the control primitives — eslint `BUTTON_PRIMITIVES` — is a lint error), `Input` + `fieldStyles`, `TimecodeField` (a cut's time typed in: the draft until Enter or blur takes it, then the value as it landed; unreadable stays once offered, marked invalid with a line saying how to type one; a draft goes when the value moves under it), `NativeControls`, `MenuCheck` (the drawn check of a menu row or a whole-row checkbox button), `SelectTrigger` (the field family; a raw `<input>` is a lint error), `useReturnFocus`, `surfaces` (the B5 glass roles; a bare glass class is a lint error), `Badge` (a static label), `LinkButton` / `IconLink` (a link wearing the button face) over `buttonStyles`, `Skeleton` (B8 first loads, through `LoadingState shape`), `NavRail` (B7; `NavRailGroup` folds a set of rare pages into one row with a panel), `form`, `DraftSaveBar`, `Combobox`, `FilterSelect`, `SegmentedToggle`, `SortControl`, `ColumnSortControl`, `PriorityStepper`, `UndoToolbar` |
+| data display           | `DataTable` (+ `progressiveRows`: a long page mounts in steps), `tableHeader` + `tableAlign`, `HiddenFilterCue` (names a filter whose column is off screen), `Pager` + `pagerContent`, `VirtualGrid` + `gridColumns` (the column/width maths, incl. the ultrawide `maxCols` cap), `readAhead`, `Carousel`, `MediaCard` + `mediaCardStyles` (the one media card, docs/DESIGN.md "Media card") + `MediaPreview` / `useMediaPreview` (its mouse-rest preview), `NavGrid` (a plain grid, list or table body the keyboard walks — `DataTable`, `VirtualGrid` and `Carousel` take `keyboardNav`), `Avatar`, `CountBadge`, `ItemCount`, `FilterChipGroup`, `RelativeTime` ("3d ago" with the exact minute on hover, docs/DESIGN.md "Copy"), `ClampedText` (a long text clamped to a few lines; More / Less only when it is cut), `StatTiles` + `StatTile` / `StatBars` (number tiles, a breakdown as horizontal bars), `RangeTrack` + `RulerTicks` (a time track over a window of a media item: regions, slider ends the arrows step, a playhead, a background slot — the editor's cuts, the players' clip panel), `CropFrame` (a crop frame over a picture, on the picture and not its bars: drag, edges, corners, the arrows; the editor's crop, the players' clip crop)                                       |
+| page & panel structure | `PageShell` + `pageToolbarSlot` + `pageHeading`, `PageScroller`, `Headings` (`PageHeading`, `SectionLabel`), `SkipLink` + `landmarks`, `FilterFold` (B4), `scrollFold` (`useScrollFold`: a fixed header that folds once its content scrolls), `PanelGroup`, `PanelGroups`, `Tabs`, `BackToTop`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
+| state & messaging      | `QueryState`, `Banner`, `InlineNotice`, `CrashBoundary`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
 
 ## The size contract (E10 S1c)
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.dom.test.tsx
index a26cdf56..6475453b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.dom.test.tsx
@@ -150,18 +150,35 @@ describe("RangeTrack", () => {
     expect(h.onChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it("rings a focused handle in the caller's colour, for a track on the dark media chrome", () => {
-    render(
+  it("ends a drag whose handle leaves the window under it, so the track takes the next press", () => {
+    const onChange = vi.fn();
+    const onSeek = vi.fn();
+    const { rerender } = render(
+      <RangeTrack duration={200} label="Clip" handles={[handle({ onChange })]} onSeek={onSeek} />,
+    );
+    const track = screen.getByRole("group", { name: "Clip" });
+    box(track);
+    fireEvent.pointerDown(screen.getByRole("slider", { name: "In" }), {
+      button: 0,
+      clientX: 250,
+      pointerId: 7,
+    });
+    // A key moves the mark out of the window while the finger is still down: the handle unmounts.
+    rerender(
       <RangeTrack
-        duration={100}
+        duration={200}
         label="Clip"
-        handles={[handle()]}
-        handleRingClassName="focus-visible:outline-warn"
+        handles={[handle({ onChange, time: 20 })]}
+        view={{ from: 100, to: 200 }}
+        onSeek={onSeek}
       />,
     );
-    expect(screen.getByRole("slider", { name: "In" }).className).toContain(
-      "focus-visible:outline-warn",
-    );
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("slider", { name: "In" })).toBeNull();
+    // Released where the handle no longer is: the drag ends, as final, where the mark now is.
+    fireEvent.pointerUp(document.body, { pointerId: 7 });
+    expect(onChange).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(20, true);
+    fireEvent.pointerDown(track, { button: 0, clientX: 500, pointerId: 8 });
+    expect(onSeek).toHaveBeenCalledWith(150, false);
   });
 
