v0.25.4: sync to autorip 0.25.4

- MkvTrack::audio emits A_DTS/MA, A_DTS/HR, A_DTS per the DTS family
  instead of mislabelling everything as A_DTS. Plex transcoder and
  strict hardware decoders reject DTS-HD MA payload under a plain
  A_DTS track.
- PgsParser is now stateful: pairs display PCS with the following
  empty PCS to compute a duration. Frame::duration_ns + PesFrame::duration_ns
  carry it through; MkvMuxer::write_frame gains a final Option<u64>
  parameter that emits BlockGroup + BlockDuration when set. Fixes
  subtitle bitmaps lingering past their intended end-time.

.gitignore

@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ Cargo.lock
 *.swo
 .DS_Store
 .cargo/
+.claude/worktrees/

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,146 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.25.4 (2026-05-20)
+
+### Changed
+
+- Synchronized to autorip 0.25.4 release. No behavioural changes
+  in the library — the v0.25.4 release ships the autorip-side
+  in-container NFS mount option.
+
+## 0.25.3 (2026-05-19)
+
+### Changed
+
+- Synchronized to autorip 0.25.3 release. No behavioural changes
+  in the library — the v0.25.3 release ships the autorip-side
+  parallel mux pipeline.
+
+## 0.25.2 (2026-05-19)
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **DTS-HD codec ID** — `MkvTrack::audio` now emits `A_DTS/MA` for
+  DTS-HD MA and `A_DTS/HR` for DTS-HD HR instead of mislabelling
+  both as plain `A_DTS`. Strict players (Plex transcoder, some
+  hardware decoders, AV receivers) reject lossless DTS-HD MA
+  payload when the track advertises `A_DTS` because the ID
+  implies the 1.5 Mbps core-only bitstream.
+- **PGS subtitle BlockDuration** — the PGS parser is now stateful:
+  it pairs each display PCS with the following empty/clear PCS to
+  compute a duration, and the MKV muxer emits a `BlockGroup` +
+  `BlockDuration` for subtitles that carry one. Without this the
+  last bitmap lingered on screen until the next display set
+  replaced it (or until end of file).
+
+### Changed
+
+- `codec::Frame` gains `duration_ns: Option<u64>` (set by parsers
+  that can compute one; currently only PGS).
+- `pes::PesFrame` gains `duration_ns: Option<u64>` (in-memory only;
+  not part of the on-wire serialization).
+- `MkvMuxer::write_frame` now takes a final `duration_ns: Option<u64>`
+  parameter. When `Some`, the frame is emitted as a `BlockGroup`
+  with `BlockDuration` instead of a `SimpleBlock`.
+
+## 0.25.1 (2026-05-19)
+
+### New — autorip event_fn plumbing
+
+- `PrefetchedSectorSource::new_with_events(reader, extents, batch,
+  halt, event_fn)` — same producer-thread pipeline as `new()`, plus
+  an optional callback fired from the producer with `BytesRead`
+  events after every successful batch. Lets the autorip multipass
+  + resume mux paths drive their progress UI from the highway
+  without polling the consumer side.
+- `build_iso_pipeline` gains an `event_fn` parameter so callers can
+  wire the same callback through one ctor.
+
+### Changed
+
+- `pes::Stream` trait: new default `errors() -> u64` method
+  (default returns 0). Lets `Box<dyn Stream>` callers query the
+  skip-on-error counter without downcasting. `DiscStream` overrides
+  to surface its existing `errors` field.
+
+### Removed (breaking)
+
+- `DiscStream::new_pipeline` and `DiscStream::read_pipeline`
+  deleted. All file-backed mux now uses `build_iso_pipeline` →
+  `PipelinedPesStream`. `DiscStream` is now the single-threaded
+  inline reader used by autorip's live-drive single-pass path only.
+- `DiscStream::demux_thread` and `demux_rx` fields removed.
+- `M2tsStream::open` deleted; `Mode::Read` variant removed.
+  `m2ts://` URLs go through the internal `build_m2ts_pipeline`
+  helper in `mux/resolve.rs` → `PipelinedPesStream`. `M2tsStream`
+  is a write-only sink now.
+
+## 0.25.0 (2026-05-19)
+
+### New — the freemkv mux throughput "highway"
+
+Three-stage pipelined PES read path. Read+decrypt runs on a
+producer thread, M2TS demux runs on a second thread, codec parse
+runs on the caller's thread. Communication between stages is via
+bounded `crossbeam_channel` with a recycled buffer pool — no
+allocations or memcpys in the steady-state hot loop.
+
+**Throughput on the rip1 testbed (Civil_War UHD, 62 GiB ISO →
+`null://`, single-thread caller):**
+
+|                                       |   MB/s |
+| ------------------------------------- | -----: |
+| 0.23.2 baseline                       |     60 |
+| + memchr SIMD HEVC start-code scan    |     69 |
+| + ts.feed no-copy boundary            |     72 |
+| + `PrefetchedSectorSource` (producer) |    124 |
+| + `DemuxThread` (3-stage pipeline)    |    135 |
+| + zero-copy recycled buffer pool      |    148 |
+| + 16 KiB initial PesAssembler buffer  |    162 |
+| + mimalloc allocator in freemkv CLI   |  200+  |
+| **+ warm cache**                      | **660** |
+
+The new public API:
+
+- `libfreemkv::PrefetchedSectorSource` — wraps any `SectorSource`,
+  spawns a producer thread, exposes recycled-buffer channels.
+- `libfreemkv::io::byte_prefetcher::BytePrefetcher` —
+  `std::io::Read` analogue for byte-stream sources (m2ts files,
+  sockets, stdin).
+- `libfreemkv::mux::demux_thread::DemuxThread` — the M2TS demux
+  worker; `spawn_zero_copy` takes either prefetcher's channels.
+- `libfreemkv::PipelinedPesStream` — the read-side `Stream` impl
+  that runs codec parse on the caller thread.
+- `libfreemkv::build_iso_pipeline(reader, title, keys, batch,
+  format, halt)` — the canonical ctor that wires all three stages
+  for an ISO file source.
+
+### Changed (breaking)
+
+- `IsoSectorReader` (the naive duplicate of `FileSectorSource`)
+  deleted. `FileSectorSource` is the sole file-backed sector
+  source; it carries the SEQUENTIAL fadvise hint, the periodic
+  DONTNEED page-cache eviction, and (new) the per-read
+  `readahead()` async-prefetch syscall.
+- `mux::input("iso://...", &opts)` now returns a
+  `PipelinedPesStream`. Function signature
+  `input(&str, &InputOptions) -> io::Result<Box<dyn Stream>>` is
+  unchanged; callers that treated the return value as
+  `Box<dyn Stream>` keep working.
+
+### Other
+
+- `FileSectorSource` exposes per-OS `prefetch()` hooks
+  (`readahead(2)` on Linux, `fcntl(F_RDADVISE)` on macOS, no-op on
+  Windows + other).
+- AACS decrypt thread-pool: env var renamed from
+  `FREEMKV_DECRYPT_THREADS` to `FREEMKV_THREADS`; default raised
+  to `cores.clamp(1, 64)`.
+- `PesAssembler` initial buffer capacity 256 KiB → 16 KiB (avoids
+  the 64-page first-touch fault tax on every PES boundary).
+- HEVC / H.264 `find_start_code` swapped onto
+  `memchr::memmem::find` (SIMD).
+
 ## 0.18.4 (2026-05-09)
 
 ### Build / CI hardening — no library code changes

Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "libfreemkv"
-version = "0.21.2"
+version = "0.25.4"
 edition = "2024"
 rust-version = "1.86"
 license = "AGPL-3.0-only"
@@ -28,6 +28,23 @@ base64 = "0.22.1"
 # under project docs ("Acceptable strings: debug/trace logging"). Consumers (autorip)
 # wire a tracing subscriber and pipe events into the JSONL debug log.
 tracing = "0.1"
+# Bounded MPSC channel with kernel-wakeup send_timeout. Used by `io::pipeline`
+# so the halt-aware send/finish loops can BLOCK on consumer drain instead of
+# polling — the 50 ms poll cadence of the previous mpsc-based impl capped mux
+# throughput at ~1 MB/s (see (internal)/memory/
+# feedback_send_with_halt_poll_throttle.md, 0.21.7).
+crossbeam-channel = "0.5"
+# Persistent work-stealing thread pool for parallel AACS unit
+# decryption. Per-call std::thread::scope spawned fresh OS threads
+# and that overhead dominated for typical batch sizes (60 units).
+# rayon's global pool initialises once on first use.
+rayon = "1"
+# SIMD-accelerated bytestring search. Drives the HEVC/H.264 start-code
+# scan in `mux::codec::h264::find_start_code` — naive byte-by-byte
+# walk is ~500 MB/s single-thread on x86_64; memchr's vectorised
+# `memmem::find` for the 3-byte `00 00 01` needle hits ~5 GB/s on
+# AVX2-capable hosts.
+memchr = "2"
 
 [target.'cfg(target_os = "linux")'.dependencies]
 libc = "0.2"

README.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Part of the [freemkv](https://github.com/freemkv) project.
 
 ```toml
 [dependencies]
-libfreemkv = "0.18"
+libfreemkv = "0.25"
 ```
 
 ## Quick Start
@@ -56,8 +56,7 @@ output.finish()?;
 For damaged discs the library exposes two flat verbs — `Disc::sweep` for the
 forward Pass 1 and `Disc::patch` for retrying bad ranges. The library never
 loops; the multipass policy is the caller's job. See
-[`docs/rip-recovery.md`](docs/rip-recovery.md) and the design notes in
-`(internal)/memory/0_18_redesign.md`.
+[`docs/rip-recovery.md`](docs/rip-recovery.md).
 
 ```rust
 use libfreemkv::{SweepOptions, PatchOptions};

src/decrypt.rs

@@ -3,9 +3,131 @@
 //! Decrypts sectors in-place using resolved keys from disc scanning.
 //! Handles AACS 1.0, AACS 2.0, and CSS transparently.
 //! The caller never sees encrypted data unless explicitly bypassed.
+//!
+//! ## Parallel AACS decrypt
+//!
+//! Each AACS aligned unit (6144 bytes) is decrypted INDEPENDENTLY of
+//! every other unit — per-unit key derivation from the unit_key plus
+//! the unit's own first-16-byte header. There is no cross-unit
+//! dependency, so a buffer of N units can be decrypted on N threads
+//! in parallel via a persistent rayon thread pool.
+//!
+//! Small buffers (< [`PARALLEL_MIN_UNITS`] units) fall through to the
+//! serial path to avoid pool dispatch overhead beating the per-unit
+//! AES work.
+//!
+//! ## Thread-count configuration — three layers
+//!
+//! Resolution order (highest wins):
+//! 1. The most recent [`set_decrypt_threads`] call with `n > 0`.
+//!    Calling this *replaces* the live thread pool — useful for a
+//!    settings-page slider in a long-running daemon.
+//! 2. `FREEMKV_THREADS` env var, if set and `> 0`. Single knob
+//!    covering decrypt today, intended to also drive any future
+//!    input-side / output-side worker pools.
+//! 3. Default: all available cores. Algorithm optimisation comes
+//!    first — we measure single-thread performance to find serial
+//!    bottlenecks before throwing parallelism at it — but once a
+//!    pool is engaged we use the whole box. Hard cap at
+//!    [`MAX_THREADS`] (rayon stack memory).
 
 use crate::aacs;
 use crate::css;
+use rayon::prelude::*;
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+use std::sync::{Arc, RwLock};
+
+/// Minimum units in a buffer before we pay the pool-dispatch cost of
+/// fanning out. Below this, serial is faster.
+const PARALLEL_MIN_UNITS: usize = 8;
+
+/// Hard upper bound on configurable thread count. Anything larger is
+/// almost certainly a misconfiguration; rayon would happily allocate
+/// thousands of worker stacks otherwise.
+pub const MAX_THREADS: usize = 64;
+
+/// Process-wide decrypt thread count override. `0` means "use env
+/// var, else default" — see [`decrypt_threads`] for the resolution
+/// order.
+static DECRYPT_THREADS: AtomicUsize = AtomicUsize::new(0);
+
+/// Current rayon pool. `RwLock<Option<Arc<...>>>` so that
+/// [`set_decrypt_threads`] can swap the pool out without leaking the
+/// old one and without blocking ongoing decrypt work (in-flight calls
+/// hold an `Arc` clone via [`decrypt_pool`] and finish on the old
+/// pool; new calls pick up the new pool).
+static DECRYPT_POOL: RwLock<Option<Arc<rayon::ThreadPool>>> = RwLock::new(None);
+
+/// Configure how many threads to use for AACS unit decryption. A value
+/// of `0` resets to the env / default resolution. `1` forces serial.
+/// `N > 1` builds a new rayon pool of size N and atomically replaces
+/// the live pool.
+///
+/// Thread-safe. Live decrypt calls keep their previously-acquired
+/// pool reference for the rest of the call — no mid-call pool
+/// switch. Subsequent calls see the new pool.
+///
+/// Pool construction is ~ms-scale; safe to call from a settings POST
+/// handler.
+pub fn set_decrypt_threads(n: usize) {
+    let clamped = n.min(MAX_THREADS);
+    DECRYPT_THREADS.store(clamped, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    // Drop the existing pool. Next decrypt_pool() call rebuilds with
+    // the new resolved thread count.
+    if let Ok(mut guard) = DECRYPT_POOL.write() {
+        *guard = None;
+    }
+}
+
+/// Get (or lazily build) the active rayon thread pool. Returns an
+/// `Arc` so in-flight work survives a concurrent
+/// [`set_decrypt_threads`] swap.
+fn decrypt_pool() -> Arc<rayon::ThreadPool> {
+    // Fast path: pool already built.
+    if let Ok(guard) = DECRYPT_POOL.read() {
+        if let Some(pool) = guard.as_ref() {
+            return Arc::clone(pool);
+        }
+    }
+    // Slow path: build a new one under the write lock. Double-check
+    // after acquiring in case another caller built it first.
+    let mut guard = DECRYPT_POOL.write().expect("DECRYPT_POOL RwLock poisoned");
+    if let Some(pool) = guard.as_ref() {
+        return Arc::clone(pool);
+    }
+    let n = decrypt_threads();
+    let pool = Arc::new(
+        rayon::ThreadPoolBuilder::new()
+            .num_threads(n)
+            .thread_name(|i| format!("freemkv-decrypt-{i}"))
+            .build()
+            .expect("rayon decrypt pool build failed"),
+    );
+    *guard = Some(Arc::clone(&pool));
+    pool
+}
+
+/// Current effective decrypt thread count. Resolution order:
+/// 1. Most recent [`set_decrypt_threads`] value (if > 0)
+/// 2. `FREEMKV_THREADS` env var (if set and > 0)
+/// 3. Default: all available cores, capped at [`MAX_THREADS`].
+pub fn decrypt_threads() -> usize {
+    let explicit = DECRYPT_THREADS.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+    if explicit > 0 {
+        return explicit;
+    }
+    let env = std::env::var("FREEMKV_THREADS")
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|v| v.parse::<usize>().ok())
+        .unwrap_or(0);
+    if env > 0 {
+        return env.min(MAX_THREADS);
+    }
+    let cores = std::thread::available_parallelism()
+        .map(|n| n.get())
+        .unwrap_or(2);
+    cores.clamp(1, MAX_THREADS)
+}
 
 /// Resolved decryption state from disc scanning.
 /// Passed to `decrypt_sectors()` — the caller doesn't need to know
@@ -57,29 +179,44 @@ pub fn decrypt_sectors(
                     return Err(crate::error::Error::DecryptFailed);
                 }
             };
-            let rdk = read_data_key.as_ref();
+            let rdk: Option<[u8; 16]> = *read_data_key;
             let unit_len = aacs::ALIGNED_UNIT_LEN;
+            let nthreads = decrypt_threads();
+            let chunks: Vec<&mut [u8]> = buf.chunks_mut(unit_len).collect();
+            let nunits = chunks.len();
 
-            for chunk in buf.chunks_mut(unit_len) {
+            // Per-unit decrypt closure. The is_unit_encrypted check is
+            // a byte-0 heuristic; on a misfire we snapshot+restore via
+            // the original bytes so non-m2ts (e.g. MPLS/CLPI nav files)
+            // survive. See test `nav_file_unit_survives_decrypt_attempt`.
+            let decrypt_one = |chunk: &mut [u8]| {
                 if chunk.len() == unit_len && aacs::is_unit_encrypted(chunk) {
-                    // `is_unit_encrypted` is a byte-0 heuristic: it fires on any
-                    // unit whose first byte has the top 2 bits set, which is
-                    // correct for m2ts source packets (where those bits are the
-                    // copy-control marker) but false-positives on any other binary
-                    // data with similarly-shaped first bytes — notably MPLS/CLPI
-                    // navigation files that begin with ASCII magic ('M', 'H'…)
-                    // and survive sweep mixed in with encrypted m2ts payloads.
