diff --git a/backend/app/routes/public.py b/backend/app/routes/public.py
index 90bd0a4d..d8402e32 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/public.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/public.py
@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@ def _link_or_404(db: Session, token: str) -> DownloadLink:
 def _ready_target(db: Session, link: DownloadLink) -> tuple[DownloadJob, MediaAsset]:
     job = db.get(DownloadJob, link.job_id)
     asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id) if job and job.asset_id else None
+    if asset is not None and asset.status in ("pending", "downloading"):
+        # Being (re)made — a re-download, or a conversion — so the link works again once it is ready:
+        # its own reason, so the page can say "try again shortly" rather than "this link is gone".
+        raise refused(404, "video_preparing")
     if job is None or asset is None or asset.status != "ready" or not asset.rel_path:
         raise refused(404, "video_gone")
     # Verify the file is actually on disk here (not just flagged ready), so the watch page never
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.dom.test.tsx
index 1395cab8..9bcab3db 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.dom.test.tsx
@@ -211,6 +211,26 @@ describe("WatchPage honest failures", () => {
     expect(page.queryByRole("button", { name: "Try again" })).toBeNull();
   });
 
+  it("a 404 whose video is being made again says to come back, with a retry", async () => {
+    window.history.replaceState({}, "", "/watch/tok-preparing");
+    vi.stubGlobal(
+      "fetch",
+      vi
+        .fn()
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce(res(404, { detail: { code: 404, reason: "video_preparing" } }))
+        .mockResolvedValue(
+          res(200, { needs_password: false, file_url: "/f.mp4", title: "A clip" }),
+        ),
+    );
+    const page = render(<WatchPage />);
+    const retry = await page.findByRole("button", { name: "Try again" });
+    expect(page.getByRole("status").textContent).toContain("This video is being prepared.");
+    expect(page.queryByText(GONE)).toBeNull();
+
+    fireEvent.click(retry);
+    await waitFor(() => expect(page.container.querySelector("video")).not.toBeNull());
+  });
+
   async function tryPassword(second: () => Promise<unknown>) {
     vi.stubGlobal(
       "fetch",
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.tsx b/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.tsx
index 355cb66d..cb1a0023 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/WatchPage.tsx
@@ -76,13 +76,20 @@ function displayUrl(url: string): string {
   }
 }
 
+/** What a 404 from the link means: `video_preparing` is a link whose video is being made again (a
+ * re-download, a conversion) and will work shortly; any other is a link that is gone. */
+async function notFoundState(r: Response): Promise<"preparing" | "gone"> {
+  const body = (await r.json().catch(() => null)) as { detail?: { reason?: string } } | null;
+  return body?.detail?.reason === "video_preparing" ? "preparing" : "gone";
+}
+
 export default function WatchPage() {
   const token = window.location.pathname.split("/watch/")[1]?.split(/[/?#]/)[0] ?? "";
   // Seeded from the URL rather than corrected by the effect below: with no token there is nothing
   // to load, and "loading" was committed and painted before the effect said so.
-  const [status, setStatus] = useState<"loading" | "ready" | "password" | "gone" | "error">(
-    token ? "loading" : "gone",
-  );
+  const [status, setStatus] = useState<
+    "loading" | "ready" | "password" | "gone" | "preparing" | "error"
+  >(token ? "loading" : "gone");
   const [meta, setMeta] = useState<Meta | null>(null);
   const [password, setPassword] = useState("");
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
@@ -110,16 +117,16 @@ export default function WatchPage() {
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!token) return; // the seed above already says "gone"
     send(`/api/public/watch/${encodeURIComponent(token)}`)
-      .then((r) => {
-        // Only a 404 says the link is gone (unknown, expired, revoked, or its file removed). Anything
-        // else — a 5xx while the server restarts, a dropped connection — is a failure worth retrying,
-        // not a dead link.
-        if (r.status === 404) return null;
+      .then((r): Promise<Meta | "preparing" | "gone"> => {
+        // Only a 404 says the link is gone (unknown, expired, revoked, or its file removed) — or that
+        // its video is being made again (`notFoundState`). Anything else — a 5xx while the server
+        // restarts, a dropped connection — is a failure worth retrying, not a dead link.
+        if (r.status === 404) return notFoundState(r);
         if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${r.status}`);
         return r.json() as Promise<Meta>;
       })
       .then((m) => {
-        if (!m) setStatus("gone");
+        if (typeof m === "string") setStatus(m);
         else if (m.needs_password) setStatus("password");
         else {
           setMeta(m);
@@ -151,7 +158,7 @@ export default function WatchPage() {
       return;
     }
     if (r.status === 404) {
-      setStatus("gone");
+      setStatus(await notFoundState(r));
       return;
     }
     if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${r.status}`);
@@ -194,6 +201,19 @@ export default function WatchPage() {
           </div>
         )}
 