   it("seeks on a press of the bare track, following the drag, final on release", () => {
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.tsx
index 72d10fb1..7ef6df27 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/RangeTrack.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import {
+  useEffect,
+  useEffectEvent,
   useRef,
   useState,
   type CSSProperties,
@@ -80,9 +82,6 @@ interface Props {
   /** Accessible name of the whole track. */
   label: string;
   playheadClassName?: string;
-  /** A focused handle's ring colour (a `focus-visible:outline-*` class) where the theme accent does
-   *  not read on the track, e.g. on the dark media chrome. */
-  handleRingClassName?: string;
 }
 
 const clamp = (v: number, lo: number, hi: number) => Math.max(lo, Math.min(hi, v));
@@ -107,7 +106,6 @@ export function RangeTrack({
   className,
   label,
   playheadClassName = "bg-white",
-  handleRingClassName,
 }: Props) {
   const win: RangeWindow = view ?? { from: 0, to: duration };
   const span = Math.max(win.to - win.from, 1e-6);
@@ -115,12 +113,40 @@ export function RangeTrack({
   const pct = (f: number) => `${(clamp(f, 0, 1) * 100).toFixed(3)}%`;
   // The handle a pointer is dragging, and the press on the bare track (a scrub), so a move is only
   // acted on between its own down and up.
-  const [dragging, setDragging] = useState<{ id: string; pointer: number } | null>(null);
+  const [dragging, setDragging] = useState<{
+    id: string;
+    pointer: number;
+    el: HTMLElement;
+  } | null>(null);
   const [scrubbing, setScrubbing] = useState<number | null>(null);
   // Where the drag last put its handle, for a cancel to report as final.
   const lastRef = useRef(0);
   const busy = dragging != null || scrubbing != null;
 