-                    // `decrypt_unit_full` self-checks via TS-sync verification and
-                    // returns false on a misfire, but it has already mutated the
-                    // chunk by then. Snapshot and restore on verification failure
-                    // — same pattern `decrypt_unit_try_keys` uses for multi-key
-                    // discs. Real m2ts units verify and stay decrypted; nav-file
-                    // sectors get scrambled briefly and then put back as-was.
                     let original: Vec<u8> = chunk.to_vec();
-                    if !aacs::decrypt_unit_full(chunk, &uk, rdk) {
+                    if !aacs::decrypt_unit_full(chunk, &uk, rdk.as_ref()) {
                         chunk.copy_from_slice(&original);
                     }
                 }
+            };
+
+            if nthreads <= 1 || nunits < PARALLEL_MIN_UNITS {
+                // Serial path: avoids thread-pool overhead for tiny
+                // buffers; also the only path when caller pinned
+                // single-threaded via FREEMKV_THREADS=1.
+                for chunk in chunks {
+                    decrypt_one(chunk);
+                }
+            } else {
+                // Parallel path via rayon's persistent global pool.
+                // The pool is built once on first use (lazy_static-style)
+                // and reused across every decrypt_sectors call — no
+                // per-call OS thread spawn, no thread-creation latency
+                // amortised per batch. Each unit decrypts independently
+                // (own key derivation), so par_iter is sound.
+                decrypt_pool().install(|| {
+                    chunks.into_par_iter().for_each(|chunk| {
+                        decrypt_one(chunk);
+                    });
+                });
             }
         }
         DecryptKeys::Css { title_key } => {

src/halt.rs

@@ -71,6 +71,20 @@ impl Default for Halt {
     }
 }
 
+/// Shared poll interval for halt-aware loops.
+///
+/// `bounded_syscall` checks the cancellation flag and the deadline
+/// every [`POLL_INTERVAL`] while blocked on a worker; the same
+/// cadence governs `Pipeline::send_with_halt`'s `try_send` retry.
+/// 250 ms is the sweet spot between responsiveness (operator presses
+/// Stop, sees it take effect within ~quarter-second) and waste
+/// (atomic load + clock read is cheap but not free at thousands of
+/// hertz).
+///
+/// Centralised here so the half-dozen halt-polling loops across `io`
+/// can't drift apart silently.
+pub const POLL_INTERVAL: std::time::Duration = std::time::Duration::from_millis(250);
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;

src/io/bounded.rs

@@ -54,15 +54,7 @@ use std::sync::mpsc::{RecvTimeoutError, sync_channel};
 use std::thread;
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
-use crate::halt::Halt;
-
-/// Granularity of the halt poll. The receive loop wakes every
-/// [`POLL_INTERVAL`] to (a) check the [`Halt`] token, then (b) check
-/// the overall deadline, then go back to waiting. 250 ms is a
-/// pragmatic balance: short enough that human-driven `/api/stop` feels
-/// responsive (< 0.5 s p99), long enough that the polling overhead is
-/// negligible against multi-second syscalls.
-const POLL_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(250);
+use crate::halt::{Halt, POLL_INTERVAL};
 
 /// Failure outcome from a bounded syscall wrapper.
 #[derive(Debug)]

src/io/byte_prefetcher.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+//! `BytePrefetcher` — `std::io::Read` analogue of
+//! [`crate::sector::PrefetchedSectorSource`].
+//!
+//! Spawns a producer thread that fills a bounded pool of `Vec<u8>`
+//! chunks from the underlying reader and ships them through a
+//! channel; the consumer pulls filled chunks, uses them, and sends
+//! the empty `Vec<u8>` back through a recycle channel so the
+//! producer can re-fill in place. Result: zero allocations and zero
+//! cross-thread frees in the steady-state hot loop.
+//!
+//! This is the byte-stream half of the freemkv mux highway —
+//! `BytePrefetcher` feeds [`crate::mux::demux_thread::DemuxThread`]
+//! for `m2ts://`, `network://`, `stdio://`, and any other stream
+//! whose source is an `io::Read` rather than a `SectorSource`.
+
+use crate::halt::Halt;
+use crossbeam_channel::{Receiver, Sender, bounded};
+use std::io::Read;
+use std::thread::JoinHandle;
+
+/// Items flowing through the forward channel.
+pub type Batch = std::io::Result<Vec<u8>>;
+
+/// Forward channel depth — how many filled buffers the producer can
+/// stay ahead by. Two is enough to absorb a moderate consumer stall
+/// without piling up bytes.
+const FORWARD_DEPTH: usize = 2;
+
+/// Recycle channel depth = forward + 1 so the producer always has at
+/// least one buffer to fill while the consumer holds one.
+const RECYCLE_DEPTH: usize = FORWARD_DEPTH + 1;
+
+/// Default chunk size — 16 MiB matches the ISO-mux sector batch and
+/// is large enough that per-chunk overhead is amortised; small
+/// enough that the in-flight memory footprint stays bounded.
+pub const DEFAULT_CHUNK_BYTES: usize = 16 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+/// Returned from [`BytePrefetcher::into_channels`]. Owns the
+/// producer-thread join handle so dropping the shell joins the
+/// producer.
+pub struct PrefetchShell {
+    producer: Option<JoinHandle<()>>,
+}
+
+impl Drop for PrefetchShell {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if let Some(h) = self.producer.take() {
+            let _ = h.join();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Spawned byte prefetcher. Drop joins the producer thread.
+pub struct BytePrefetcher {
+    rx: Receiver<Batch>,
+    recycle_tx: Sender<Vec<u8>>,
+    producer: Option<JoinHandle<()>>,
+}
+
+impl BytePrefetcher {
+    /// Spawn the producer thread. `reader` must be `Send` because it
+    /// moves into the thread. `chunk_bytes` is the size of each
+    /// recycled buffer; pick the natural batch size of the
+    /// downstream demuxer (16 MiB for the BD-TS mux pipeline).
+    pub fn new<R: Read + Send + 'static>(
+        mut reader: R,
+        chunk_bytes: usize,
+        halt: Option<Halt>,
+    ) -> Self {
+        let (tx, rx) = bounded::<Batch>(FORWARD_DEPTH);
+        let (recycle_tx, recycle_rx) = bounded::<Vec<u8>>(RECYCLE_DEPTH);
+
+        // Seed the recycle pool. Without these the first
+        // `recycle_rx.recv()` would block forever (no consumer has
+        // returned a buffer yet).
+        for _ in 0..RECYCLE_DEPTH {
+            let _ = recycle_tx.send(vec![0u8; chunk_bytes]);
+        }
+
+        let producer = std::thread::Builder::new()
+            .name("freemkv-byte-prefetch".into())
+            .spawn(move || {
+                loop {
+                    if halt.as_ref().map(|h| h.is_cancelled()).unwrap_or(false) {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    let mut buf = match recycle_rx.recv() {
+                        Ok(b) => b,
+                        Err(_) => return, // consumer dropped both channels
+                    };
+                    // Re-expose the full extent (previous iteration
+                    // may have truncated after a short read).
+                    if buf.len() < chunk_bytes {
+                        buf.resize(chunk_bytes, 0);
+                    } else {
+                        // SAFETY: capacity is at least chunk_bytes
+                        // after construction.
+                        unsafe { buf.set_len(chunk_bytes) };
+                    }
+                    // Read up to one full chunk. Short reads are
+                    // valid and common — pipe `truncate` so the
+                    // consumer sees only the bytes that arrived.
+                    let n = match reader.read(&mut buf[..]) {
+                        Ok(0) => return, // EOF — drop tx, consumer sees RecvError
+                        Ok(n) => n,
+                        Err(e) => {
+                            let _ = tx.send(Err(e));
+                            return;
+                        }
+                    };
+                    buf.truncate(n);
+                    if tx.send(Ok(buf)).is_err() {
+                        return; // consumer dropped
+                    }
+                }
+            })
+            .expect("freemkv-byte-prefetch thread spawn failed");
+
+        Self {
+            rx,
+            recycle_tx,
+            producer: Some(producer),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Peel off the channels for zero-copy pipeline consumption. The
+    /// caller (typically [`crate::mux::demux_thread::DemuxThread`])
+    /// drains `rx`, runs the demuxer in place on each filled buffer,
+    /// and recycles back through `recycle_tx`.
+    pub fn into_channels(self) -> (Receiver<Batch>, Sender<Vec<u8>>, PrefetchShell) {
+        let mut me = self;
+        let producer = me.producer.take();
+        let rx = me.rx.clone();
+        let recycle = me.recycle_tx.clone();
+        std::mem::forget(me);
+        (rx, recycle, PrefetchShell { producer })
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for BytePrefetcher {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if let Some(h) = self.producer.take() {
+            let _ = h.join();
+        }
+    }
+}

src/io/file_sector_source/linux.rs

@@ -1,18 +1,65 @@
-//! Linux: kernel readahead hint for the ISO file.
+//! Linux read-side platform hooks: sequential-access hint at open +
+//! periodic page-cache eviction during streaming reads.
 //!
-//! Originally `POSIX_FADV_SEQUENTIAL` to widen the readahead window.
-//! On NFS that turned out to cause aggressive multi-MB readahead bursts
-//! that saturated the TCP connection and starved concurrent writes
-//! during mux — observed empirically as a ~3× drop in mux throughput
-//! on the rip1/unraid-1 setup (0.21.0 vs 0.20.7 baseline). The kernel's
-//! default readahead (~128 KiB on Linux) interleaves more naturally
-//! with the muxer's concurrent NFS writes, so we no longer issue any
-//! hint here. The per-OS file stays so the convention is honoured and
-//! we can re-enable a hint cleanly if a different storage path benefits.
+//! ## Why both
+//!
+//! `POSIX_FADV_SEQUENTIAL` at open widens the kernel's readahead window
+//! so each pread aggregates into fewer NFS round-trips. `DONTNEED` on
+//! the consumed window (called periodically by the caller) drops the
+//! already-read pages from the page cache so an 85 GB streaming ISO
+//! read doesn't fill memory and starve concurrent writes (the MKV
+//! output during mux). Together they mirror the write-side
+//! WritebackPipeline's policy.
+//!
+//! ## History
+//!
+//! Pre-Phase-1 (0.20.7 baseline) had both. Phase 1's introduction of
+//! `FileSectorSource` silently dropped the read-side DONTNEED, and
+//! 0.21.2's revert of `SEQUENTIAL` (mistakenly attributing a regression
+//! to it) removed the hint. Net effect: 85 GB of ISO reads pinned in
+//! the page cache + no readahead widening → mux throughput collapse
+//! from 18 MB/s historical to 2.7-8 MB/s on 0.21.x. Restored in 0.21.6.
 
 use std::fs::File;
+use std::os::unix::io::AsRawFd;
 
-pub(super) fn hint_sequential(_file: &File, _len_bytes: u64) {
-    // No-op: see module-level comment. Kernel default readahead is
-    // what we want on NFS-backed ISOs, which is the dominant case.
+pub(super) fn hint_sequential(file: &File, _len_bytes: u64) {
+    // Best-effort: return value ignored. A fadvise failure has no
+    // user-observable consequence.
+    unsafe {
+        libc::posix_fadvise(file.as_raw_fd(), 0, 0, libc::POSIX_FADV_SEQUENTIAL);
+    }
+}
+
+/// Drop pages in the half-open byte range `[start, start+len)` from
+/// the page cache. Called periodically by `read_sectors` to bound the
+/// read-side page cache pressure.
+pub(super) fn drop_window(file: &File, start: u64, len: u64) {
+    unsafe {
+        libc::posix_fadvise(
+            file.as_raw_fd(),
+            start as i64,
+            len as i64,
+            libc::POSIX_FADV_DONTNEED,
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+/// Async-prefetch `len` bytes at `offset` into the page cache. The
+/// kernel `readahead(2)` syscall queues the I/O and returns
+/// immediately — it does NOT wait for completion. Called right after
+/// each consumed read so the next batch's I/O overlaps with the
+/// caller's processing of the current batch (decrypt + demux + mux).
+///
+/// Without this hint, with a synchronous demux consumer running at
+/// ~50 MB/s and a single-spindle disk capable of ~150 MB/s, the disk
+/// sits idle ~70% of each iteration because kernel readahead alone
+/// (capped at `/sys/block/<dev>/queue/read_ahead_kb`, default 128 KB)
+/// can only pre-stage a tiny slice of the next batch. An explicit
+/// `readahead()` of the same size as the current batch tells the
+/// kernel to queue the full next-batch read now.
+pub(super) fn prefetch(file: &File, offset: u64, len: u64) {
+    unsafe {
+        libc::readahead(file.as_raw_fd(), offset as i64, len as usize);
+    }
 }

src/io/file_sector_source/macos.rs

@@ -36,3 +36,27 @@ pub(super) fn hint_sequential(file: &File, len_bytes: u64) {
         libc::fcntl(file.as_raw_fd(), F_RDADVISE, &mut ra);
     }
 }
+
+/// macOS has no direct `POSIX_FADV_DONTNEED` equivalent for a byte
+/// range. `fcntl(F_NOCACHE)` would disable caching globally on the fd
+/// (too coarse — we want the unread region to still benefit). Best
+/// approximation: no-op. macOS's unified buffer cache is generally
+/// less prone to the pin-everything pathology that triggers the
+/// regression on Linux NFS clients.
+pub(super) fn drop_window(_file: &File, _start: u64, _len: u64) {}
+
+/// Async-prefetch the byte range `[offset, offset+len)`. macOS uses
+/// the same `fcntl(F_RDADVISE, &radvisory)` primitive as the open-
+/// time sequential hint, just targeted at a moving window instead of
+/// the whole file. The kernel queues I/O for the requested range and
+/// returns immediately.
+pub(super) fn prefetch(file: &File, offset: u64, len: u64) {
+    let bytes = (len as i64).min(RDADVISE_MAX_BYTES);
+    let mut ra = RadAdvisory {
+        ra_offset: offset as libc::off_t,
+        ra_count: bytes as libc::c_int,
+    };
+    unsafe {
+        libc::fcntl(file.as_raw_fd(), F_RDADVISE, &mut ra);
+    }
+}

src/io/file_sector_source/mod.rs

@@ -1,39 +1,43 @@
 //! [`FileSectorSource`] — read 2048-byte sectors from an ISO file on
-//! disk, with an internal 32 MiB read-ahead buffer.
+//! disk via direct `seek + read_exact` (`pread`-equivalent) calls,
+//! letting the kernel's own readahead policy manage prefetch.
 //!
-//! ## Why the buffer
+//! ## Why no app-level buffer
 //!
-//! On NFS-mounted ISOs, an unbuffered `pread(2048)` per sector pays an
-//! NFS round-trip for every sector. With `rsize=1 MiB` and a 100-150 ms
-//! NFS RTT, that's three orders of magnitude more round trips than
-//! necessary — the muxer goes read-bound on every read, even though
-//! the local NFS client could deliver MB/s on bigger requests.
+//! Pre-0.21.3 this source held a 32 MiB (later 4 MiB) read-ahead
+//! buffer to amortise per-sector NFS round-trips. Empirically that
+//! buffer hurt: 32 MiB refills bursted the NFS TCP connection hard
+//! enough to starve the concurrent writer, and even a 4 MiB window
+//! gave the kernel less freedom to pipeline reads with writes. Direct
+//! pread per call lets Linux's readahead widen as it detects the
+//! sequential pattern, and naturally interleaves with writeback.
 //!
-//! Internally this source keeps a [`READAHEAD_BUF_BYTES`] (32 MiB)
-//! window pre-read from the file. `read_sectors(lba, count)` slices
-//! into the window if `[lba, lba+count)` is contained in it; otherwise
-//! the window is refilled (full-size aligned to the requested LBA's
-//! buffer position).
+//! ## DONTNEED on the consumed window
 //!
-//! ## Access pattern assumption
+//! Without page-cache eviction an 85 GB streaming ISO read pins the
+//! entire file in memory, starves the concurrent writer, and collapses
+//! mux throughput (observed: 2.7 MB/s mux on 0.21.5 vs. 70 MB/s
+//! isolated NFS reads). Every [`READ_DROP_CHUNK_BYTES`] of consumed
+//! bytes we call `posix_fadvise(DONTNEED)` over that window, mirroring
+//! the write-side [`crate::io::writeback::WritebackPipeline`] policy.
 //!
-//! The buffer is sized for **forward-sequential** reads (sweep, mux).
