diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/edit.py b/backend/app/downloads/edit.py
index 97f102b..99235ae 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/edit.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/edit.py
@@ -288,7 +288,10 @@ def _drain_tail(stream, sink: list[str]) -> None:
 
 
 def _stop(proc: subprocess.Popen) -> None:
-    """Terminate, then kill — never wait unbounded on a process we've given up on."""
+    """Terminate, then kill — never wait unbounded on a process we've given up on. Safe to call on
+    a process that already exited (the single exit path below may reach it after a clean wait)."""
+    if proc.poll() is not None:
+        return
     proc.terminate()
     try:
         proc.wait(timeout=5)
@@ -335,16 +338,20 @@ def run_ffmpeg(cmd, total_s, on_progress, should_cancel, stall_timeout_s=_FFMPEG
                 if secs is not None and total_s:
                     on_progress(max(0.0, min(99.0, secs * 100.0 / total_s)))
             if should_cancel():
-                _stop(proc)
                 raise EditAborted
             if time.monotonic() - last_output > stall_timeout_s:
-                _stop(proc)
                 raise RuntimeError(f"ffmpeg stalled: no progress for {int(stall_timeout_s)}s")
         try:
             ret = proc.wait(timeout=_FFMPEG_EXIT_GRACE_S)
         except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:  # pipes closed but the process lingers
-            _stop(proc)
             raise RuntimeError("ffmpeg did not exit after closing its output")
+    except BaseException:
+        # ONE exit path stops the process, so the invariant is unconditional: nothing leaves this
+        # function with ffmpeg still running. Not just our own EditAborted/stall — `on_progress`
+        # writes to the database, and an exception from THERE used to unwind past a live process,
+        # orphaning it (still encoding, no one left to reap it) after a 10s join on its pipes.
+        _stop(proc)
+        raise
     finally:
         for t in readers:
             t.join(timeout=_FFMPEG_EXIT_GRACE_S)
diff --git a/backend/app/sync/runner.py b/backend/app/sync/runner.py
index bb41b0e..f4f1109 100644
--- a/backend/app/sync/runner.py
+++ b/backend/app/sync/runner.py
@@ -74,15 +74,16 @@ def run_rss_poll(db: Session, channels: list[Channel] | None = None) -> dict[str
             channel = futures[fut]
             try:
                 entries = fut.result()
-            except Exception as exc:
-                # A failed poll is NOT an empty feed: skip the apply so `last_rss_at` stays where
-                # it was. Stamping it here made a permanently-broken feed look freshly polled.
-                # An RssError is an EXPECTED outcome (404, timeout) → one warning line; anything
-                # else is a bug on our side and earns a traceback.
-                if isinstance(exc, RssError):
-                    log.warning("RSS poll skipped for channel %s: %s", channel.id, exc)
-                else:
-                    log.exception("RSS fetch failed for channel %s", channel.id)
+            # A failed poll is NOT an empty feed: skip the apply so `last_rss_at` stays where it
+            # was (stamping it made a permanently-broken feed look freshly polled). The shared
+            # counter/progress tail lives after the statement, so the two outcomes can stay two
+            # clauses: an RssError is EXPECTED (404, timeout) and gets one warning line; anything
+            # else is a bug on our side and earns a traceback.
+            except RssError as exc:
+                log.warning("RSS poll skipped for channel %s: %s", channel.id, exc)
+                failed += 1
+            except Exception:
+                log.exception("RSS fetch failed for channel %s", channel.id)
                 failed += 1
             else:
                 try:
diff --git a/backend/app/worker.py b/backend/app/worker.py
index e319a55..faf5086 100644
--- a/backend/app/worker.py
+++ b/backend/app/worker.py
@@ -319,6 +319,46 @@ def _make_progress_hook(job_id: int, asset_id: int):
     return hook
 
 
+# ffmpeg's `-progress pipe:1` emits a block of ~12 lines every ~0.5s, and run_ffmpeg calls both of
+# its callbacks once per LINE. Each of these is a database round-trip (`_job_status` opens a session
+# and SELECTs; `_set_job` opens one and UPDATE+COMMITs), so an unthrottled pair costs ~10^5 queries
+# on a long re-encode. Both are therefore rate-limited to ~1s — the same 1s DB throttle the
+# download progress hook already applies (see `_make_progress_hook`).