+  // A handle can go while its pointer is still down: its mark moved out of the window under it (a
+  // key marked the other end and carried this one along). Its own up / cancel then never come — the
+  // capture went with the node — and the drag would hold the track `busy` for good (a finger never
+  // comes back with the same pointer). So the pointer's release anywhere ends it, reported final
+  // where the mark now is: the caller's final-only work (a seek, a frozen view let go) still runs.
+  const endLostDrag = useEffectEvent((id: string) => {
+    setDragging(null);
+    const h = handles.find((x) => x.id === id);
+    if (h) h.onChange(clamp(h.time, h.min, h.max), true);
+  });
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!dragging) return;
+    const { id, pointer, el } = dragging;
+    const end = (e: globalThis.PointerEvent) => {
+      if (e.pointerId === pointer && !el.isConnected) endLostDrag(id);
+    };
+    document.addEventListener("pointerup", end);
+    document.addEventListener("pointercancel", end);
+    return () => {
+      document.removeEventListener("pointerup", end);
+      document.removeEventListener("pointercancel", end);
+    };
+  }, [dragging]);
+
   const capture = (e: PointerEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
     try {
       e.currentTarget.setPointerCapture(e.pointerId);
@@ -224,11 +250,9 @@ export function RangeTrack({
             aria-valuenow={Math.round(h.time * 10) / 10}
             aria-valuetext={h.valueText}
             data-handle={h.id}
-            // The ring sits inside the hit area: the track clips its overflow.
-            className={clsx(
-              "absolute inset-y-0 z-base flex w-6 -translate-x-1/2 cursor-ew-resize touch-none items-center justify-center rounded-sm focus-visible:-outline-offset-2",
-              handleRingClassName,
-            )}
+            // The ring sits inside the hit area: the track clips its overflow. Its colour is the base
+            // focus ring's, which a scope over another ground re-points (media-scope: the media amber).
+            className="absolute inset-y-0 z-base flex w-6 -translate-x-1/2 cursor-ew-resize touch-none items-center justify-center rounded-sm focus-visible:-outline-offset-2"
             style={{ left: pct(f) }}
             onKeyDown={onKeyDown}
             onPointerDown={(e) => {
@@ -237,7 +261,7 @@ export function RangeTrack({
               if (busy) return;
               capture(e);
               lastRef.current = h.time;
-              setDragging({ id: h.id, pointer: e.pointerId });
+              setDragging({ id: h.id, pointer: e.pointerId, el: e.currentTarget });
             }}
             onPointerMove={(e) => {
               if (mine(e)) move(timeAtPointer(e.currentTarget, e.clientX, win), false);
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/TimecodeField.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/TimecodeField.dom.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f9f2a888
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/TimecodeField.dom.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+//
+// The time field: invalid only once a time was offered, said in words under the field, and a draft
+// that never outlives the value it was typed over.
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { TimecodeField } from "./TimecodeField";
+
+vi.mock("react-i18next", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("react-i18next")>();
+  return { ...actual, useTranslation: () => ({ t: (k: string) => k }) };
+});
+
+afterEach(cleanup);
+
+const field = () => screen.getByRole("textbox") as HTMLInputElement;
+
+describe("TimecodeField", () => {
+  it("is not invalid while a time is still being typed, only once it is offered", () => {
+    render(<TimecodeField aria-label="In" value={10} onCommit={() => {}} />);
+    fireEvent.change(field(), { target: { value: "" } });
+    fireEvent.change(field(), { target: { value: "1:" } });
+    expect(field().getAttribute("aria-invalid")).toBeNull();
+    fireEvent.blur(field());
+    expect(field().getAttribute("aria-invalid")).toBe("true");
+  });
+
+  it("says in words, under the field and linked to it, how a time is typed", () => {
+    render(<TimecodeField aria-label="In" value={10} onCommit={() => {}} />);
+    fireEvent.change(field(), { target: { value: "abc" } });
+    fireEvent.keyDown(field(), { key: "Enter" });
+    const id = field().getAttribute("aria-describedby");
+    expect(id).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(document.getElementById(id!)?.textContent).toBe("common.timecodeInvalid");
+    fireEvent.change(field(), { target: { value: "0:12" } });
+    fireEvent.keyDown(field(), { key: "Enter" });
+    expect(field().getAttribute("aria-describedby")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("drops a draft when the value moves under it, and never commits it to the new value", () => {
+    const onCommit = vi.fn();
+    const { rerender } = render(<TimecodeField aria-label="In" value={10} onCommit={onCommit} />);
+    fireEvent.change(field(), { target: { value: "0:05" } });
+    // Another segment selected under the same field (or a nudge): the field edits a new value now.
+    rerender(<TimecodeField aria-label="In" value={40} onCommit={onCommit} />);
+    expect(field().value).toBe("0:40.0");
+    fireEvent.blur(field());
+    expect(onCommit).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    // An unreadable one goes too, and its mark with it.
+    fireEvent.change(field(), { target: { value: "x" } });
+    fireEvent.blur(field());
+    expect(field().getAttribute("aria-invalid")).toBe("true");
+    rerender(<TimecodeField aria-label="In" value={41} onCommit={onCommit} />);
+    expect(field().value).toBe("0:41.0");
+    expect(field().getAttribute("aria-invalid")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/TimecodeField.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/TimecodeField.tsx
index 0b485b51..47548792 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/TimecodeField.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/TimecodeField.tsx
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
-import { useState, type ComponentProps } from "react";
+import { useId, useState, type ComponentProps } from "react";
+import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { formatTimecode, parseTimecode } from "../../lib/timecode";
 import { Input } from "./Input";
 