-//! Reverse-mode patch is range-local, so a refill per range works out
-//! fine (the buffer covers the whole range for typical bad-range
-//! sizes). Random-access reads thrash the buffer — at which point the
-//! 32 MiB pre-read is wasted work. We accept that: the use case is
-//! mux + sweep, both forward-sequential.
-//!
-//! Backward seeks rebuffer from the new LBA; partial reads at EOF
-//! return only the bytes that exist (the underlying file is shorter
-//! than a full buffer slot).
-//!
-//! ## Platform open hints
+//! ## Platform open hint
 //!
 //! On `open()` each platform issues its "sequential access expected"
-//! hint to the kernel so OS-level readahead widens. The hint lives in
-//! a per-OS sibling module ([`linux::hint_sequential`] et al.) — no
-//! inline `#[cfg]` in this file.
+//! hint so OS-level readahead widens. The hint and the DONTNEED call
+//! live in per-OS sibling modules ([`linux::hint_sequential`] et al.)
+//! — no inline `#[cfg]` in this file.
+//!
+//! ## Read-ahead prefetch
+//!
+//! After every consumed read we issue an OS-level prefetch hint for
+//! the next equivalent-sized window (`platform::prefetch`). The
+//! kernel queues that I/O asynchronously and returns immediately, so
+//! the next batch's read overlaps with the caller's processing of
+//! the current batch (decrypt + demux + mux). Without this the disk
+//! sits idle ~70% of each iteration because kernel SEQUENTIAL
+//! readahead alone (capped at `read_ahead_kb`, default 128 KB) is
+//! far smaller than our 16 MiB app-level batch.
 
 #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
 mod linux;
@@ -60,51 +64,48 @@ use std::path::Path;
 use crate::error::{Error, Result};
 use crate::sector::SectorSource;
 
-/// Internal read-ahead buffer size. 32 MiB amortises one NFS round
-/// trip across ~16 k sectors — three orders of magnitude fewer trips
-/// than per-sector pread, and large enough to coast through a typical
-/// NFS server commit blip.
-///
-/// 0.21.2: shrunk from 32 MiB → 4 MiB. On NFS-backed ISOs with
-/// concurrent NFS writes (the mux phase), a 32 MiB refill bursts the
-/// TCP connection hard enough to starve the writer thread, observed
-/// empirically as a ~3× drop in sustained mux throughput on the
-/// rip1/unraid-1 setup. 4 MiB matches `rsize=1 MiB` × 4 round-trips
-/// and interleaves cleanly with writes.
-///
-/// Tweakable. Named const, not a magic number.
-pub const READAHEAD_BUF_BYTES: usize = 4 * 1024 * 1024;
-
 const SECTOR_SIZE: usize = 2048;
-/// Sectors per refill: [`READAHEAD_BUF_BYTES`] / [`SECTOR_SIZE`]. The
-/// buffer always tries to hold this many, except at the tail of the
-/// file where less data exists.
-const BUF_SECTORS: u32 = (READAHEAD_BUF_BYTES / SECTOR_SIZE) as u32;
 
-/// SectorSource backed by a file (ISO image) with an internal
-/// `READAHEAD_BUF_BYTES`-sized read-ahead window.
+/// Bytes-read threshold per `posix_fadvise(DONTNEED)` drop on the
+/// read side. Mirrors `WRITEBACK_CHUNK_BYTES` so the read-side page
+/// cache stays bounded the same way the write side does.
 ///
-/// `read_sectors` is satisfied from the buffer when possible; otherwise
-/// a full-buffer refill is issued at the requested LBA's position and
-/// the call is re-tried against the freshly populated window.
+/// 32 MiB is the empirically tuned value on the rip1 test bed (single
+/// 7200rpm HDD via SATA): smaller windows (8 / 16 MiB) shorten the
+/// kernel-readahead overlap and slow the producer; larger windows
+/// (64 / 128 MiB) let the page cache pin enough of the ISO to
+/// pressure concurrent writes. Override via `FREEMKV_READ_DROP_CHUNK_MIB`.
+const READ_DROP_CHUNK_BYTES_DEFAULT: u64 = 32 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+fn read_drop_chunk_bytes() -> u64 {
+    std::env::var("FREEMKV_READ_DROP_CHUNK_MIB")
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|v| v.parse::<u64>().ok())
+        .filter(|&n| n > 0)
+        .map(|n| n * 1024 * 1024)
+        .unwrap_or(READ_DROP_CHUNK_BYTES_DEFAULT)
+}
+
+/// SectorSource backed by a file (ISO image). Every `read_sectors`
+/// call is a direct `seek + read_exact` against the underlying file
+/// — kernel readahead handles prefetch, and every
+/// [`READ_DROP_CHUNK_BYTES_DEFAULT`] bytes of consumed data the
+/// platform's `DONTNEED` hook drops the consumed window from the
+/// page cache to bound memory pressure.
 pub struct FileSectorSource {
     file: File,
     /// Total file size in sectors. Constant after construction;
     /// surfaced via [`SectorSource::capacity_sectors`].
     capacity: u32,
-    /// Heap-allocated read-ahead buffer. Boxed slice (not `Vec`) so
-    /// the allocation is sized exactly once and the layout is
-    /// stable. Length is at most [`READAHEAD_BUF_BYTES`].
-    buf: Box<[u8]>,
-    /// First LBA covered by `buf`. `buf_len_sectors == 0` means the
-    /// buffer is empty (e.g. immediately after construction or a
-    /// backward seek); the value of `buf_start_lba` is then
-    /// meaningless.
-    buf_start_lba: u32,
-    /// Number of valid sectors in `buf`. `[buf_start_lba,
-    /// buf_start_lba + buf_len_sectors)` is the half-open LBA range
-    /// the buffer currently caches.
-    buf_len_sectors: u32,
+    /// Bytes read since the last DONTNEED drop. Drives the per-
+    /// [`read_drop_chunk_bytes`] page-cache eviction in read_sectors.
+    bytes_read_since_drop: u64,
+    /// File offset at which the current drop window starts. The next
+    /// DONTNEED drops from `drop_window_start` for
+    /// `bytes_read_since_drop` bytes.
+    drop_window_start: u64,
+    /// Cached drop chunk size (resolved from env once at open).
+    drop_chunk_bytes: u64,
 }
 
 impl FileSectorSource {
@@ -133,55 +134,14 @@ impl FileSectorSource {
         // FS doesn't honour it).
         platform::hint_sequential(&file, len);
 
-        // Pre-allocate the buffer once. `vec![0u8; N].into_boxed_slice()`
-        // is the canonical way to fix the allocation size up-front;
-        // `Vec::with_capacity` would leave `len == 0` and force callers
-        // to do unsafe length manipulation to write into it.
-        let buf = vec![0u8; READAHEAD_BUF_BYTES].into_boxed_slice();
-
         Ok(Self {
             file,
             capacity,
-            buf,
-            buf_start_lba: 0,
-            buf_len_sectors: 0,
+            bytes_read_since_drop: 0,
+            drop_window_start: 0,
+            drop_chunk_bytes: read_drop_chunk_bytes(),
         })
     }
-
-    /// True if `[lba, lba + count)` is wholly inside the current
-    /// buffer window. `count == 0` is vacuously true.
-    fn buffer_covers(&self, lba: u32, count: u32) -> bool {
-        if self.buf_len_sectors == 0 {
-            return false;
-        }
-        let end = match lba.checked_add(count) {
-            Some(e) => e,
-            None => return false,
-        };
-        let buf_end = self.buf_start_lba.saturating_add(self.buf_len_sectors);
-        lba >= self.buf_start_lba && end <= buf_end
-    }
-
-    /// Refill the buffer so it starts at `lba`. Read as many sectors
-    /// as we have buffer space AND file capacity for. Caller has
-    /// already checked `lba < capacity`.
-    fn refill(&mut self, lba: u32) -> Result<()> {
-        debug_assert!(lba < self.capacity, "refill past capacity");
-        // Don't read past EOF — clamp the request to remaining
-        // sectors. partial-buffer-at-EOF behaviour is intentional.
-        let want = BUF_SECTORS.min(self.capacity - lba);
-        let want_bytes = want as usize * SECTOR_SIZE;
-        let offset = lba as u64 * SECTOR_SIZE as u64;
-        self.file
-            .seek(SeekFrom::Start(offset))
-            .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
-        self.file
-            .read_exact(&mut self.buf[..want_bytes])
-            .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
-        self.buf_start_lba = lba;
-        self.buf_len_sectors = want;
-        Ok(())
-    }
 }
 
 impl SectorSource for FileSectorSource {
@@ -207,33 +167,35 @@ impl SectorSource for FileSectorSource {
         if count == 0 {
             return Ok(0);
         }
-        // Refill if the requested range isn't entirely buffered.
-        // `buffer_covers` also handles the empty-buffer case
-        // (buf_len_sectors == 0).
-        if !self.buffer_covers(lba, count) {
-            // A request larger than the buffer itself can never fit;
-            // fall back to a one-shot direct pread for that pathological
-            // case so callers can't deadlock the source.
-            if count > BUF_SECTORS {
-                let offset = lba as u64 * SECTOR_SIZE as u64;
-                self.file
-                    .seek(SeekFrom::Start(offset))
-                    .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
-                self.file
-                    .read_exact(&mut out[..bytes])
-                    .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
-                // Invalidate buffer state — we bypassed it, the
-                // window is no longer authoritative for this LBA.
-                self.buf_len_sectors = 0;
-                return Ok(bytes);
-            }
-            self.refill(lba)?;
+        let offset = lba as u64 * SECTOR_SIZE as u64;
+        self.file
+            .seek(SeekFrom::Start(offset))
+            .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
+        self.file
+            .read_exact(&mut out[..bytes])
+            .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
+
+        // Queue the next batch's read with the kernel before the
+        // caller starts processing what we just returned. readahead()
+        // is non-blocking — it queues I/O and returns, so the kernel
+        // pulls those pages into cache while the consumer (decrypt +
+        // demux + mux) runs. Next read_sectors call hits a warm cache.
+        platform::prefetch(&self.file, offset + bytes as u64, bytes as u64);
+
+        // Periodic page-cache eviction on the read side. Without
+        // this, an 85 GB streaming ISO read pins the entire file in
+        // the kernel page cache, which starves concurrent writes and
+        // collapses mux throughput. Mirrors the write-side
+        // WritebackPipeline's DONTNEED policy.
+        self.bytes_read_since_drop += bytes as u64;
+        if self.bytes_read_since_drop >= self.drop_chunk_bytes {
+            let drop_start = self.drop_window_start;
+            let drop_len = self.bytes_read_since_drop;
+            platform::drop_window(&self.file, drop_start, drop_len);
+            self.drop_window_start = drop_start + drop_len;
+            self.bytes_read_since_drop = 0;
         }
 
-        // Slice the buffer at the requested LBA's offset within it.
-        let off_sectors = (lba - self.buf_start_lba) as usize;
-        let off_bytes = off_sectors * SECTOR_SIZE;
-        out[..bytes].copy_from_slice(&self.buf[off_bytes..off_bytes + bytes]);
         Ok(bytes)
     }
 }
@@ -258,11 +220,15 @@ mod tests {
         f.flush().unwrap();
     }
 
+    /// Sectors used by spanning-boundary tests. Pick something that
+    /// exercises multi-megabyte reads without making test ISOs huge.
+    /// 8192 sectors = 16 MiB — large enough to cross any readahead
+    /// chunk size we set the kernel hint to.
+    const TEST_SPAN_SECTORS: u32 = 8192;
+
     #[test]
     fn sequential_reads_match_file() {
-        // Two full buffer windows + a tail = exercise refill across
-        // boundaries.
-        let total = BUF_SECTORS * 2 + 17;
+        let total = TEST_SPAN_SECTORS * 2 + 17;
         let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
         let path = dir.path().join("seq.iso");
         make_iso(&path, total);
@@ -282,28 +248,15 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn multi_sector_read_spanning_buffer_boundary() {
-        // A read that lands exactly on the last sector of the buffer
-        // plus the first sector of the next refill must rebuffer
-        // mid-read. Bypass path triggers when count > BUF_SECTORS; we
-        // want the in-window path, so count stays small but
-        // straddles the boundary.
-        let total = BUF_SECTORS * 2;
+    fn multi_sector_read_across_chunk_boundary() {
+        let total = TEST_SPAN_SECTORS * 2;
         let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
         let path = dir.path().join("span.iso");
         make_iso(&path, total);
 
         let mut src = FileSectorSource::open(&path).unwrap();
 
-        // Prime: read sector 0 to populate buffer #0.
-        let mut got = vec![0u8; SECTOR_SIZE];
-        src.read_sectors(0, 1, &mut got, false).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(src.buf_start_lba, 0);
-        assert!(src.buf_len_sectors > 0);
-
-        // Now read 4 sectors crossing the buffer boundary at
-        // BUF_SECTORS - 2 → BUF_SECTORS + 1. Spans the refill.
-        let span_lba = BUF_SECTORS - 2;
+        let span_lba = TEST_SPAN_SECTORS - 2;
         let mut buf4 = vec![0u8; SECTOR_SIZE * 4];
         src.read_sectors(span_lba, 4, &mut buf4, false).unwrap();
         for i in 0..4 {
@@ -316,10 +269,10 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn backward_seek_rebuffers() {
-        // Read forward across two windows, then jump back to sector
-        // 0. Buffer must refill from the start.
-        let total = BUF_SECTORS * 2 + 5;
+    fn backward_seek_reads_correct_bytes() {
+        // Read forward then jump back: the SectorSource contract is
+        // byte-correctness regardless of access pattern.
+        let total = TEST_SPAN_SECTORS * 2 + 5;
         let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
         let path = dir.path().join("back.iso");
         make_iso(&path, total);
@@ -327,26 +280,17 @@ mod tests {
         let mut src = FileSectorSource::open(&path).unwrap();
         let mut got = vec![0u8; SECTOR_SIZE];
 
-        // Forward to the second window.
-        src.read_sectors(BUF_SECTORS + 1, 1, &mut got, false)
+        src.read_sectors(TEST_SPAN_SECTORS + 1, 1, &mut got, false)
             .unwrap();
-        let start_after_forward = src.buf_start_lba;
-        assert!(start_after_forward >= BUF_SECTORS);
-
-        // Backward to sector 0. The current buffer doesn't cover it
-        // → refill must happen.
         src.read_sectors(0, 1, &mut got, false).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(src.buf_start_lba, 0);
         assert!(got.iter().all(|b| *b == 0));
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn partial_buffer_at_eof() {
-        // File is smaller than one buffer window. The buffer must
-        // populate with only the available sectors and reads must
-        // still succeed.
+    fn read_at_eof_returns_correct_bytes() {
+        // File smaller than the readahead chunk — reads near EOF must
+        // still return correct bytes.
         let total: u32 = 100;
-        assert!(total < BUF_SECTORS);
         let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
         let path = dir.path().join("small.iso");
         make_iso(&path, total);
@@ -355,38 +299,27 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(src.capacity_sectors(), total);
 
         let mut got = vec![0u8; SECTOR_SIZE];
-        // First read triggers refill clamped to `total`.
         src.read_sectors(0, 1, &mut got, false).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(src.buf_len_sectors, total);
-
-        // Read the very last sector — still inside the buffer.
         src.read_sectors(total - 1, 1, &mut got, false).unwrap();
         let expected = ((total - 1) & 0xff) as u8;
         assert!(got.iter().all(|b| *b == expected));
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn oversized_read_bypasses_buffer() {
-        // A request larger than the buffer must not deadlock the
-        // refill (which only loads BUF_SECTORS at a time). Bypass
-        // path handles it via direct pread.
-        let total = BUF_SECTORS + 100;
+    fn large_single_read() {
+        // A multi-MB single read must work — the implementation has
+        // no app-level chunking, so this just exercises the direct
+        // pread path on a larger request.
+        let total = TEST_SPAN_SECTORS + 100;
         let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
-        let path = dir.path().join("over.iso");
+        let path = dir.path().join("big.iso");
         make_iso(&path, total);
 
         let mut src = FileSectorSource::open(&path).unwrap();
-        // Read more than BUF_SECTORS in one call. count is u16, so we
-        // can't actually exceed BUF_SECTORS (16k) — but the path also
-        // triggers via `out.len() / SECTOR_SIZE > BUF_SECTORS` check
-        // implicitly because count > BUF_SECTORS. BUF_SECTORS for
-        // 32 MiB is 16384, which does fit in u16 (max 65535). Cap
-        // at BUF_SECTORS + 1 to exercise the bypass.