+_FFMPEG_CALLBACK_INTERVAL_S = 1.0
+
+
+def _ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id: int, phase: str):
+    """`on_progress` for run_ffmpeg: persist at most one row write per second, and only when the
+    whole-percent value actually changed (the bar shows integers)."""
+    state = {"at": 0.0, "pct": -1}
+
+    def write(pct: float) -> None:
+        whole = int(pct)
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        if whole == state["pct"] or now - state["at"] < _FFMPEG_CALLBACK_INTERVAL_S:
+            return
+        state["at"] = now
+        state["pct"] = whole
+        _set_job(job_id, progress=whole, phase=phase)
+
+    return write
+
+
+def _ffmpeg_cancel_poll(job_id: int):
+    """`should_cancel` for run_ffmpeg: ask the DB at most once a second and reuse the answer in
+    between. Cancellation is sticky, so once it says yes it never queries again."""
+    state = {"at": 0.0, "cancelled": False}
+
+    def cancelled() -> bool:
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        if not state["cancelled"] and now - state["at"] >= _FFMPEG_CALLBACK_INTERVAL_S:
+            state["at"] = now
+            state["cancelled"] = _job_status(job_id) not in ("running", None)
+        return state["cancelled"]
+
+    return cancelled
+
+
 def _pp_phase(pp: str) -> str:
     """Map a yt-dlp postprocessor class name to a user-facing phase label. ffmpeg post-steps
     aren't byte-progress operations (no %), so the UI shows the step name + an indeterminate
@@ -492,8 +532,8 @@ def _ensure_browser_playable(job_id: int, produced: Path, spec: dict, info: dict
     editmod.run_ffmpeg(
         editmod.build_browser_safe_cmd(produced, dest, reenc_v, reenc_a),
         total_s=total_s,
-        on_progress=lambda pct: _set_job(job_id, progress=int(pct), phase="processing"),
-        should_cancel=lambda: _job_status(job_id) not in ("running", None),
+        on_progress=_ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id, "processing"),
+        should_cancel=_ffmpeg_cancel_poll(job_id),
     )
     produced.unlink(missing_ok=True)
     # Keep the stored asset metadata truthful about what's now on disk.
@@ -671,8 +711,8 @@ def _process_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
         editmod.run_ffmpeg(
             cmd,
             total_s,
-            on_progress=lambda pct: _set_job(job_id, progress=int(pct), phase="editing"),
-            should_cancel=lambda: _job_status(job_id) not in ("running", None),
+            on_progress=_ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id, "editing"),
+            should_cancel=_ffmpeg_cancel_poll(job_id),
         )
         if not dest_staging.exists():
             raise RuntimeError("ffmpeg produced no output file")
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_ffmpeg_callbacks.py b/backend/tests/test_ffmpeg_callbacks.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2644f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_ffmpeg_callbacks.py
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+"""The rate limit in front of run_ffmpeg's callbacks.
+
+run_ffmpeg calls `on_progress`/`should_cancel` once per ffmpeg output LINE (`-progress pipe:1`
+emits a block of ~12 every half second), and both callbacks are database round-trips: `_set_job`
+opens a session and UPDATE+COMMITs, `_job_status` opens one and SELECTs. Unthrottled, a long
+re-encode is ~10^5 of each."""