 // A field a cut's time is typed into (lib/timecode): the editor's segment ends, the clip panel's In /
 // Out. A typed draft is the field's until Enter or leaving the field takes it; then the field shows
 // the value as it landed — the caller may clamp it (a time past the end) — and a time it cannot read
-// stays, marked invalid, for fixing rather than vanishing or seeming taken. One element throughout,
-// so Enter leaves the focus in the field (a field re-created per value dropped it on <body>).
+// stays for fixing rather than vanishing or seeming taken: marked invalid, with a line under the
+// field saying how to type one. Invalid is said of a time offered (Enter, leaving the field), never
+// of one still being typed. One element throughout, so Enter leaves the focus in the field (a field
+// re-created per value dropped it on <body>).
 
 type Props = Omit<
   ComponentProps<typeof Input>,
@@ -26,33 +29,60 @@ export function TimecodeField({
   onCommit,
   onBlur,
   onKeyDown,
+  "aria-describedby": describedBy,
   ...rest
 }: Props) {
-  const [draft, setDraft] = useState<string | null>(null);
-  const invalid = draft != null && parseTimecode(draft) == null;
+  const { t } = useTranslation();
+  const errorId = useId();
+  const [draft, setDraft] = useState<{ text: string; offered: boolean } | null>(null);
+  // A draft belongs to the value it was typed over. When the value moves without it (a nudge, "to
+  // the playhead", another segment selected under the same field), the draft is dropped: kept, it
+  // would show over the new value, and leaving the field would commit it to whatever the field
+  // edits now — another cut.
+  const [typedOver, setTypedOver] = useState(value);
+  if (typedOver !== value) {
+    setTypedOver(value);
+    setDraft(null);
+  }
+  const invalid = draft != null && draft.offered && parseTimecode(draft.text) == null;
   const commit = () => {
     if (draft == null) return;
-    const v = parseTimecode(draft);
-    if (v == null) return;
+    const v = parseTimecode(draft.text);
+    if (v == null) {
+      if (!draft.offered) setDraft({ text: draft.text, offered: true });
+      return;
+    }
     setDraft(null);
     if (Math.abs(v - value) > 1e-3) onCommit(v);
   };
+  const described = [describedBy, invalid ? errorId : null].filter(Boolean).join(" ");
   return (
-    <Input
-      {...rest}
-      value={draft ?? formatTimecode(value, hours)}
-      invalid={invalid}
-      onChange={(e) => setDraft(e.target.value)}
-      onBlur={(e) => {
-        commit();
-        onBlur?.(e);
-      }}
-      onKeyDown={(e) => {
-        onKeyDown?.(e);
-        if (e.key !== "Enter" || e.defaultPrevented) return;
-        e.preventDefault();
-        commit();
-      }}
-    />
+    <span className="relative inline-flex">
+      <Input
+        {...rest}
+        value={draft?.text ?? formatTimecode(value, hours)}
+        invalid={invalid}
+        aria-describedby={described || undefined}
+        onChange={(e) => setDraft({ text: e.target.value, offered: draft?.offered ?? false })}
+        onBlur={(e) => {
+          commit();
+          onBlur?.(e);
+        }}
+        onKeyDown={(e) => {
+          onKeyDown?.(e);
+          if (e.key !== "Enter" || e.defaultPrevented) return;
+          e.preventDefault();
+          commit();
+        }}
+      />
+      {invalid && (
+        <span
+          id={errorId}
+          className="absolute left-0 top-full z-menu mt-1 whitespace-nowrap rounded-md border border-danger bg-bg px-2 py-0.5 text-xs text-danger"
+        >
+          {t(hours ? "common.timecodeInvalidHours" : "common.timecodeInvalid")}
+        </span>
+      )}
+    </span>
   );
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/fieldStyles.ts b/frontend/src/components/ui/fieldStyles.ts
index 5877ca73..bcd722bb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/fieldStyles.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/fieldStyles.ts
@@ -25,13 +25,14 @@ const SIZES: Record<FieldSize, string> = {
 };
 