-        let req = (BUF_SECTORS + 1) as u16;
+        let req = (TEST_SPAN_SECTORS + 1) as u16;
         let req_bytes = req as usize * SECTOR_SIZE;
         let mut big = vec![0u8; req_bytes];
         src.read_sectors(0, req, &mut big, false).unwrap();
-        // Spot-check sector 0 and the last requested sector.
         assert!(big[..SECTOR_SIZE].iter().all(|b| *b == 0));
         let last_lba = req as u32 - 1;
         let exp = (last_lba & 0xff) as u8;
@@ -397,4 +330,32 @@ mod tests {
                 .all(|b| *b == exp)
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn drop_chunk_size_env_override() {
+        // Explicit 8 MiB via env var.
+        // SAFETY: tests in this crate are single-threaded per the
+        // default cargo test harness, but std::env::set_var is
+        // declared `unsafe` since Rust 2024 (it can race with other
+        // threads / TLS). For a test that runs in-process before any
+        // FileSectorSource construction this is safe in practice.
+        unsafe {
+            std::env::set_var("FREEMKV_READ_DROP_CHUNK_MIB", "8");
+        }
+        assert_eq!(read_drop_chunk_bytes(), 8 * 1024 * 1024);
+
+        unsafe {
+            std::env::remove_var("FREEMKV_READ_DROP_CHUNK_MIB");
+        }
+        assert_eq!(read_drop_chunk_bytes(), READ_DROP_CHUNK_BYTES_DEFAULT);
+
+        // Garbage env value falls back to default.
+        unsafe {
+            std::env::set_var("FREEMKV_READ_DROP_CHUNK_MIB", "not-a-number");
+        }
+        assert_eq!(read_drop_chunk_bytes(), READ_DROP_CHUNK_BYTES_DEFAULT);
+        unsafe {
+            std::env::remove_var("FREEMKV_READ_DROP_CHUNK_MIB");
+        }
+    }
 }

src/io/file_sector_source/other.rs

@@ -5,3 +5,7 @@
 use std::fs::File;
 
 pub(super) fn hint_sequential(_file: &File, _len_bytes: u64) {}
+
+pub(super) fn drop_window(_file: &File, _start: u64, _len: u64) {}
+
+pub(super) fn prefetch(_file: &File, _offset: u64, _len: u64) {}

src/io/file_sector_source/windows.rs

@@ -17,3 +17,14 @@ pub(super) fn hint_sequential(_file: &File, _len_bytes: u64) {
         "FileSectorSource hint_sequential: windows stub (TODO: FILE_FLAG_SEQUENTIAL_SCAN at open)"
     );
 }
+
+/// Windows page-cache eviction is not exposed via a posix_fadvise
+/// equivalent. The kernel does its own working-set management. No-op
+/// for now.
+pub(super) fn drop_window(_file: &File, _start: u64, _len: u64) {}
+
+/// Windows async-prefetch hint. With FILE_FLAG_SEQUENTIAL_SCAN at
+/// open the kernel already prefetches aggressively, so there's no
+/// per-range hint we'd add on top. No-op stub for parity with the
+/// posix platforms.
+pub(super) fn prefetch(_file: &File, _offset: u64, _len: u64) {}

src/io/mod.rs

@@ -11,9 +11,12 @@
 //! to exhibit the same pathology for this access pattern.
 //!
 //! `FileSectorSource` is the read-side dual — it implements
-//! [`crate::sector::SectorSource`] for an ISO file with an internal
-//! 32 MiB read-ahead buffer that amortises NFS round-trip latency
-//! across thousands of sector reads.
+//! [`crate::sector::SectorSource`] for an ISO file using direct
+//! `pread`-equivalent calls so the kernel's own readahead policy runs
+//! (which interleaves naturally with the concurrent writeback). It
+//! pairs that with periodic `posix_fadvise(DONTNEED)` drops on the
+//! consumed window so an 85 GB streaming ISO read doesn't fill the
+//! page cache and starve the concurrent MKV write.
 //!
 //! `Pipeline` + `Sink` (0.18) is the generic producer/consumer primitive
 //! used by sweep, patch, and mux to overlap reads with writes via a
@@ -25,21 +28,21 @@
 
 pub(crate) mod bounded;
 pub mod byte_channel;
+pub mod byte_prefetcher;
 pub mod file_sector_source;
 pub mod sink;
 mod writeback;
 mod writeback_file;
 
+#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+pub(crate) mod platform_macos;
+
 pub mod pipeline;
 
 pub(crate) use writeback_file::WritebackFile;
 
-// Re-exports for the 0.18 redesign. Sweep + patch are both wired up
-// (disc/sweep.rs, disc/patch.rs); mux migrates separately in autorip.
-// `WRITE_THROUGH_DEPTH` is patch-specific and has no other in-tree
-// caller — the targeted `#[allow]` keeps the re-export visible without
-// dragging the rest of the module under `dead_code`.
-#[allow(unused_imports)]
+// Re-exports for the 0.18 redesign. Sweep, patch, and mux are all
+// wired up (disc/sweep.rs, disc/patch.rs, autorip's ripper/mux.rs).
 pub use pipeline::{
     DEFAULT_PIPELINE_DEPTH, Flow, Pipeline, READ_PIPELINE_DEPTH, Sink, WRITE_PIPELINE_DEPTH,
     WRITE_THROUGH_DEPTH,

src/io/pipeline.rs

@@ -34,10 +34,11 @@
 //! consumer lag detection). This is critical for diagnosing stalls.
 
 use std::io;
-use std::sync::mpsc::{SyncSender, TrySendError, sync_channel};
 use std::thread::{self, JoinHandle};
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
+use crossbeam_channel::{Sender, TrySendError, bounded};
+
 use crate::error::Error;
 use crate::halt::Halt;
 
@@ -52,17 +53,26 @@ use crate::halt::Halt;
 /// caller has already lost the rip.
 pub const JOIN_TIMEOUT_SECS: u64 = 600;
 
-/// Polling slice for the halt-aware send/finish loops. Mirrors the
-/// `bounded_syscall` cadence (250 ms) so halt observation feels equally
-/// responsive across both primitives.
-const POLL_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(250);
-
-/// Polling slice for the halt-aware send loop. Smaller than
-/// [`POLL_INTERVAL`] because send latency tolerance is much lower —
-/// frames must move through the channel at hundreds-of-Hz on the
-/// happy path; 50 ms keeps backpressure-driven wakeups fine-grained
-/// without busy-looping.
-const SEND_POLL_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(50);
+/// Halt-check cadence for the send loop. Producer blocks on
+/// [`crossbeam_channel::Sender::send_timeout`] for this slice — the
+/// kernel wakes it the instant the consumer drains a slot, so on the
+/// happy path there's no throughput cap from this primitive at all
+/// (the cap is whatever the underlying medium can sustain). When the
+/// consumer is genuinely wedged, the timeout fires every
+/// [`crate::halt::POLL_INTERVAL`] and the producer checks the halt
+/// token; that's the latency a stop request will observe.
+///
+/// Single source of truth lives in [`crate::halt::POLL_INTERVAL`]
+/// (also used by `bounded_syscall`). Aliased here for readability of
+/// the send/finish call sites below.
+///
+/// 0.21.7 replaced an old `std::sync::mpsc::sync_channel` + 50 ms
+/// `thread::sleep` polling loop that capped mux throughput at
+/// ~20 frames/sec ≈ 1 MB/s on saturated channels. See
+/// (internal)/memory/feedback_send_with_halt_poll_throttle.md
+/// for the multi-day diagnostic that surfaced it.
+use crate::halt::POLL_INTERVAL;
+const SEND_HALT_CHECK_INTERVAL: Duration = POLL_INTERVAL;
 
 /// Check if verbose debug logging is enabled via FREEMKV_DEBUG env var.
 pub fn debug_enabled() -> bool {
@@ -90,8 +100,7 @@ pub const WRITE_PIPELINE_DEPTH: usize = 16;
 /// Channel depth for write-through pipelines. Each `send` fully
 /// drains before the next can enqueue. Use this when the producer
 /// must observe consumer side-effects (e.g. mapfile state) before
-/// emitting the next item.
-#[allow(dead_code)]
+/// emitting the next item. Currently used by `disc::patch`.
 pub const WRITE_THROUGH_DEPTH: usize = 1;
 
 /// Outcome of [`Sink::apply`]: either keep feeding items
@@ -135,7 +144,7 @@ pub trait Sink<I>: Send + 'static {
 /// Bounded producer/consumer pipeline. Holds the producer-side
 /// channel and the consumer thread's join handle.
 pub struct Pipeline<I: Send + 'static, R: Send + 'static> {
-    tx: SyncSender<I>,
+    tx: Sender<I>,
     handle: JoinHandle<Result<R, Error>>,
 }
 
@@ -152,11 +161,10 @@ impl<I: Send + 'static, R: Send + 'static> Pipeline<I, R> {
     /// propagated rather than panicked.
     ///
     /// Sweep uses [`Pipeline::spawn_named`] directly so the consumer
-    /// thread shows up as `freemkv-sweep-consumer`; this function has
-    /// no in-tree caller yet. Patch and mux migrate in later 0.18
-    /// slices. The targeted `#[allow]` is removed when one of them
-    /// lands on the default name.
-    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    /// thread shows up as `freemkv-sweep-consumer`; mux uses
+    /// `freemkv-mux-consumer`. `Pipeline::spawn` (this function, with
+    /// the default name) is used by `disc::patch` and by the unit
+    /// tests in this module.
     pub fn spawn<S: Sink<I, Output = R>>(depth: usize, sink: S) -> Result<Self, Error> {
         Self::spawn_named("freemkv-pipeline-consumer", depth, sink)
     }
@@ -170,7 +178,7 @@ impl<I: Send + 'static, R: Send + 'static> Pipeline<I, R> {
         depth: usize,
         sink: S,
     ) -> Result<Self, Error> {
-        let (tx, rx) = sync_channel::<I>(depth);
+        let (tx, rx) = bounded::<I>(depth);
         let handle = thread::Builder::new()
             .name(name.into())
             .spawn(move || -> Result<R, Error> {
@@ -281,14 +289,20 @@ impl<I: Send + 'static, R: Send + 'static> Pipeline<I, R> {
     /// `Err`. Useful for best-effort signalling (e.g. sweep's
     /// throttled `StatsRequest`) where dropping the message is
     /// preferable to blocking the producer.
-    pub fn try_send(&self, item: I) -> Result<(), std::sync::mpsc::TrySendError<I>> {
+    pub fn try_send(&self, item: I) -> Result<(), TrySendError<I>> {
         self.tx.try_send(item)
     }
 
     /// Halt-aware bounded variant of [`Pipeline::send`].
     ///
-    /// Polls `try_send` on a 50 ms slice. Between slices, checks
-    /// (1) the [`Halt`] token and (2) the per-call `deadline`. Returns:
+    /// Uses [`crossbeam_channel::Sender::send_timeout`] so the producer
+    /// thread BLOCKS on consumer drain (kernel-wakeup) rather than
+    /// polling. The timeout slice is just the halt-observation cadence
+    /// ([`SEND_HALT_CHECK_INTERVAL`]) — on the happy path the producer
+    /// wakes the instant the consumer drains a slot, so there is no
+    /// throughput cap from this primitive at any medium speed.
+    ///
+    /// Returns:
     ///
     /// - `Ok(())` once the item lands in the channel.
     /// - `Err(item)` if the consumer disconnected, the halt fired, or
@@ -302,36 +316,45 @@ impl<I: Send + 'static, R: Send + 'static> Pipeline<I, R> {
     /// Unlike [`Pipeline::send`], this never blocks the producer
     /// thread inside an unkillable `mpsc::send` — if the consumer is
     /// wedged inside an unkillable syscall, the producer can still
-    /// observe `/api/stop` and unwind.
+    /// observe `/api/stop` and unwind within
+    /// [`SEND_HALT_CHECK_INTERVAL`].
     pub fn send_with_halt(&self, item: I, halt: &Halt, deadline: Duration) -> Result<(), I> {
+        use crossbeam_channel::SendTimeoutError;
         let end = Instant::now() + deadline;
         let mut pending = item;
         loop {
-            match self.tx.try_send(pending) {
-                Ok(()) => return Ok(()),
-                Err(TrySendError::Full(returned)) => {
-                    pending = returned;
-                    if halt.is_cancelled() {
-                        if debug_enabled() {
-                            tracing::debug!(
-                                "Pipeline send_with_halt: halt observed, returning item={}",
-                                std::any::type_name::<I>()
-                            );
-                        }
-                        return Err(pending);
-                    }
-                    if Instant::now() >= end {
-                        if debug_enabled() {
-                            tracing::debug!(
-                                "Pipeline send_with_halt: deadline elapsed, returning item={}",
-                                std::any::type_name::<I>()
-                            );
-                        }
-                        return Err(pending);
-                    }
-                    thread::sleep(SEND_POLL_INTERVAL);
+            // Pre-check the cheap exit conditions before parking.
+            if halt.is_cancelled() {
+                if debug_enabled() {
+                    tracing::debug!(
+                        "Pipeline send_with_halt: halt observed, returning item={}",
+                        std::any::type_name::<I>()
+                    );
                 }
-                Err(TrySendError::Disconnected(returned)) => {
+                return Err(pending);
+            }
+            let now = Instant::now();
+            if now >= end {
+                if debug_enabled() {
+                    tracing::debug!(
+                        "Pipeline send_with_halt: deadline elapsed, returning item={}",
+                        std::any::type_name::<I>()
+                    );
+                }
+                return Err(pending);
+            }
+            // Wait for space-available or halt-check tick, whichever
+            // is sooner. Crossbeam's send_timeout is kernel-wakeup
+            // based: the consumer's recv on a saturated channel
+            // signals this thread the moment a slot opens up.
+            let slice = SEND_HALT_CHECK_INTERVAL.min(end.saturating_duration_since(now));
+            match self.tx.send_timeout(pending, slice) {
+                Ok(()) => return Ok(()),
+                Err(SendTimeoutError::Timeout(returned)) => {
+                    pending = returned;
+                    // loop: re-check halt + deadline, then park again
+                }
+                Err(SendTimeoutError::Disconnected(returned)) => {
                     if debug_enabled() {
                         tracing::debug!(
                             "Pipeline send_with_halt: consumer disconnected, item={}",

src/io/platform_macos.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+//! Shared macOS `fcntl(F_PREALLOCATE)` definitions.
+//!
+//! The `libc` crate doesn't expose these symbols across all macOS SDK
+//! versions, so we define them locally with values from
+//! `/usr/include/sys/fcntl.h`. Two call sites (
+//! [`crate::io::writeback_file`] and [`crate::io::sink::preallocate`])
+//! need the same constants and `fstore_t` layout — keeping a single
+//! source of truth here prevents the two copies from drifting.
+//!
+//! Module-level cfg gate lives in the parent (`io/mod.rs`); this file
+//! is only compiled on macOS, so no inner `#![cfg]` is needed.
+
+/// `fcntl(F_PREALLOCATE)` command number from `sys/fcntl.h`.
+pub(crate) const F_PREALLOCATE: libc::c_int = 42;
+
+/// Anchor preallocation at the current physical EOF.
+pub(crate) const F_PEOFPOSMODE: libc::c_int = 3;
+
+/// Prefer a contiguous allocation. Try this first; on `EINVAL` (no
+/// contiguous run of that size), fall back to `F_ALLOCATEALL`.
+pub(crate) const F_ALLOCATECONTIG: libc::c_uint = 0x0000_0002;
+
+/// Allow non-contiguous allocation. Stronger guarantee than just
+/// asking for `F_ALLOCATECONTIG` because the kernel will piece
+/// together fragments rather than failing.
+pub(crate) const F_ALLOCATEALL: libc::c_uint = 0x0000_0004;
+
+/// `fstore_t` from `sys/fcntl.h`. `repr(C)` because we hand it to
+/// `fcntl(F_PREALLOCATE)` which writes through the pointer.
+#[repr(C)]
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
+pub(crate) struct Fstore {
+    pub fst_flags: libc::c_uint,
+    pub fst_posmode: libc::c_int,
+    pub fst_offset: libc::off_t,
+    pub fst_length: libc::off_t,
+    pub fst_bytesalloc: libc::off_t,
+}

src/io/sink/preallocate/macos.rs

@@ -7,23 +7,9 @@
 use std::fs::File;
 use std::os::unix::io::AsRawFd;
 
-// Mirror the Darwin `fstore_t` struct from `<sys/fcntl.h>`. libc on
-// some Rust toolchains/versions doesn't ship this binding, so define
-// it locally with the layout the kernel ABI requires.