+from app import worker
+
+
+class TestProgressWriter:
+    def test_writes_the_first_value_immediately(self, monkeypatch):
+        writes = []
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker, "_set_job", lambda job_id, **f: writes.append(f))
+        worker._ffmpeg_progress_writer(7, "processing")(12.4)
+        assert writes == [{"progress": 12, "phase": "processing"}]
+
+    def test_a_burst_of_lines_costs_one_write(self, monkeypatch):
+        writes = []
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker, "_set_job", lambda job_id, **f: writes.append(f))
+        write = worker._ffmpeg_progress_writer(7, "processing")
+        for pct in range(0, 40):  # what one second of ffmpeg output looks like
+            write(pct)
+        assert len(writes) == 1
+
+    def test_the_next_second_writes_again(self, monkeypatch):
+        writes = []
+        clock = {"t": 1000.0}
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker, "_set_job", lambda job_id, **f: writes.append(f))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker.time, "monotonic", lambda: clock["t"])
+        write = worker._ffmpeg_progress_writer(7, "processing")
+        write(10)
+        write(11)  # same second → dropped
+        clock["t"] += 1.5
+        write(12)
+        assert [w["progress"] for w in writes] == [10, 12]
+
+    def test_an_unchanged_whole_percent_is_never_rewritten(self, monkeypatch):
+        writes = []
+        clock = {"t": 1000.0}
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker, "_set_job", lambda job_id, **f: writes.append(f))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker.time, "monotonic", lambda: clock["t"])
+        write = worker._ffmpeg_progress_writer(7, "processing")
+        write(10.1)
+        clock["t"] += 5
+        write(10.9)  # still 10% — the bar shows integers
+        assert [w["progress"] for w in writes] == [10]
+
+
+class TestCancelPoll:
+    def test_asks_once_then_reuses_the_answer(self, monkeypatch):
+        calls = []
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker, "_job_status", lambda job_id: calls.append(job_id) or "running")
+        cancelled = worker._ffmpeg_cancel_poll(7)
+        for _ in range(40):
+            assert cancelled() is False
+        assert len(calls) == 1
+
+    def test_a_cancelled_job_is_reported_and_never_queried_again(self, monkeypatch):
+        calls = []
+        clock = {"t": 1000.0}
+
+        def status(job_id):
+            calls.append(job_id)
+            return "cancelled"
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker, "_job_status", status)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker.time, "monotonic", lambda: clock["t"])
+        cancelled = worker._ffmpeg_cancel_poll(7)
+        assert cancelled() is True
+        clock["t"] += 60  # cancellation is sticky: no re-query, and no un-cancelling
+        assert cancelled() is True
+        assert len(calls) == 1
+
+    def test_a_cancel_arriving_later_is_seen_on_the_next_tick(self, monkeypatch):
+        clock = {"t": 1000.0}
+        state = {"status": "running"}
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker, "_job_status", lambda job_id: state["status"])
+        monkeypatch.setattr(worker.time, "monotonic", lambda: clock["t"])
+        cancelled = worker._ffmpeg_cancel_poll(7)
+        assert cancelled() is False
+        state["status"] = "paused"
+        clock["t"] += 1.0  # the throttle must not delay a cancel by more than its interval
+        assert cancelled() is True
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_run_ffmpeg.py b/backend/tests/test_run_ffmpeg.py
index 5dec4dc..d72bde2 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_run_ffmpeg.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_run_ffmpeg.py
@@ -51,6 +51,11 @@ class _FakeProc:
         self.killed = False
         self.waits = 0
 
+    def poll(self):
+        # Popen.poll(): None while the process is alive. Our fake stays alive until it is stopped —
+        # `_stop` uses this to skip a process that has already gone.
+        return self._rc if self.terminated else None
+
     def terminate(self):
         self.terminated = True
         # A terminated process's pipes hit EOF — that is how the reader threads finish.
@@ -132,6 +137,19 @@ def test_a_wedged_process_is_killed_by_the_stall_watchdog(fake_popen):
     assert proc.terminated  # the worker thread is freed, not parked forever
 
 
+def test_a_callback_exception_still_stops_the_process(fake_popen):
+    # `on_progress` is a database write in production. A failure THERE used to unwind past a live
+    # ffmpeg — orphaning it, still encoding, after a 10s join on its pipes.