 // The edge is --edge-strong (the fg mixed 55% into the bg, ≥ 3:1 on every scheme — WCAG 1.4.11); focus
-// turns it into a 2px accent edge (the border plus a 1px ring), the outlined-field convention. Invalid
+// turns it into a 2px accent edge (the border plus a 1px ring; `focus`, so a scope over another ground
+// can name its own, see media-scope), the outlined-field convention. Invalid
 // is the danger edge, focused or not. A wrapper frame keys both states to its own INPUT, not to any
 // descendant: the header search's Go button is disabled while the query is empty, and a bare
 // `has-disabled:` faded the whole box. On a coarse pointer the box grows to the 44 touch target.
 const BASE =
   "min-w-0 border edge-strong text-fg placeholder:text-muted transition-colors " +
-  "focus-within:border-accent focus-within:ring-1 focus-within:ring-accent focus-within:outline-hidden " +
+  "focus-within:border-focus focus-within:ring-1 focus-within:ring-focus focus-within:outline-hidden " +
   "aria-invalid:border-danger aria-invalid:ring-danger " +
   "has-[input[aria-invalid=true]]:border-danger has-[input[aria-invalid=true]]:ring-danger " +
   "disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-50 " +
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/common.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/common.json
index fa2f2a34..c91b8720 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/common.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/common.json
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
   "privacyPolicy": "Privacy policy",
   "termsOfService": "Terms of service",
   "sourceCode": "Source code",
+  "timecodeInvalid": "Not a time — type it like 1:05.5",
+  "timecodeInvalidHours": "Not a time — type it like 1:02:05.5",
   "close": "Close",
   "cancel": "Cancel",
   "confirm": "Confirm",
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/editor.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/editor.json
index 431db4b1..390e725b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/editor.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/editor.json
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
   "dropped": "Dropped",
   "keptSeg": "Kept segment",
   "droppedSeg": "Dropped segment",
-  "removeCut": "Remove cut",
+  "removeCut": "Remove cut {{n}}",
   "keptSummary": "{{n}} kept · {{dur}}",
   "createJoin": "Create joined clip",
   "timeline": "Timeline",
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/common.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/common.json
index 8d90bd80..cc20e9db 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/common.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/common.json
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
   "privacyPolicy": "Adatvédelmi irányelvek",
   "termsOfService": "Felhasználási feltételek",
   "sourceCode": "Forráskód",
+  "timecodeInvalid": "Ez nem időpont — így írd: 1:05,5",
+  "timecodeInvalidHours": "Ez nem időpont — így írd: 1:02:05,5",
   "close": "Bezárás",
   "cancel": "Mégse",
   "confirm": "Megerősítés",
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/editor.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/editor.json
index c7c4235b..685617b5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/editor.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/editor.json
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
   "dropped": "Eldobva",
   "keptSeg": "Megtartott szegmens",
   "droppedSeg": "Eldobott szegmens",
-  "removeCut": "Vágás törlése",
+  "removeCut": "{{n}}. vágás törlése",
   "keptSummary": "{{n}} megtartva · {{dur}}",
   "createJoin": "Összefűzött klip",
   "timeline": "Idővonal",
diff --git a/frontend/src/index.css b/frontend/src/index.css
index 7029fba4..77f8c26e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/index.css
+++ b/frontend/src/index.css
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@
   --color-fg: var(--fg);
   --color-muted: var(--muted);
   --color-accent: var(--accent);
+  /* A focus ring's colour: the accent, unless a scope over another ground names its own. */
+  --color-focus: var(--focus, var(--accent));
   --color-accent-fg: var(--accent-fg);
   --color-info: var(--info);
   --color-info-fg: var(--info-fg);
@@ -145,7 +147,9 @@
 