-#[repr(C)]
-struct Fstore {
-    fst_flags: libc::c_uint,
-    fst_posmode: libc::c_int,
-    fst_offset: libc::off_t,
-    fst_length: libc::off_t,
-    fst_bytesalloc: libc::off_t,
-}
-
-// Constants from <sys/fcntl.h>.
-const F_PREALLOCATE: libc::c_int = 42;
-const F_ALLOCATECONTIG: libc::c_uint = 0x0000_0002;
-const F_ALLOCATEALL: libc::c_uint = 0x0000_0004;
-const F_PEOFPOSMODE: libc::c_int = 3;
+use crate::io::platform_macos::{
+    F_ALLOCATEALL, F_ALLOCATECONTIG, F_PEOFPOSMODE, F_PREALLOCATE, Fstore,
+};
 
 pub(super) fn preallocate_impl(file: &File, size_bytes: u64) {
     let fd = file.as_raw_fd();

src/io/writeback/linux.rs

@@ -300,35 +300,22 @@ impl WritebackPipeline {
     }
 }
 
-/// Probe whether `fd` lives on an NFS mount via `fstatfs`. Returns
-/// `false` on any error — we fail open, not closed: better to run the
-/// normal local-storage path on a misdetected NFS mount (and surface
-/// the freeze loudly via the timeout) than to needlessly disable
-/// writeback bounding on every local file because of a transient
-/// stat error.
+/// Probe whether `fd` lives on an NFS mount. Thin wrapper around
+/// [`crate::platform::fs_type::detect_fd`] so writeback policy and
+/// general-purpose fs-type classification stay in sync (same magic
+/// numbers, same musl-vs-glibc cast handling).
+///
+/// Fails open: any classification other than NFS counts as "not NFS"
+/// (including `Unknown` on `fstatfs` error) — better to run the
+/// normal local-storage path on a misdetected NFS mount and surface
+/// the freeze loudly via [`WAIT_AFTER_TIMEOUT`] than to needlessly
+/// disable writeback bounding on every local file because of a
+/// transient stat error.
 fn detect_nfs(fd: RawFd) -> bool {
-    // `libc::statfs` is repr(C) with a fixed layout; zeroing is the
-    // documented init pattern for the kernel uapi struct.
-    let mut buf: libc::statfs = unsafe { std::mem::zeroed() };
-    let rc = unsafe { libc::fstatfs(fd, &mut buf) };
-    if rc != 0 {
-        let errno = std::io::Error::last_os_error();
-        tracing::warn!(
-            target: "mux",
-            "WritebackPipeline fstatfs(fd={fd}) failed: {errno} — defaulting is_nfs=false",
-        );
-        return false;
-    }
-    // `f_type` is signed (`__fsword_t`) on glibc and unsigned
-    // (`c_ulong`) on musl. Cast both sides to i64 for a portable
-    // comparison. On glibc x86_64 both already are i64 — clippy flags
-    // the cast as unnecessary on that target only, but we need it for
-    // musl, so silence the lint.
-    #[allow(clippy::unnecessary_cast)]
-    let f_type = buf.f_type as i64;
-    #[allow(clippy::unnecessary_cast)]
-    let nfs_magic = libc::NFS_SUPER_MAGIC as i64;
-    f_type == nfs_magic
+    matches!(
+        crate::platform::fs_type::detect_fd(fd),
+        crate::platform::fs_type::FsType::Nfs
+    )
 }
 
 /// Run `sync_file_range(WAIT_AFTER)` on a worker thread and wait up
@@ -356,3 +343,117 @@ fn wait_after_with_timeout(fd: RawFd, off: u64, len: u64) -> Option<u64> {
         }
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
+
+    /// Helper: build a `WritebackPipeline` over a local tempfile. On
+    /// every test rig (linux dev box, CI) the tempfile lives on a
+    /// local FS, so `is_nfs=false` and `skip_wait` returns false until
+    /// we explicitly mark the pipeline degraded.
+    fn local_pipeline(chunk_bytes: u64) -> (NamedTempFile, WritebackPipeline) {
+        let f = NamedTempFile::new().expect("tempfile create");
+        let pipeline = WritebackPipeline::new(f.as_file(), 0, chunk_bytes);
+        (f, pipeline)
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn new_pipeline_starts_active() {
+        let (_f, p) = local_pipeline(32 * 1024 * 1024);
+        assert!(!p.is_nfs, "local tempfile must not classify as NFS");
+        assert!(!p.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed));
+        assert!(!p.skip_wait(), "fresh local pipeline must not skip wait");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn degraded_flag_short_circuits_wait() {
+        let (_f, p) = local_pipeline(32 * 1024 * 1024);
+        assert!(!p.skip_wait());
+        p.degraded.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        assert!(
+            p.skip_wait(),
+            "degraded flag must force the wait+dontneed bypass"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn record_wait_grows_chunk_on_high_p95() {
+        let (_f, mut p) = local_pipeline(16 * 1024 * 1024);
+        // Fill the window with samples above the grow threshold.
+        for _ in 0..ADAPTIVE_WINDOW {
+            p.record_wait(ADAPTIVE_GROW_MS + 50);
+        }
+        assert!(
+            p.chunk_bytes > 16 * 1024 * 1024,
+            "chunk should have grown; got {}",
+            p.chunk_bytes
+        );
+        assert!(p.chunk_bytes <= CHUNK_BYTES_MAX);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn record_wait_shrinks_chunk_on_low_p95() {
+        let (_f, mut p) = local_pipeline(64 * 1024 * 1024);
+        for _ in 0..ADAPTIVE_WINDOW {
+            p.record_wait(1); // well under ADAPTIVE_SHRINK_MS
+        }
+        assert!(
+            p.chunk_bytes < 64 * 1024 * 1024,
+            "chunk should have shrunk; got {}",
+            p.chunk_bytes
+        );
+        assert!(p.chunk_bytes >= CHUNK_BYTES_MIN);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn record_wait_no_op_below_window_fill() {
+        let (_f, mut p) = local_pipeline(16 * 1024 * 1024);
+        let initial = p.chunk_bytes;
+        // Only push a few samples; window not full → no adaptation.
+        for _ in 0..(ADAPTIVE_WINDOW - 1) {
+            p.record_wait(ADAPTIVE_GROW_MS + 100);
+        }
+        assert_eq!(
+            p.chunk_bytes, initial,
+            "chunk must not change before window is full"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn record_wait_clamps_to_chunk_bounds() {
+        // Grow past the max.
+        let (_f, mut p) = local_pipeline(CHUNK_BYTES_MAX);
+        for _ in 0..ADAPTIVE_WINDOW {
+            p.record_wait(ADAPTIVE_GROW_MS + 1000);
+        }
+        assert_eq!(p.chunk_bytes, CHUNK_BYTES_MAX, "must clamp to MAX");
+
+        // Shrink past the min.
+        let (_f, mut p) = local_pipeline(CHUNK_BYTES_MIN);
+        for _ in 0..ADAPTIVE_WINDOW {
+            p.record_wait(0);
+        }
+        assert_eq!(p.chunk_bytes, CHUNK_BYTES_MIN, "must clamp to MIN");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn detect_nfs_local_file_is_false() {
+        // Local tempfile must not classify as NFS. This locks in the
+        // consolidation through `crate::platform::fs_type::detect_fd`.
+        let f = NamedTempFile::new().expect("tempfile create");
+        use std::os::unix::io::AsRawFd;
+        assert!(!detect_nfs(f.as_file().as_raw_fd()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn note_progress_below_chunk_is_noop() {
+        let (_f, mut p) = local_pipeline(32 * 1024 * 1024);
+        // No-op return before crossing the first chunk boundary.
+        let before = p.chunk_count;
+        p.note_progress(1024); // < 32 MiB
+        assert_eq!(p.chunk_count, before);
+        assert!(p.pending.is_none());
+    }
+}

src/io/writeback_file/macos.rs

@@ -16,31 +16,14 @@ use std::io;
 use std::os::unix::io::AsRawFd;
 use std::time::Duration;
 
-/// libc `F_PREALLOCATE` — not exposed by the `libc` crate on all macOS
-/// SDK versions, so define it here.
-const F_PREALLOCATE: libc::c_int = 42;
-/// Allocate from current EOF.
-const F_PEOFPOSMODE: libc::c_int = 3;
-/// Hint: contiguous extent preferred.
-const F_ALLOCATECONTIG: libc::c_uint = 0x00000002;
-/// Allocate all the requested bytes (fall back to non-contig if needed).
-const F_ALLOCATEALL: libc::c_uint = 0x00000004;
+use crate::io::platform_macos::{
+    F_ALLOCATEALL, F_ALLOCATECONTIG, F_PEOFPOSMODE, F_PREALLOCATE, Fstore,
+};
 
 /// `fcntl(F_FULLFSYNC)` opcode. Documented in `man 2 fcntl` on macOS;
 /// not in the `libc` crate as a named constant.
 const F_FULLFSYNC: libc::c_int = 51;
 
-/// `fstore_t` layout matches `sys/fcntl.h`. Repr is C-stable so we can
-/// build it manually.
-#[repr(C)]
-struct Fstore {
-    fst_flags: libc::c_uint,
-    fst_posmode: libc::c_int,
-    fst_offset: libc::off_t,
-    fst_length: libc::off_t,
-    fst_bytesalloc: libc::off_t,
-}
-
 pub(super) fn preallocate(file: &File, size_bytes: u64) {
     let mut fst = Fstore {
         fst_flags: F_ALLOCATECONTIG | F_ALLOCATEALL,

src/lib.rs

@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ pub use profile::DriveProfile;
 // don't touch `DecryptKeys` directly — `DiscStream::new(reader, title, keys, …)`
 // accepts whatever `Disc::decrypt_keys()` returned. `decrypt_sectors()` is
 // for callers that operate on raw sector buffers (e.g. ISO patching).
-pub use decrypt::{DecryptKeys, decrypt_sectors};
+pub use decrypt::{DecryptKeys, decrypt_sectors, decrypt_threads, set_decrypt_threads};
 
 // ─── Disc structure ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 //
@@ -211,9 +211,11 @@ pub use mux::{InputOptions, StreamUrl, input, output, parse_url};
 // are the ISO-on-disk implementations. [`DecryptingSectorSource`] is the
 // single decrypt-on-read decorator (AACS / CSS / none) — wrap any
 // `SectorSource` to get plaintext sectors out.
+pub use mux::build_iso_pipeline;
 pub use scsi::{DriveInfo, ScsiSense, ScsiTransport, drive_has_disc, list_drives};
 pub use sector::{
-    DecryptingSectorSource, FileSectorSink, FileSectorSource, SectorSink, SectorSource,
+    DecryptingSectorSource, FileSectorSink, FileSectorSource, PrefetchedSectorSource, SectorSink,
+    SectorSource,
 };
 pub use speed::DriveSpeed;
 pub use udf::{UdfFs, read_filesystem};

src/mux/codec/ac3.rs

@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ impl CodecParser for Ac3Parser {
                 pts_ns,
                 keyframe: true,
                 data: data[start..start + frame_size].to_vec(),
+                duration_ns: None,
             });
             pos = start + frame_size;
         }

src/mux/codec/dts.rs

@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ impl CodecParser for DtsParser {
                 pts_ns,
                 keyframe: true,
                 data: data[start..start + total_size].to_vec(),
+                duration_ns: None,
             });
             pos = start + total_size;
         }

src/mux/codec/dvdsub.rs

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ impl CodecParser for DvdSubParser {
             pts_ns,
             keyframe: true,
             data: pes.data.clone(),
+            duration_ns: None,
         }]
     }
 

src/mux/codec/h264.rs

@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ impl CodecParser for H264Parser {
             pts_ns,
             keyframe,
             data: frame_data,
+            duration_ns: None,
         }]
     }
 
@@ -176,14 +177,16 @@ impl<'a> Iterator for NalIterator<'a> {
 }
 
 /// Find the position of the next start code (00 00 01) at or after `from`.
+///
+/// Backed by `memchr::memmem::find` for SIMD-accelerated bytestring
+/// search. On AVX2-capable x86_64 this runs ~5–10× the byte-by-byte
+/// scan that preceded it; on a 200 KB UHD HEVC frame the saving is
+/// in the hundreds of microseconds per call.
 pub fn find_start_code(data: &[u8], from: usize) -> Option<usize> {
     if data.len() < from + 3 {
         return None;
     }
-    // Range excludes last 2 bytes since we read 3 bytes at each position.
-    // data.len()-2 as exclusive upper bound means last checked index is data.len()-3,
-    // which accesses data[len-3], data[len-2], data[len-1] — all valid.
-    (from..data.len() - 2).find(|&i| data[i] == 0x00 && data[i + 1] == 0x00 && data[i + 2] == 0x01)
+    memchr::memmem::find(&data[from..], b"\x00\x00\x01").map(|rel| from + rel)
 }
 
 /// Skip past the start code at position `pos`, returning the first byte after it.

src/mux/codec/hevc.rs

@@ -52,7 +52,10 @@ impl CodecParser for HevcParser {
         let pts_ns = pes.dts.or(pes.pts).map(pts_to_ns).unwrap_or(0);
         let data = &pes.data;
         let mut keyframe = false;
-        let mut frame_data = Vec::new();
+        // Pre-size: output is ~input bytes with a few 4-byte length
+        // prefixes added. UHD frames are 150-300 KB; the unsized Vec
+        // growth chain otherwise reallocs 5-7× per frame.
+        let mut frame_data = Vec::with_capacity(data.len() + 64);
 
         // Single-pass NAL scan: extract params, detect keyframes, build length-prefixed output
         let mut pos = 0;
@@ -107,6 +110,7 @@ impl CodecParser for HevcParser {
             pts_ns,
             keyframe,
             data: frame_data,
+            duration_ns: None,
         }]
     }
 

src/mux/codec/lpcm.rs

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ impl CodecParser for LpcmParser {
             pts_ns,
             keyframe: true,
             data: pes.data[BD_LPCM_HEADER_SIZE..].to_vec(),
+            duration_ns: None,
         }]
     }
 

src/mux/codec/mod.rs

@@ -29,6 +29,13 @@ pub struct Frame {
     pub keyframe: bool,
     /// Frame data (elementary stream bytes).
     pub data: Vec<u8>,
+    /// Optional duration in nanoseconds — only set by parsers that
+    /// can compute one (currently PGS, which pairs a display PCS
+    /// with the following empty PCS). When `Some`, the MKV muxer
+    /// emits a `BlockGroup` with `BlockDuration` instead of a
+    /// `SimpleBlock`; without it players guess the display interval
+    /// (subtitles linger past their end-time).
+    pub duration_ns: Option<u64>,
 }
 
 /// Convert 90kHz PTS to nanoseconds (round to nearest).
@@ -71,6 +78,7 @@ impl CodecParser for PassthroughParser {
             pts_ns,
             keyframe: self.keyframe,
             data: pes.data.clone(),
+            duration_ns: None,
         }]
     }
 

src/mux/codec/mpeg2.rs

@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ impl CodecParser for Mpeg2Parser {
             pts_ns,
             keyframe,
             data: pes.data.clone(),
+            duration_ns: None,
         }]
     }
 

src/mux/codec/pgs.rs

@@ -1,12 +1,32 @@
 //! HDMV PGS (Presentation Graphics Stream) subtitle parser.
 //!
-//! PGS segments: PCS, WDS, PDS, ODS, END.
-//! Each PES packet contains one or more segments.
-//! All segments are keyframes (no inter-segment dependencies).
+//! PGS segments: PCS, WDS, PDS, ODS, END. Each PES packet starts with
+//! one of those (segment_type byte at offset 0).
+//!
+//! Subtitle display lifecycle (BD spec):
+//! - A "display" PCS (number_of_composition_objects > 0) starts a
+//!   visible subtitle. Its WDS/PDS/ODS follow.
+//! - A later "empty" PCS (number_of_composition_objects == 0) clears
+//!   the screen.
+//!
+//! For Matroska output we collapse that pair into one block with
+//! `BlockDuration` set to (clear_pts - display_pts). Without a
+//! duration, hardware players linger on the last bitmap until the
+//! next subtitle replaces it — which can be many seconds, and on a
+//! disc where the final subtitle has no follower, until end of file.
 
 use super::{CodecParser, Frame, PesPacket, pts_to_ns};
 
-pub struct PgsParser;
+const SEGMENT_PCS: u8 = 0x16;
+// Offset within the PES payload at which number_of_composition_objects
+// lives in a PCS: 3-byte segment header + 10 bytes of PCS fields
+// (video_w/h, frame_rate, comp_num, comp_state, palette_update,
+// palette_id_ref) = 13.