+    proc = fake_popen(_FakeProc(_FakeStream(["out_time_us=1000000\n"]), _FakeStream(block=True)))
+
+    def boom(_pct):
+        raise RuntimeError("database is down")
+
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="database is down"):
+        edit.run_ffmpeg(["ffmpeg"], total_s=10, on_progress=boom, should_cancel=lambda: False)
+    assert proc.terminated
+
+
 def test_a_process_that_ignores_sigterm_is_killed(fake_popen):
     # `_stop`'s escalation: terminate, wait 5s, then SIGKILL. Without it a cancel could park the
     # worker thread on a process that simply refuses to go.
@@ -150,6 +168,8 @@ def test_a_process_lingering_after_eof_is_stopped_and_reported(fake_popen):
     with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="did not exit"):
         edit.run_ffmpeg(["ffmpeg"], total_s=10, on_progress=lambda _p: None, should_cancel=lambda: False)
     assert proc.terminated
+    # Two waits: the bounded grace wait that timed out, then _stop's own — never an unbounded one.
+    assert proc.waits == 2
 
 
 def test_stderr_is_drained_while_the_process_runs(fake_popen):
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
index 34f175b..ab340e1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import {
 } from "../lib/format";
 import { renderDescription } from "../lib/descriptionLinks";
 import { useBackToClose } from "../lib/history";
+import { DEFAULT_VOLUME, normalizeVolume, stepVolume } from "../lib/playerVolume";
 import { LS, readAccountMerged, writeAccount } from "../lib/storage";
 import { useScrollFade } from "../lib/useScrollFade";
 
@@ -188,12 +189,12 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
   // (the on-player flash has its own `volumeUi` state), the once-bound wheel/key listeners need a
   // ref anyway, and the hook's write lives inside a `setState` updater — which is both a second
   // write on every settle and not something React must run while the component is unmounting.
-  // `readAccountMerged` (not readAccount) so a partial/older stored object still gets the default
-  // — a missing `volume` would otherwise travel as undefined into the arithmetic below. Read via
-  // a lazy `useState` initializer so it happens once, not on every render (the house pattern —
-  // see the frozen queue above).
-  const [storedVolume] = useState(
-    () => readAccountMerged(LS.ytPlayerPrefs, { volume: 100 }).volume,
+  // Sanitised HERE, at the boundary where the untrusted value enters (`normalizeVolume`, see
+  // lib/playerVolume): a stored `null` / `"80"` / missing key becomes the default once, instead of
+  // travelling into the arithmetic. Read via a lazy `useState` initializer so it happens once, not
+  // on every render (the house pattern — see the frozen queue above).
+  const [storedVolume] = useState(() =>
+    normalizeVolume(readAccountMerged(LS.ytPlayerPrefs, { volume: DEFAULT_VOLUME }).volume),
   );
   const volumeRef = useRef(storedVolume);
   const volSaveTimerRef = useRef<number | undefined>(undefined);
@@ -227,10 +228,10 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
   };
   /** Push a level (0–100) to the player and remember it; 0 also mutes (a player left at zero
    * volume but unmuted shows YouTube's speaker icon as ON, which reads as broken). */
-  const applyVolume = (level: number, flash = true) => {
-    // A non-finite level (a corrupt stored value, a player that answered NaN) must not become a
-    // clamped NaN: that would mute the player AND persist `null`, poisoning every later session.
-    const next = Number.isFinite(level) ? Math.max(0, Math.min(100, Math.round(level))) : 100;
+  const applyVolume = (level: unknown, flash = true) => {
+    // An unusable level (a player that answered NaN) falls back to the LAST GOOD one, never to the
+    // default: jumping a quiet session to full blast is the surprise this feature exists to avoid.