+        {status === "preparing" && (
+          <div className="flex-1 grid place-items-center text-center">
+            {/* Announced like the failure below: it replaces the loading line. */}
+            <div role="status">
+              <div className="text-lg font-semibold">{T.preparing}</div>
+              <div className="text-sm text-muted mt-1">{T.preparingHint}</div>
+              <Button variant="primary" size="md" onClick={retry} className="mt-4">
+                {T.retry}
+              </Button>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        )}
+
         {status === "error" && (
           <div className="flex-1 grid place-items-center text-center">
             {/* Announced: it replaces the loading line, and this page has no live region of its own. */}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/watchStrings.dom.test.ts b/frontend/src/components/watchStrings.dom.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9d470878
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/watchStrings.dom.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+//
+// The shared-link page ships one watch.html for every visitor, so the document's language is set
+// from the language its strings were picked in — a screen reader picks its voice by it, and the
+// browser offers to translate by it. A Hungarian visitor once got lang="en" over Hungarian text.
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+  vi.resetModules();
+});
+
+async function pageIn(language: string) {
+  vi.stubGlobal("navigator", { ...navigator, language });
+  vi.resetModules();
+  return import("./watchStrings");
+}
+
+describe("the watch page's document language", () => {
+  it.each([
+    ["hu-HU", "hu"],
+    ["de-AT", "de"],
+    ["en-GB", "en"],
+    ["fr-FR", "en"], // no French strings: the page is in English, and says so
+  ])("a %s browser reads a page marked %s", async (language, want) => {
+    const { lang } = await pageIn(language);
+    expect(lang).toBe(want);
+    expect(document.documentElement.lang).toBe(want);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/watchStrings.ts b/frontend/src/components/watchStrings.ts
index 18ab3c88..caca9def 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/watchStrings.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/components/watchStrings.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ const STR = {
     repeat: "Repeat",
     failed: "Couldn't load this link.",
     failedHint: "Check your connection and try again.",
+    preparing: "This video is being prepared.",
+    preparingHint: "Try again in a few minutes.",
     retry: "Try again",
     tooMany: "Too many attempts. Try again in a few minutes.",
     unlockFailed: "Couldn't check the password. Try again.",
@@ -40,6 +42,8 @@ const STR = {
     repeat: "Ismétlés",
     failed: "Nem sikerült betölteni a linket.",
     failedHint: "Ellenőrizd a kapcsolatot, és próbáld újra.",
+    preparing: "A videó előkészítése folyamatban.",
+    preparingHint: "Próbáld újra néhány perc múlva.",
     retry: "Újrapróbálás",
     tooMany: "Túl sok próbálkozás. Próbáld újra pár perc múlva.",
     unlockFailed: "Nem sikerült ellenőrizni a jelszót. Próbáld újra.",
@@ -62,6 +66,8 @@ const STR = {
     repeat: "Wiederholen",
     failed: "Der Link konnte nicht geladen werden.",
     failedHint: "Prüfe deine Verbindung und versuche es erneut.",
+    preparing: "Dieses Video wird gerade vorbereitet.",
+    preparingHint: "Versuche es in ein paar Minuten erneut.",
     retry: "Erneut versuchen",
     tooMany: "Zu viele Versuche. Versuche es in ein paar Minuten erneut.",
     unlockFailed: "Das Passwort konnte nicht geprüft werden. Versuche es erneut.",
@@ -76,3 +82,7 @@ export const lang =
     ? ((navigator.language || "en").slice(0, 2) as keyof typeof STR)
     : "en";
 export const T = STR[lang];
+
+// The document says the language its text is in: a screen reader picks its voice by it, and the
+// browser offers to translate by it. watch.html can only ship one; this page picks its own.
+document.documentElement.lang = lang;
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
index b01b9ff5..239658fb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@
     "unknown_setting": "Unknown setting: {{key}}",
     "value_missing": "A value is required",
     "video_gone": "This video is no longer available",
+    "video_preparing": "This video is being prepared. Try again in a few minutes.",
     "view_name_taken": "You already have a view named “{{name}}”",
     "watch_sync_off": "Turn on Plex watch-sync first",
     "weak_password": "The password must be at least {{min}} characters",
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
index b622dbc9..0b9125e7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@
     "unknown_setting": "Ismeretlen beállítás: {{key}}",
     "value_missing": "Adj meg egy értéket",
     "video_gone": "Ez a videó már nem érhető el",
+    "video_preparing": "A videó előkészítése folyamatban. Próbáld újra néhány perc múlva.",
     "view_name_taken": "Már van „{{name}}” nevű nézeted",
     "watch_sync_off": "Előbb kapcsold be a Plex megtekintés-szinkront",
     "weak_password": "A jelszónak legalább {{min}} karakterből kell állnia",