+const PCS_NUM_OBJECTS_OFFSET: usize = 13;
+
+pub struct PgsParser {
+    pending: Option<(i64, Vec<u8>)>,
+}
 
 impl Default for PgsParser {
     fn default() -> Self {
@@ -16,7 +36,7 @@ impl Default for PgsParser {
 
 impl PgsParser {
     pub fn new() -> Self {
-        Self
+        Self { pending: None }
     }
 }
 
@@ -26,11 +46,63 @@ impl CodecParser for PgsParser {
             return Vec::new();
         }
         let pts_ns = pes.pts.map(pts_to_ns).unwrap_or(0);
-        vec![Frame {
-            pts_ns,
-            keyframe: true,
-            data: pes.data.clone(),
-        }]
+
+        let is_pcs = pes.data[0] == SEGMENT_PCS;
+        let pcs_num_objects = if is_pcs && pes.data.len() > PCS_NUM_OBJECTS_OFFSET {
+            Some(pes.data[PCS_NUM_OBJECTS_OFFSET])
+        } else {
+            None
+        };
+
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        match pcs_num_objects {
+            // Clear/empty PCS — closes any pending display. Drop the
+            // clear segment itself; BlockDuration covers the screen
+            // wipe.
+            Some(0) => {
+                if let Some((start_pts, data)) = self.pending.take() {
+                    let duration = pts_ns.saturating_sub(start_pts).max(0) as u64;
+                    out.push(Frame {
+                        pts_ns: start_pts,
+                        keyframe: true,
+                        data,
+                        duration_ns: Some(duration),
+                    });
+                }
+            }
+            // Display PCS — start a new pending. If a prior display
+            // was never explicitly cleared (replace-without-clear),
+            // emit it with the new PCS's PTS as its end.
+            Some(_) => {
+                if let Some((start_pts, data)) = self.pending.take() {
+                    let duration = pts_ns.saturating_sub(start_pts).max(0) as u64;
+                    out.push(Frame {
+                        pts_ns: start_pts,
+                        keyframe: true,
+                        data,
+                        duration_ns: Some(duration),
+                    });
+                }
+                self.pending = Some((pts_ns, pes.data.clone()));
+            }
+            // Non-PCS first segment — either a continuation of the
+            // current display set, or non-standard layout. If we have
+            // a pending display, append; otherwise emit as-is.
+            None => {
+                if let Some((_, ref mut buf)) = self.pending {
+                    buf.extend_from_slice(&pes.data);
+                } else {
+                    out.push(Frame {
+                        pts_ns,
+                        keyframe: true,
+                        data: pes.data.clone(),
+                        duration_ns: None,
+                    });
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        out
     }
 
     fn codec_private(&self) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
@@ -52,29 +124,60 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn parse_basic_segment() {
-        let mut parser = PgsParser::new();
-        // PGS segment data (PCS = presentation composition segment)
-        let data = vec![0x16, 0x00, 0x00, 0x11, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03];
-        let pes = make_pes(data.clone(), Some(90000));
-        let frames = parser.parse(&pes);
-
-        assert_eq!(frames.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(frames[0].data, data);
-        assert_eq!(frames[0].pts_ns, 1_000_000_000);
+    // Minimum-viable PCS bytes: type 0x16, segment_length (2 bytes),
+    // then 11 bytes of PCS fields ending in number_of_composition_objects.
+    fn pcs_bytes(num_objects: u8) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut v = vec![SEGMENT_PCS, 0x00, 0x0B];
+        v.extend_from_slice(&[0x07, 0x80, 0x04, 0x38]); // 1920x1080
+        v.push(0x10); // frame_rate
+        v.extend_from_slice(&[0x00, 0x01]); // composition_number
+        v.push(0x80); // composition_state = EpochStart
+        v.push(0x00); // palette_update + reserved
+        v.push(0x00); // palette_id_ref
+        v.push(num_objects);
+        v
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn all_keyframes() {
+    fn display_then_clear_yields_duration() {
         let mut parser = PgsParser::new();
-        for i in 0..3 {
-            let data = vec![0x16, 0x00, i];
-            let pes = make_pes(data, Some(90000 * i as i64));
-            let frames = parser.parse(&pes);
-            assert_eq!(frames.len(), 1);
-            assert!(frames[0].keyframe, "PGS segment should always be keyframe");
-        }
+
+        // Display PCS at PTS 90000 (= 1s)
+        let display = pcs_bytes(1);
+        let frames = parser.parse(&make_pes(display.clone(), Some(90000)));
+        assert!(frames.is_empty(), "display PCS should be pending");
+
+        // Empty PCS at PTS 270000 (= 3s)
+        let clear = pcs_bytes(0);
+        let frames = parser.parse(&make_pes(clear, Some(270000)));
+        assert_eq!(frames.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(frames[0].pts_ns, 1_000_000_000);
+        assert_eq!(frames[0].duration_ns, Some(2_000_000_000));
+        assert_eq!(frames[0].data, display);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn replace_without_clear_still_emits_prior_with_duration() {
+        let mut parser = PgsParser::new();
+        let _ = parser.parse(&make_pes(pcs_bytes(1), Some(90000)));
+        let frames = parser.parse(&make_pes(pcs_bytes(1), Some(180000)));
+        assert_eq!(frames.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(frames[0].pts_ns, 1_000_000_000);
+        assert_eq!(frames[0].duration_ns, Some(1_000_000_000));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn non_pcs_segment_appends_to_pending() {
+        let mut parser = PgsParser::new();
+        let _ = parser.parse(&make_pes(pcs_bytes(1), Some(90000)));
+        // ODS-like segment (type 0x15)
+        let frames = parser.parse(&make_pes(vec![0x15, 0x00, 0x02, 0xAA, 0xBB], Some(90000)));
+        assert!(frames.is_empty());
+        // Clear closes the set; data should include the appended bytes.
+        let frames = parser.parse(&make_pes(pcs_bytes(0), Some(180000)));
+        assert_eq!(frames.len(), 1);
+        let data = &frames[0].data;
+        assert!(data.windows(5).any(|w| w == [0x15, 0x00, 0x02, 0xAA, 0xBB]));
     }
 
     #[test]

src/mux/codec/truehd.rs

@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ impl CodecParser for TrueHdParser {
                 pts_ns: self.next_pts_ns,
                 keyframe: is_major_sync,
                 data: self.buf[..unit_bytes].to_vec(),
+                duration_ns: None,
             });
             self.buf.drain(..unit_bytes);
             self.next_pts_ns += AU_DURATION_NS;

src/mux/codec/vc1.rs

@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ impl CodecParser for Vc1Parser {
             pts_ns: ts_ns,
             keyframe,
             data: frame_data.to_vec(),
+            duration_ns: None,
         }]
     }
 

src/mux/demux_thread.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,350 @@
+//! `DemuxThread` — runs the read+decrypt+demux pipeline on a
+//! dedicated thread, feeding completed `PesPacket` batches to the
+//! caller via a bounded channel.
+//!
+//! ## Why a second worker thread
+//!
+//! With [`crate::sector::PrefetchedSectorSource`] alone, read+decrypt
+//! already runs on a producer thread; the *consumer* (main) thread
+//! still serialises `ts_demuxer.feed` (M2TS parsing) with the codec
+//! parsers. Profiling on the rip1 testbed showed feed at ~37 % and
+//! codec parse at ~44 % of consumer wall time — i.e. feed is heavy
+//! enough that pipelining it with parse pays for itself.
+//!
+//! Splitting them: feed runs in [`DemuxThread`]; the consumer thread
+//! receives `Vec<PesPacket>` batches and runs codec parse + frame
+//! emission only. Total throughput becomes `1/max(feed, parse)`
+//! instead of `1/(feed + parse)`.
+//!
+//! ## Lifecycle
+//!
+//! [`DemuxThread::spawn`] takes ownership of the inner reader and the
+//! demuxer state, returns a handle plus a `Receiver<DemuxBatch>`.
+//! Dropping the handle closes the channel which signals the thread
+//! to exit; the join in `Drop::drop` is bounded.
+
+use crate::halt::Halt;
+use crate::sector::SectorSource;
+use crossbeam_channel::{Receiver, Sender, bounded};
+use std::thread::JoinHandle;
+
+/// Output channel depth. Two batches in flight keeps the consumer
+/// (codec parser) busy without piling up demuxed bytes if it stalls.
+const DEMUX_CHANNEL_DEPTH: usize = 2;
+
+/// One demuxed batch flowing from the demux thread to the consumer.
+pub enum DemuxBatch {
+    /// Successfully demuxed PesPackets — non-empty.
+    Ts(Vec<super::ts::PesPacket>),
+    Ps(Vec<super::ps::PsPacket>),
+    /// Underlying reader returned an error. Terminal.
+    Err(std::io::Error),
+}
+
+/// Spawned demux thread. Drop joins.
+///
+/// In zero-copy mode the thread also owns an opaque
+/// `producer_shell: Option<Box<dyn Send>>` — the join handle of the
+/// upstream producer (sector or byte prefetcher). Dropping the
+/// `DemuxThread` runs the shell's `Drop`, which joins the producer.
+/// `Box<dyn Send>` rather than a concrete type so the same demux
+/// worker can be wired behind either prefetcher kind.
+pub struct DemuxThread {
+    handle: Option<JoinHandle<()>>,
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    producer_shell: Option<Box<dyn Send>>,
+}
+
+impl DemuxThread {
+    /// Spawn the demux thread. Returns the thread handle and a
+    /// receiver for [`DemuxBatch`] items.
+    ///
+    /// `reader` is the fully-composed read+decrypt stack (e.g.
+    /// [`PrefetchedSectorSource`](crate::sector::PrefetchedSectorSource)
+    /// wrapping
+    /// [`DecryptingSectorSource`](crate::sector::DecryptingSectorSource)).
+    /// `extents` is what the thread walks; it issues one
+    /// `read_sectors` per batch of `batch_sectors` sectors (aligned
+    /// to 3-sector AACS units when possible).
+    pub fn spawn<S: SectorSource + Send + 'static>(
+        mut reader: S,
+        extents: Vec<crate::disc::Extent>,
+        batch_sectors: u16,
+        halt: Option<Halt>,
+        ts: Option<super::ts::TsDemuxer>,
+        ps: Option<super::ps::PsDemuxer>,
+    ) -> (Self, Receiver<DemuxBatch>) {
+        let (tx, rx) = bounded::<DemuxBatch>(DEMUX_CHANNEL_DEPTH);
+        let mut ts = ts;
+        let mut ps = ps;
+
+        let handle = std::thread::Builder::new()
+            .name("freemkv-demux".into())
+            .spawn(move || {
+                let mut buf = vec![0u8; batch_sectors as usize * 2048];
+                let mut ext_idx = 0usize;
+                let mut offset: u32 = 0;
+                let prof = std::env::var_os("FREEMKV_PROFILE").is_some();
+                let mut prof_started = std::time::Instant::now();
+                let mut prof_last_dump = prof_started;
+                let mut prof_read_ns: u128 = 0;
+                let mut prof_feed_ns: u128 = 0;
+                let mut prof_send_ns: u128 = 0;
+                let mut prof_bytes: u64 = 0;
+                while ext_idx < extents.len() {
+                    if halt.as_ref().map(|h| h.is_cancelled()).unwrap_or(false) {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    let ext = &extents[ext_idx];
+                    let remaining = ext.sector_count.saturating_sub(offset);
+                    if remaining == 0 {
+                        ext_idx += 1;
+                        offset = 0;
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                    let mut sectors = remaining.min(batch_sectors as u32) as u16;
+                    if sectors >= 3 {
+                        sectors -= sectors % 3;
+                    }
+                    let bytes = sectors as usize * 2048;
+                    if buf.len() < bytes {
+                        buf.resize(bytes, 0);
+                    }
+                    let lba = ext.start_lba + offset;
+                    let t0 = if prof {
+                        Some(std::time::Instant::now())
+                    } else {
+                        None
+                    };
+                    let n = match reader.read_sectors(lba, sectors, &mut buf[..bytes], false) {
+                        Ok(n) => n,
+                        Err(e) => {
+                            let _ = tx.send(DemuxBatch::Err(e.into()));
+                            return;
+                        }
+                    };
+                    let t1 = if prof {
+                        Some(std::time::Instant::now())
+                    } else {
+                        None
+                    };
+                    offset += sectors as u32;
+
+                    // Demux this batch immediately so the channel
+                    // carries already-parsed PesPackets, not raw
+                    // sector bytes.
+                    if let Some(ref mut d) = ts {
+                        let pkts = d.feed(&buf[..n]);
+                        let t2 = if prof {
+                            Some(std::time::Instant::now())
+                        } else {
+                            None
+                        };
+                        if !pkts.is_empty() && tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ts(pkts)).is_err() {
+                            return; // consumer dropped
+                        }
+                        let t3 = if prof {
+                            Some(std::time::Instant::now())
+                        } else {
+                            None
+                        };
+                        if prof {
+                            prof_read_ns += t1.unwrap().duration_since(t0.unwrap()).as_nanos();
+                            prof_feed_ns += t2.unwrap().duration_since(t1.unwrap()).as_nanos();
+                            prof_send_ns += t3.unwrap().duration_since(t2.unwrap()).as_nanos();
+                            prof_bytes += n as u64;
+                            let now = t3.unwrap();
+                            if now.duration_since(prof_last_dump)
+                                >= std::time::Duration::from_secs(5)
+                            {
+                                let el = now.duration_since(prof_started).as_millis().max(1);
+                                let mbps = prof_bytes as u128 * 1000 / 1_000_000 / el;
+                                eprintln!(
+                                    "[demux] elapsed={}ms in={}MB/s read={}% feed={}% send={}%",
+                                    el,
+                                    mbps,
+                                    prof_read_ns / 10_000 / el,
+                                    prof_feed_ns / 10_000 / el,
+                                    prof_send_ns / 10_000 / el,
+                                );
+                                prof_last_dump = now;
+                                prof_started = now;
+                                prof_read_ns = 0;
+                                prof_feed_ns = 0;
+                                prof_send_ns = 0;
+                                prof_bytes = 0;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    } else if let Some(ref mut d) = ps {
+                        let pkts = d.feed(&buf[..n]);
+                        if !pkts.is_empty() && tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ps(pkts)).is_err() {
+                            return;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                // EOF — emit any flushed packets too.
+                if let Some(ref mut d) = ts {
+                    let tail = d.flush();
+                    if !tail.is_empty() {
+                        let _ = tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ts(tail));
+                    }
+                } else if let Some(ref mut d) = ps {
+                    let tail = d.flush();
+                    if !tail.is_empty() {
+                        let _ = tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ps(tail));
+                    }
+                }
+                // Sender drops here -> consumer sees RecvError → EOF.
+            })
+            .expect("freemkv-demux thread spawn failed");
+
+        (
+            Self {
+                handle: Some(handle),
+                producer_shell: None,
+            },
+            rx,
+        )
+    }
+
+    /// Zero-copy variant. Instead of taking a `SectorSource` and
+    /// memcpy-ing through its `read_sectors` API, this constructor
+    /// consumes the prefetch channels directly: filled buffers come
+    /// in via `prefetch_rx`, the demux thread feeds them, then
+    /// returns them to `recycle_tx` for the producer to re-fill.
+    /// Eliminates the 16 MiB memcpy per batch that the SectorSource
+    /// adapter incurred (and, with the producer-side recycling pool,
+    /// also eliminates the per-batch heap alloc / cross-thread free
+    /// that was costing 40 %+ of demux-thread time before).
+    ///
+    /// `producer_shell` is an opaque handle whose only purpose is to
+    /// outlive the demux thread and join the upstream producer when
+    /// dropped. Both
+    /// [`crate::sector::PrefetchedSectorSource::into_channels`] and
+    /// [`crate::io::byte_prefetcher::BytePrefetcher::into_channels`]
+    /// hand back a shell that fits — pass either.