+    const next = normalizeVolume(level, volumeRef.current);
     const p = playerRef.current;
     if (p && typeof p.setVolume === "function") {
       if (next > 0) p.unMute?.();
@@ -255,12 +256,8 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
     const now = Date.now();
     const continuing = now - lastNudgeAtRef.current < 1000;
     lastNudgeAtRef.current = now;
-    const cur = continuing
-      ? volumeRef.current
-      : p.isMuted?.()
-        ? 0
-        : (p.getVolume?.() ?? volumeRef.current);
-    applyVolume(cur + delta);
+    const cur = continuing ? volumeRef.current : p.isMuted?.() ? 0 : p.getVolume?.();
+    applyVolume(stepVolume(cur, delta, volumeRef.current), true);
   };
 
   // The player can navigate to other videos (YouTube links in a description). The
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/playerVolume.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/playerVolume.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0915eb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/playerVolume.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { DEFAULT_VOLUME, normalizeVolume, stepVolume } from "./playerVolume";
+
+describe("normalizeVolume", () => {
+  it("keeps a valid level", () => {
+    expect(normalizeVolume(0)).toBe(0);
+    expect(normalizeVolume(37)).toBe(37);
+    expect(normalizeVolume(100)).toBe(100);
+  });
+
+  it("clamps out-of-range levels and rounds to whole percents", () => {
+    expect(normalizeVolume(-20)).toBe(0);
+    expect(normalizeVolume(150)).toBe(100);
+    expect(normalizeVolume(42.6)).toBe(43);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    ["a missing key", undefined],
+    ["an explicit null", null],
+    ["a stringified number", "80"],
+    ["NaN from a broken player", NaN],
+    ["a whole object", { volume: 50 }],
+  ])("falls back on %s", (_label, raw) => {
+    // The regression: a partial stored object made the level undefined, which Math.round turned
+    // into NaN — muting playback and persisting `null` for every later session.
+    expect(normalizeVolume(raw, 15)).toBe(15);
+  });
+
+  it("prefers the last known level over the default, so a quiet session stays quiet", () => {
+    expect(normalizeVolume(NaN, 15)).toBe(15);
+    expect(normalizeVolume(NaN, 15)).not.toBe(DEFAULT_VOLUME);
+  });
+
+  it("uses the default when the fallback is unusable too", () => {
+    expect(normalizeVolume(NaN, NaN)).toBe(DEFAULT_VOLUME);
+    expect(normalizeVolume(null, undefined as unknown as number)).toBe(DEFAULT_VOLUME);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("stepVolume", () => {
+  it("steps up and down from the current level", () => {
+    expect(stepVolume(60, 5, 100)).toBe(65);
+    expect(stepVolume(60, -5, 100)).toBe(55);
+  });
+
+  it("clamps at both ends instead of wrapping", () => {
+    expect(stepVolume(98, 5, 100)).toBe(100);
+    expect(stepVolume(3, -5, 100)).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("steps from the fallback when the player answers garbage", () => {
+    // A spin must not lose notches to a stale/unusable reading — it continues from what we last set.
+    expect(stepVolume(undefined, -5, 90)).toBe(85);
+    expect(stepVolume(NaN, -5, 90)).toBe(85);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/playerVolume.ts b/frontend/src/lib/playerVolume.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..552bc2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/playerVolume.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+// The YouTube player's volume arithmetic, kept out of PlayerModal so it can be unit-tested. Every
+// rule here was established by a bug: a wheel spin that lost notches to the iframe's lagging
+// getVolume, a partial stored object that became NaN and persisted as `null`, and a "corrupt →
+// default" fallback that jumped an already-quiet session to full blast.
+
+/** Level used when nothing trustworthy is available. */
+export const DEFAULT_VOLUME = 100;
+
+const clamp = (n: number) => Math.max(0, Math.min(100, Math.round(n)));
+
+/**
+ * Coerce anything that claims to be a volume into a usable 0–100 level.
+ *
+ * Only a real, finite `number` is accepted: the stored blob is JSON, so a level is a number or it
+ * is corrupt — `null`, `undefined`, `"80"` and `NaN` all mean "we don't know", and `Number(null)`
+ * being `0` (silently muting the player) is exactly the coercion to avoid. `fallback` is the last
+ * level known to work; it is itself validated, so a corrupt value can never travel through it.
+ */
+export function normalizeVolume(raw: unknown, fallback: number = DEFAULT_VOLUME): number {
+  if (typeof raw === "number" && Number.isFinite(raw)) return clamp(raw);
+  if (typeof fallback === "number" && Number.isFinite(fallback)) return clamp(fallback);
+  return DEFAULT_VOLUME;
+}
+
+/** One volume step (wheel notch / arrow key) from `current`, falling back to `fallback` when the
+ * player answered something unusable. */
+export function stepVolume(current: unknown, delta: number, fallback: number): number {
+  const base = normalizeVolume(current, fallback);
+  return clamp(base + delta);
+}