 /* A form on the always-dark player chrome (the clip panel's fields): the neutral tokens the field
    primitives read are re-pointed to white-on-chrome for this subtree, so a light theme's dark text
-   never lands on the dark bar. The accent stays the theme's. */
+   never lands on the dark bar. The accent stays the theme's for what is chosen; what must be seen
+   there is not left to it: a focus ring is the media amber and an error the media red, as a light
+   theme's accent and danger are dark (under 3:1 on the chrome). */
 @utility media-scope {
   --fg: #ffffff;
   --muted: rgb(255 255 255 / 0.62);
@@ -155,6 +159,8 @@
   /* A card on the chrome (a segmented control's track): a veil of it, never the theme's card — a
      light theme's white under this scope's white text left the unchosen options unreadable. */
   --card: rgb(255 255 255 / 0.08);
+  --danger: var(--media-danger);
+  --focus: var(--media-mark);
   color: var(--fg);
 }
 
@@ -298,8 +304,9 @@
   [role="tab"]:focus-visible,
   [role="slider"]:focus-visible,
   summary:focus-visible {
-    /* Solid accent: the earlier 60% mix all but vanished on the dark glass. */
-    outline: 2px solid var(--accent);
+    /* Solid accent: the earlier 60% mix all but vanished on the dark glass. A scope over another
+       ground (media-scope) may name its own ring colour in --focus. */
+    outline: 2px solid var(--focus, var(--accent));
     outline-offset: 2px;
   }
 
@@ -1158,6 +1165,8 @@ html[data-theme="light"] {
   /* A place marked on that chrome or over a video (a playhead, a focused end's ring, the crop
      frame's ring, an intro / credits marker): amber in both themes, as the chrome is dark in both. */
   --media-mark: #fbbf24;
+  /* An error said on that chrome (a time field the clip panel cannot read): its edge and its line. */
+  --media-danger: #f87171;
 }
 
 /* Toast auto-dismiss countdown bar (shrinks left-to-right to zero) */
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts
index 710d1133..e5d62f5a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,21 @@ describe("the media colours", () => {
     const strip = mixHex("#ffffff", media()["media-chrome"]!, 0.1);
     expect(hexContrast(media()["media-mark"]!, strip)).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(3);
   });
+  // A form on that chrome (the clip panel, `media-scope`) keeps neither the theme's danger nor its
+  // accent for what must be seen: a light theme's are dark (#b91c1c 2.8:1, Slate's accent 2.8:1 on
+  // the chrome). Its error edge and text take the media red, and every focus ring in it — the base
+  // ring and a field's focus edge both read --focus — the media amber. [WCAG 1.4.11, 1.4.3]
+  it("a form on the player chrome says an error and a focus in colours that hold there", () => {
+    expect(hexContrast(media()["media-danger"]!, media()["media-chrome"]!)).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(
+      4.5,
+    );
+    const at = css.indexOf("@utility media-scope {");
+    const scope = css.slice(at, css.indexOf("\n}", at));
+    expect(scope).toMatch(/--danger:\s*var\(--media-danger\);/);
+    expect(scope).toMatch(/--focus:\s*var\(--media-mark\);/);
+    expect(css).toMatch(/outline: 2px solid var\(--focus, var\(--accent\)\);/);
+    expect(css).toMatch(/--color-focus: var\(--focus, var\(--accent\)\);/);
+  });
 });
 
 it("styles exactly the schemes the app offers", () => {