+    pub fn spawn_zero_copy<S: Send + 'static>(
+        prefetch_rx: Receiver<std::io::Result<Vec<u8>>>,
+        recycle_tx: Sender<Vec<u8>>,
+        producer_shell: S,
+        halt: Option<Halt>,
+        ts: Option<super::ts::TsDemuxer>,
+        ps: Option<super::ps::PsDemuxer>,
+    ) -> (Self, Receiver<DemuxBatch>) {
+        let (tx, rx) = bounded::<DemuxBatch>(DEMUX_CHANNEL_DEPTH);
+        let mut ts = ts;
+        let mut ps = ps;
+
+        let handle = std::thread::Builder::new()
+            .name("freemkv-demux".into())
+            .spawn(move || {
+                let prof = std::env::var_os("FREEMKV_PROFILE").is_some();
+                let mut prof_started = std::time::Instant::now();
+                let mut prof_last_dump = prof_started;
+                let mut prof_read_ns: u128 = 0;
+                let mut prof_feed_ns: u128 = 0;
+                let mut prof_bytes: u64 = 0;
+                loop {
+                    if halt.as_ref().map(|h| h.is_cancelled()).unwrap_or(false) {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    let t0 = if prof {
+                        Some(std::time::Instant::now())
+                    } else {
+                        None
+                    };
+                    let buf = match prefetch_rx.recv() {
+                        Ok(Ok(b)) => b,
+                        Ok(Err(e)) => {
+                            let _ = tx.send(DemuxBatch::Err(e));
+                            return;
+                        }
+                        Err(_) => break, // producer done → EOF
+                    };
+                    let t1 = if prof {
+                        Some(std::time::Instant::now())
+                    } else {
+                        None
+                    };
+                    let n = buf.len();
+                    if let Some(ref mut d) = ts {
+                        let pkts = d.feed(&buf);
+                        let t2 = if prof {
+                            Some(std::time::Instant::now())
+                        } else {
+                            None
+                        };
+                        // Recycle the buffer back to the producer
+                        // before pushing the demuxed packets. If the
+                        // recycle channel is closed the producer has
+                        // exited; we drop the buffer and continue.
+                        let _ = recycle_tx.send(buf);
+                        if !pkts.is_empty() && tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ts(pkts)).is_err() {
+                            return;
+                        }
+                        if prof {
+                            prof_read_ns += t1.unwrap().duration_since(t0.unwrap()).as_nanos();
+                            prof_feed_ns += t2.unwrap().duration_since(t1.unwrap()).as_nanos();
+                            prof_bytes += n as u64;
+                            let now = std::time::Instant::now();
+                            if now.duration_since(prof_last_dump)
+                                >= std::time::Duration::from_secs(5)
+                            {
+                                let el = now.duration_since(prof_started).as_millis().max(1);
+                                let mbps = prof_bytes as u128 * 1000 / 1_000_000 / el;
+                                eprintln!(
+                                    "[demux] elapsed={}ms in={}MB/s read={}% feed={}%",
+                                    el,
+                                    mbps,
+                                    prof_read_ns / 10_000 / el,
+                                    prof_feed_ns / 10_000 / el,
+                                );
+                                prof_last_dump = now;
+                                prof_started = now;
+                                prof_read_ns = 0;
+                                prof_feed_ns = 0;
+                                prof_bytes = 0;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    } else if let Some(ref mut d) = ps {
+                        let pkts = d.feed(&buf);
+                        let _ = recycle_tx.send(buf);
+                        if !pkts.is_empty() && tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ps(pkts)).is_err() {
+                            return;
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        let _ = recycle_tx.send(buf);
+                    }
+                }
+                // Flush tail packets at EOF.
+                if let Some(ref mut d) = ts {
+                    let tail = d.flush();
+                    if !tail.is_empty() {
+                        let _ = tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ts(tail));
+                    }
+                } else if let Some(ref mut d) = ps {
+                    let tail = d.flush();
+                    if !tail.is_empty() {
+                        let _ = tx.send(DemuxBatch::Ps(tail));
+                    }
+                }
+            })
+            .expect("freemkv-demux thread spawn failed");
+
+        (
+            Self {
+                handle: Some(handle),
+                producer_shell: Some(Box::new(producer_shell)),
+            },
+            rx,
+        )
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for DemuxThread {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if let Some(h) = self.handle.take() {
+            let _ = h.join();
+        }
+    }
+}

src/mux/disc.rs

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 //! DiscStream — read any disc (physical drive or ISO file) → PES frames.
 //!
 //! One stream type for all disc sources. The source is a SectorSource —
-//! Drive (hardware) or IsoSectorReader (file). DiscStream doesn't care.
+//! Drive (hardware) or FileSectorSource (file). DiscStream doesn't care.
 //!
 //! Read-only. For disc→ISO (raw sector copy), use `Disc::copy()`.
 
@@ -149,7 +149,11 @@ pub struct DiscStream {
     // a percent without a separate API call.
     bytes_total_extents: u64,
 
-    // PES output
+    // PES output — single-threaded inline demux + codec parse. The
+    // pipeline-mode mux (3-stage threaded) lives in
+    // [`super::pipelined_stream::PipelinedPesStream`]; this type is
+    // the legacy in-thread path for live-disc reads where adaptive
+    // batch retry on bad sectors lives in `fill_extents`.
     ts_demuxer: Option<super::ts::TsDemuxer>,
     ps_demuxer: Option<super::ps::PsDemuxer>,
     parsers: Vec<(u16, Box<dyn super::codec::CodecParser>)>,
@@ -403,6 +407,71 @@ impl DiscStream {
     }
 }
 
+/// Per-stage profiling state — populated only when `FREEMKV_PROFILE`
+/// is set. Dumps a percentage breakdown to stderr every
+/// [`PROFILE_INTERVAL`]. Zero overhead in normal runs (Option check
+/// is the only added cost).
+struct StageProf {
+    started: std::time::Instant,
+    last_dump: std::time::Instant,
+    fill_ns: u128,
+    feed_ns: u128,
+    consume_ns: u128,
+    bytes_in: u64,
+}
+
+const PROFILE_INTERVAL: std::time::Duration = std::time::Duration::from_secs(5);
+
+thread_local! {
+    static STAGE_PROF: std::cell::RefCell<Option<StageProf>> = const { std::cell::RefCell::new(None) };
+}
+
+fn prof_active() -> bool {
+    std::env::var_os("FREEMKV_PROFILE").is_some()
+}
+
+fn prof_tick(stage: &str, ns: u128, bytes: u64) {
+    STAGE_PROF.with(|cell| {
+        let mut slot = cell.borrow_mut();
+        if slot.is_none() {
+            if !prof_active() {
+                return;
+            }
+            let now = std::time::Instant::now();
+            *slot = Some(StageProf {
+                started: now,
+                last_dump: now,
+                fill_ns: 0,
+                feed_ns: 0,
+                consume_ns: 0,
+                bytes_in: 0,
+            });
+        }
+        let p = slot.as_mut().unwrap();
+        match stage {
+            "fill" => p.fill_ns += ns,
+            "feed" => p.feed_ns += ns,
+            "consume" => p.consume_ns += ns,
+            _ => {}
+        }
+        p.bytes_in += bytes;
+        let now = std::time::Instant::now();
+        if now.duration_since(p.last_dump) < PROFILE_INTERVAL {
+            return;
+        }
+        let elapsed_ms = now.duration_since(p.started).as_millis().max(1);
+        let fill_pct = p.fill_ns / 10_000 / elapsed_ms;
+        let feed_pct = p.feed_ns / 10_000 / elapsed_ms;
+        let consume_pct = p.consume_ns / 10_000 / elapsed_ms;
+        let mbps = p.bytes_in as u128 * 1000 / 1_000_000 / elapsed_ms;
+        eprintln!(
+            "[profile] elapsed={}ms in={}MB/s fill={}% feed={}% consume={}%",
+            elapsed_ms, mbps, fill_pct, feed_pct, consume_pct,
+        );
+        p.last_dump = now;
+    });
+}
+
 impl crate::pes::Stream for DiscStream {
     fn read(&mut self) -> io::Result<Option<crate::pes::PesFrame>> {
         if let Some(frame) = self.pending_frames.pop_front() {
@@ -414,6 +483,7 @@ impl crate::pes::Stream for DiscStream {
         }
 
         loop {
+            let t0 = std::time::Instant::now();
             if !self.fill_extents()? {
                 self.eof = true;
                 // Flush demuxer — last PES packet may still be in the assembler
@@ -475,6 +545,8 @@ impl crate::pes::Stream for DiscStream {
             }
 
             let bytes = self.buf_valid;
+            let t1 = std::time::Instant::now();
+            prof_tick("fill", t1.duration_since(t0).as_nanos(), bytes as u64);
             // Plaintext: the wrapped reader (DecryptingSectorSource)
             // applied AACS / CSS in-place during fill_extents'
             // read_sectors call. The pre-0.18 inline decrypt step
@@ -482,21 +554,42 @@ impl crate::pes::Stream for DiscStream {
 
             if let Some(ref mut demuxer) = self.ts_demuxer {
                 let packets = demuxer.feed(&self.read_buf[..bytes]);
-                for pes in &packets {
-                    if let Some((_, track)) =
-                        self.pid_to_track.iter().find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
+                let t2 = std::time::Instant::now();
+                prof_tick("feed", t2.duration_since(t1).as_nanos(), 0);
+                let skip_parse = std::env::var_os("FREEMKV_SKIP_PARSE").is_some();
+                for pes in packets {
+                    if let Some((_, track)) = self
+                        .pid_to_track
+                        .iter()
+                        .find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
+                        .copied()
                     {
-                        if let Some((_, parser)) =
+                        if skip_parse {
+                            // Profiling escape hatch — bypass the codec
+                            // parser and pass the raw PES bytes straight
+                            // through as a single PesFrame. Lets us
+                            // attribute consumer-thread time to
+                            // "demux + framing" vs "codec parse".
+                            self.pending_frames.push_back(crate::pes::PesFrame {
+                                track,
+                                pts: pes.pts.map(super::codec::pts_to_ns).unwrap_or(0),
+                                keyframe: false,
+                                data: pes.data,
+                                duration_ns: None,
+                            });
+                        } else if let Some((_, parser)) =
                             self.parsers.iter_mut().find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
                         {
-                            for frame in parser.parse(pes) {
+                            for frame in parser.parse(&pes) {
                                 self.pending_frames.push_back(
-                                    crate::pes::PesFrame::from_codec_frame(*track, frame),
+                                    crate::pes::PesFrame::from_codec_frame(track, frame),
                                 );
                             }
                         }
                     }
                 }
+                let t3 = std::time::Instant::now();
+                prof_tick("consume", t3.duration_since(t2).as_nanos(), 0);
             } else if let Some(ref mut demuxer) = self.ps_demuxer {
                 let packets = demuxer.feed(&self.read_buf[..bytes]);
                 for ps in &packets {
@@ -570,6 +663,13 @@ impl crate::pes::Stream for DiscStream {
     }
 
     fn headers_ready(&self) -> bool {
+        // FREEMKV_SKIP_PARSE bypasses codec parsers entirely for
+        // bottleneck profiling, so codec_private is never populated.
+        // Pretend headers are ready immediately in that mode so the
+        // CLI loop doesn't hang waiting for them.
+        if std::env::var_os("FREEMKV_SKIP_PARSE").is_some() {
+            return true;
+        }
         for (idx, s) in self.title.streams.iter().enumerate() {
             if let crate::disc::Stream::Video(v) = s {
                 if !v.secondary && self.codec_private(idx).is_none() {
@@ -579,6 +679,10 @@ impl crate::pes::Stream for DiscStream {
         }
         true
     }
+
+    fn errors(&self) -> u64 {
+        self.errors
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]

src/mux/ebml.rs

@@ -321,6 +321,12 @@ pub const EBML_DOC_TYPE_READ_VERSION: u32 = 0x4285;
 // Segment
 pub const SEGMENT: u32 = 0x1853_8067;
 
+// SeekHead
+pub const SEEK_HEAD: u32 = 0x114D_9B74;
+pub const SEEK: u32 = 0x4DBB;
+pub const SEEK_ID: u32 = 0x53AB;
+pub const SEEK_POSITION: u32 = 0x53AC;
+
 // Segment Info
 pub const INFO: u32 = 0x1549_A966;
 pub const TIMESTAMP_SCALE: u32 = 0x2A_D7B1;
@@ -366,6 +372,9 @@ pub const BIT_DEPTH: u32 = 0x6264;
 pub const CLUSTER: u32 = 0x1F43_B675;
 pub const CLUSTER_TIMESTAMP: u32 = 0xE7;
 pub const SIMPLE_BLOCK: u32 = 0xA3;
+pub const BLOCK_GROUP: u32 = 0xA0;
+pub const BLOCK: u32 = 0xA1;
+pub const BLOCK_DURATION: u32 = 0x9B;
 
 // Cues
 pub const CUES: u32 = 0x1C53_BB6B;

src/mux/iso.rs

@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
-//! ISO sector reader — file-backed SectorSource for Blu-ray ISO images.
-//!
-//! An ISO is a flat image of 2048-byte sectors. Sector N starts at byte offset N * 2048.
-//! Used by DiscStream::open_iso() and Disc::scan_image().
-
-use crate::error::{Error, Result};
-use crate::sector::SectorSource;
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::{Read, Seek, SeekFrom};
-use std::path::Path;
-
-const SECTOR_SIZE: u64 = 2048;
-
-/// File-backed sector reader for ISO images.
-pub struct IsoSectorReader {
-    file: File,
-    capacity: u32,
-}
-
-impl IsoSectorReader {
-    pub fn open(path: &str) -> std::io::Result<Self> {
-        let file = File::open(Path::new(path))?;
-        let size = file.metadata()?.len();
-        let sectors = size / SECTOR_SIZE;
-        if sectors > u32::MAX as u64 {
-            return Err(crate::error::Error::IsoTooLarge {
-                path: path.to_string(),
-            }
-            .into());
-        }
-        let capacity = sectors as u32;
-        Ok(Self { file, capacity })
-    }
-
-    pub fn capacity_sectors(&self) -> u32 {
-        self.capacity
-    }
-}
-
-impl SectorSource for IsoSectorReader {
-    fn read_sectors(
-        &mut self,
-        lba: u32,
-        count: u16,
-        buf: &mut [u8],
-        _recovery: bool,
-    ) -> Result<usize> {
-        let bytes = count as usize * SECTOR_SIZE as usize;
-        self.file
-            .seek(SeekFrom::Start(lba as u64 * SECTOR_SIZE))
-            .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
-        self.file
-            .read_exact(&mut buf[..bytes])
-            .map_err(|e| Error::IoError { source: e })?;
-        Ok(bytes)
-    }
-}
-
-#[cfg(test)]
-mod tests {
-    use super::*;
-
-    #[test]
-    fn iso_reader_read_sectors() {
-        let mut data = vec![0u8; 4 * SECTOR_SIZE as usize];
-        for i in 0..4u8 {
-            let offset = i as usize * SECTOR_SIZE as usize;
-            data[offset] = i + 1;
-            data[offset + 2047] = i + 100;
-        }
-
-        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join("freemkv_test_iso_read");
-        std::fs::write(&dir, &data).unwrap();
-
-        let mut reader = IsoSectorReader::open(dir.to_str().unwrap()).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(reader.capacity_sectors(), 4);
-
-        let mut buf = [0u8; 2048];
-        reader.read_sectors(0, 1, &mut buf, true).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(buf[0], 1);
-        assert_eq!(buf[2047], 100);
-
-        reader.read_sectors(2, 1, &mut buf, true).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(buf[0], 3);
-        assert_eq!(buf[2047], 102);
-
-        std::fs::remove_file(&dir).ok();
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn iso_reader_capacity() {
-        let data = vec![0u8; 10 * SECTOR_SIZE as usize];
-        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join("freemkv_test_iso_cap");
-        std::fs::write(&dir, &data).unwrap();
-
-        let reader = IsoSectorReader::open(dir.to_str().unwrap()).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(reader.capacity_sectors(), 10);
-
-        std::fs::remove_file(&dir).ok();
-    }
-}

src/mux/m2ts.rs

@@ -1,57 +1,21 @@
-//! M2tsStream — BD transport stream with embedded metadata header.
+//! M2tsStream — BD transport stream write sink.
 //!
-//! Write: prepends FMKV metadata header, then muxes PES frames into BD-TS.
-//! Read: extracts metadata header (or scans PMT), then demuxes BD-TS into PES frames.
+//! Write: prepends FMKV metadata header, then muxes PES frames into
+//! BD-TS. The read direction lives on the pipeline highway —
+//! `m2ts://` URLs route through
+//! [`super::resolve::input`] → `build_m2ts_pipeline` →
+//! [`super::pipelined_stream::PipelinedPesStream`], so this type is
+//! write-only.
 
-use super::{meta, ts};
+use super::meta;
 use crate::disc::{DiscTitle, Stream as DiscStream};
-use std::io::{self, Read, Write};
+use std::io::{self, Write};
 
-type PesSetup = (
-    Vec<u16>,
-    Vec<(u16, Box<dyn super::codec::CodecParser>)>,
-    Vec<(u16, usize)>,
-);
-
-/// Size of initial scan buffer for PMT/stream detection.
-const SCAN_SIZE: usize = 1024 * 1024;
-
-enum Mode {
-    Write {
-        muxer: super::tsmux::TsMuxer<Box<dyn Write + Send>>,
-    },
-    Read {
-        reader: Box<dyn Read + Send>,
-    },
-}
-
-/// Read as many bytes as possible into buf (multiple read calls if needed).
-/// Bounded by buf.len() — caller controls max bytes read.
-fn read_fill(r: &mut impl Read, buf: &mut [u8]) -> io::Result<usize> {
-    let mut total = 0;
-    while total < buf.len() {
-        match r.read(&mut buf[total..]) {
-            Ok(0) => break,
-            Ok(n) => total += n,
-            Err(e) if e.kind() == io::ErrorKind::Interrupted => continue,
-            Err(e) => return Err(e),
-        }
-    }
-    Ok(total)
-}
-
-/// BD transport stream with embedded metadata.
+/// BD transport stream write sink with embedded FMKV metadata
+/// header.
 pub struct M2tsStream {
     disc_title: DiscTitle,
-    mode: Mode,
-    // PES support
-    demuxer: Option<ts::TsDemuxer>,
-    parsers: Vec<(u16, Box<dyn super::codec::CodecParser>)>,
-    pending_frames: std::collections::VecDeque<crate::pes::PesFrame>,
-    pid_to_track: Vec<(u16, usize)>,
-    pes_eof: bool,
-    /// Codec private data per stream (from FMKV header).
-    stored_codec_privates: Vec<Option<Vec<u8>>>,
+    muxer: super::tsmux::TsMuxer<Box<dyn Write + Send>>,
 }
 
 impl M2tsStream {
@@ -81,205 +45,153 @@ impl M2tsStream {
         }
         Ok(Self {
             disc_title: title.clone(),
-            mode: Mode::Write { muxer },
-            demuxer: None,
-            parsers: Vec::new(),
-            pending_frames: std::collections::VecDeque::new(),
-            pid_to_track: Vec::new(),
-            pes_eof: false,
-            stored_codec_privates: Vec::new(),
-        })
-    }
-
-    fn setup_pes(streams: &[DiscStream]) -> PesSetup {
-        let mut pids = Vec::new();
-        let mut parsers: Vec<(u16, Box<dyn super::codec::CodecParser>)> = Vec::new();
-        let mut pid_to_track = Vec::new();
-        for (i, s) in streams.iter().enumerate() {
-            let (pid, codec) = match s {
-                DiscStream::Video(v) => (v.pid, v.codec),
-                DiscStream::Audio(a) => (a.pid, a.codec),
-                DiscStream::Subtitle(s) => (s.pid, s.codec),
-            };
-            pids.push(pid);
-            pid_to_track.push((pid, i));
-            parsers.push((pid, super::codec::parser_for_codec(codec, None)));
-        }
-        (pids, parsers, pid_to_track)
-    }
-
-    /// Open an M2TS stream for reading. Takes any Read source — file, pipe, socket.
-    ///
-    /// Tries FMKV metadata header first. Falls back to PMT scan of first 1 MB.
-    pub fn open(mut reader: impl Read + Send + 'static) -> io::Result<Self> {
-        // Read first chunk — enough for FMKV header or PMT scan
-        let mut head = vec![0u8; SCAN_SIZE];
-        let head_len = read_fill(&mut reader, &mut head)?;
-        head.truncate(head_len);
-
-        // Try FMKV metadata header from the buffered head
-        let mut cursor = io::Cursor::new(&head);
-        if let Ok(Some(m)) = meta::read_header(&mut cursor) {
-            let header_end = cursor.position() as usize;
-            let title = m.to_title();
-            let (pids, parsers, pid_to_track) = Self::setup_pes(&title.streams);
-            // Chain: remaining head bytes + rest of reader
-            let remaining_head = &head[header_end..];
-            let chain: Box<dyn Read + Send> =
-                Box::new(io::Cursor::new(remaining_head.to_vec()).chain(reader));
-            return Ok(Self {
-                disc_title: title.clone(),
-                mode: Mode::Read { reader: chain },
-                demuxer: if pids.is_empty() {
-                    None
-                } else {
-                    Some(ts::TsDemuxer::new(&pids))
-                },
-                parsers,
-                pending_frames: std::collections::VecDeque::new(),
-                pid_to_track,
-                pes_eof: false,
-                stored_codec_privates: title.codec_privates,
-            });
-        }
-
-        // No FMKV header — scan head for PMT
-        let streams = ts::scan_streams(&head)
-            .ok_or_else(|| -> io::Error { crate::error::Error::NoStreams.into() })?;
-
-        let (pids, parsers, pid_to_track) = Self::setup_pes(&streams);
-
-        // Chain: full head (it's all TS data) + rest of reader
-        let chain: Box<dyn Read + Send> = Box::new(io::Cursor::new(head).chain(reader));
-
-        Ok(Self {
-            disc_title: DiscTitle {
-                duration_secs: 0.0, // unknown without seeking
-                streams,
-                ..DiscTitle::empty()
-            },
-            mode: Mode::Read { reader: chain },
-            demuxer: if pids.is_empty() {
-                None
-            } else {
-                Some(ts::TsDemuxer::new(&pids))
-            },
-            parsers,
-            pending_frames: std::collections::VecDeque::new(),
-            pid_to_track,
-            pes_eof: false,
-            stored_codec_privates: Vec::new(),
+            muxer,
         })
     }
 }
 
 impl crate::pes::Stream for M2tsStream {
     fn read(&mut self) -> io::Result<Option<crate::pes::PesFrame>> {
-        if let Some(frame) = self.pending_frames.pop_front() {
-            return Ok(Some(frame));
-        }
-        if self.pes_eof {
-            return Ok(None);
-        }
-
-        loop {
-            let reader = match &mut self.mode {
-                Mode::Read { reader } => reader,
-                _ => return Err(crate::error::Error::StreamWriteOnly.into()),
-            };
-            let mut buf = vec![0u8; 192 * 1024];
-            let n = reader.read(&mut buf)?;
-            if n == 0 {
-                self.pes_eof = true;
-                // Flush demuxer — last PES packet may still be in the assembler
-                if let Some(ref mut demuxer) = self.demuxer {
-                    for pes in &demuxer.flush() {
-                        if let Some((_, track)) =
-                            self.pid_to_track.iter().find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
-                        {
-                            if let Some((_, parser)) =
-                                self.parsers.iter_mut().find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
-                            {
-                                for frame in parser.parse(pes) {
-                                    self.pending_frames.push_back(
-                                        crate::pes::PesFrame::from_codec_frame(*track, frame),
-                                    );
-                                }
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-                return Ok(self.pending_frames.pop_front());
-            }
-
-            if let Some(ref mut demuxer) = self.demuxer {
-                let packets = demuxer.feed(&buf[..n]);
-                for pes in &packets {
-                    if let Some((_, track)) =
-                        self.pid_to_track.iter().find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
-                    {
-                        if let Some((_, parser)) =
-                            self.parsers.iter_mut().find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
-                        {
-                            for frame in parser.parse(pes) {
-                                self.pending_frames.push_back(
-                                    crate::pes::PesFrame::from_codec_frame(*track, frame),
-                                );
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-
-            if let Some(frame) = self.pending_frames.pop_front() {
-                return Ok(Some(frame));
-            }
-        }
+        // Write-only sink. The m2ts:// read direction is served by
+        // `super::resolve::build_m2ts_pipeline` →
+        // `PipelinedPesStream`; routing through this type for reads
+        // was removed when the highway became the only ingress.
+        Err(crate::error::Error::StreamWriteOnly.into())
     }
 
     fn write(&mut self, frame: &crate::pes::PesFrame) -> io::Result<()> {
-        match &mut self.mode {
-            Mode::Write { muxer } => muxer.write_frame(frame.track, frame.pts, &frame.data),
-            Mode::Read { .. } => Err(crate::error::Error::StreamReadOnly.into()),
-        }
+        self.muxer
+            .write_frame(frame.track, frame.pts, frame.keyframe, &frame.data)
     }
 
     fn finish(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
-        match &mut self.mode {
-            Mode::Write { muxer } => muxer.finish(),
-            Mode::Read { .. } => Ok(()),
-        }
+        self.muxer.finish()
     }
 
     fn info(&self) -> &crate::disc::DiscTitle {
         &self.disc_title
     }
 
-    fn codec_private(&self, track: usize) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        // First check stored codec_privates from FMKV header
-        if let Some(Some(cp)) = self.stored_codec_privates.get(track) {
-            return Some(cp.clone());
+    fn codec_private(&self, _track: usize) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+        // Write side doesn't have parsers; codec_private flows in
+        // via the title metadata at `create` time and gets baked
+        // into the FMKV header. Nothing to surface back here.
+        None
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::disc::{
+        Codec, ColorSpace, ContentFormat, DiscTitle, FrameRate, HdrFormat, Resolution,
+        Stream as DiscStream, VideoStream,
+    };
+    use crate::pes::{PesFrame, Stream as PesStreamTrait};
+
+    const VIDEO_PID: u16 = 0x1011;
+
+    fn make_title() -> DiscTitle {
+        DiscTitle {
+            playlist: String::new(),
+            playlist_id: 0,
+            duration_secs: 0.0,
+            size_bytes: 0,
+            clips: Vec::new(),
+            streams: vec![DiscStream::Video(VideoStream {
+                pid: VIDEO_PID,
+                codec: Codec::Hevc,
+                resolution: Resolution::R1080p,
+                frame_rate: FrameRate::F24,
+                hdr: HdrFormat::Sdr,
+                color_space: ColorSpace::Bt709,
+                secondary: false,
+                label: String::new(),
+            })],
+            chapters: Vec::new(),
+            extents: Vec::new(),
+            content_format: ContentFormat::BdTs,
+            codec_privates: vec![Some({
+                // Minimal hvcC with one VPS-like array entry.
+                let marker: &[u8] = &[0x40, 0x01, 0x0C, 0x01];
+                let mut hvcc = vec![0u8; 22];
+                hvcc.push(1); // numArrays
+                hvcc.push(32);
+                hvcc.extend_from_slice(&1u16.to_be_bytes()); // numNalus
+                hvcc.extend_from_slice(&(marker.len() as u16).to_be_bytes());
+                hvcc.extend_from_slice(marker);
+                hvcc
+            })],
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn fake_idr_pes_data() -> Vec<u8> {
+        // 4-byte length prefix + NAL: type 19 (IDR_W_RADL).
+        let mut nal = vec![(19u8 << 1) & 0x7E, 0x01];
+        for i in 0..200 {
+            nal.push((i & 0xFF) as u8);
         }
-        // Fall back to parser-extracted codec_private
-        let pid = self
-            .pid_to_track
-            .iter()
-            .find(|(_, idx)| *idx == track)
-            .map(|(pid, _)| *pid)?;
-        self.parsers
-            .iter()
-            .find(|(p, _)| *p == pid)
-            .and_then(|(_, parser)| parser.codec_private())
+        let mut out = Vec::with_capacity(4 + nal.len());
+        out.extend_from_slice(&(nal.len() as u32).to_be_bytes());
+        out.extend_from_slice(&nal);
+        out
     }
 
-    fn headers_ready(&self) -> bool {
-        for (idx, s) in self.disc_title.streams.iter().enumerate() {
-            if let crate::disc::Stream::Video(v) = s {
-                if !v.secondary && self.codec_private(idx).is_none() {
-                    return false;
-                }
-            }
+    /// Writer wrapper that shares an Arc<Mutex<Vec<u8>>> so the test can
+    /// inspect the bytes after the muxer drops.
+    struct SharedSink(std::sync::Arc<std::sync::Mutex<Vec<u8>>>);
+    impl Write for SharedSink {
+        fn write(&mut self, b: &[u8]) -> io::Result<usize> {
+            self.0.lock().unwrap().extend_from_slice(b);
+            Ok(b.len())
         }
-        true
+        fn flush(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+            Ok(())
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn m2ts_stream_forwards_keyframe_to_rai() {
+        let title = make_title();
+        let shared = std::sync::Arc::new(std::sync::Mutex::new(Vec::<u8>::new()));
+        let sink = SharedSink(shared.clone());
+        let mut stream = M2tsStream::create(sink, &title).unwrap();
+        let frame = PesFrame {
+            track: 0,
+            pts: 0,
+            keyframe: true,
+            data: fake_idr_pes_data(),
+            duration_ns: None,
+        };
+        stream.write(&frame).unwrap();
+        stream.finish().unwrap();
+        drop(stream);
+
+        let buf = shared.lock().unwrap().clone();
+
+        // Skip FMKV metadata header via meta::read_header.
+        let mut cursor = std::io::Cursor::new(&buf);
+        let _meta = super::meta::read_header(&mut cursor)
+            .unwrap()
+            .expect("FMKV header present");
+        let header_end = cursor.position() as usize;
+        let ts_bytes = &buf[header_end..];
+
+        // Find first PUSI packet on VIDEO_PID; verify RAI in AF flags.
+        let pkt = ts_bytes
+            .chunks(192)
+            .find(|p| {
+                let h = &p[4..];
+                let pid = (((h[1] & 0x1F) as u16) << 8) | h[2] as u16;
+                pid == VIDEO_PID && (h[1] & 0x40) != 0
+            })
+            .expect("video PUSI packet present");
+        let h = &pkt[4..];
+        let afc = (h[3] >> 4) & 0x03;
+        assert!(afc & 0b10 != 0, "AF must be present");
+        let af_len = h[4] as usize;
+        assert!(af_len >= 1, "AF length must include flags byte");
+        let flags = h[5];
+        assert_eq!(flags & 0x40, 0x40, "RAI bit set");
     }
 }

src/mux/m2ts_mux/mod.rs

@@ -161,16 +161,21 @@ impl<W: Write> M2tsMux<W> {
     }
 
     /// Write one video PES frame. `data` is either length-prefixed
-    /// NALUs (MKV-style) or already Annex B; both are accepted.
-    pub fn write_video(&mut self, pts_ns: i64, data: &[u8]) -> io::Result<()> {
+    /// NALUs (MKV-style) or already Annex B; both are accepted. `keyframe`
+    /// drives the random_access_indicator bit on the first packet of this
+    /// PES (and gates codec_private NAL prepending — those only attach to
+    /// the first keyframe).
+    pub fn write_video(&mut self, pts_ns: i64, keyframe: bool, data: &[u8]) -> io::Result<()> {
         let pts_90k = self.base_relative_pts(pts_ns);
         // PCR comes "before" the PTS it timestamps; clamp at 0 for the
         // first frame so we don't underflow.
         let pcr = pts_90k.saturating_sub(PCR_LEAD_90KHZ);
 
-        // Annex-B-ify the frame and prepend VPS/SPS/PPS once.
+        // Annex-B-ify the frame and prepend VPS/SPS/PPS once, on the
+        // FIRST keyframe (not first frame — non-key frames before the
+        // first keyframe can't carry params usefully).
         let mut es = Vec::with_capacity(data.len() + 64);
-        if !self.params_written {
+        if keyframe && !self.params_written {
             if let Some(cp) = &self.video_codec_private {
                 let payload = hvcc_payload(cp);
                 if !payload.is_empty() {
@@ -184,7 +189,7 @@ impl<W: Write> M2tsMux<W> {
         es.extend_from_slice(&annex_b);
 
         let pes = build_video_pes(pts_90k, &es);
-        self.write_pes(PID_VIDEO, &pes, Some(pcr))
+        self.write_pes(PID_VIDEO, &pes, Some(pcr), keyframe)
     }
 
     /// Write one audio PES frame. Returns `Ok(())` and silently drops
@@ -197,7 +202,7 @@ impl<W: Write> M2tsMux<W> {
         }
         let pts_90k = self.base_relative_pts(pts_ns);
         let pes = build_audio_pes(pts_90k, data);
-        self.write_pes(PID_AUDIO, &pes, None)
+        self.write_pes(PID_AUDIO, &pes, None, false)
     }
 
     /// Drain the underlying writer. No TS-level trailer is mandatory —
@@ -234,7 +239,13 @@ impl<W: Write> M2tsMux<W> {
     /// The fit-the-tail logic on the last packet of the PES uses
     /// stuffing rather than a separate small packet, which is the
     /// standard MPEG-TS convention.
-    fn write_pes(&mut self, pid: u16, pes: &[u8], pcr: Option<u64>) -> io::Result<()> {
+    fn write_pes(
+        &mut self,
+        pid: u16,
+        pes: &[u8],
+        pcr: Option<u64>,
+        is_keyframe_video: bool,
+    ) -> io::Result<()> {
         // PSI cadence is enforced per TS packet — interleave a fresh
         // PAT+PMT into the packet stream every PSI_INTERVAL_PACKETS so
         // long single-PES emissions (e.g. one 60 KB video frame) don't
@@ -250,11 +261,21 @@ impl<W: Write> M2tsMux<W> {
                 && (self.packets_written == 0
                     || self.video_packets_since_pcr >= PCR_INTERVAL_PACKETS);
 
-            let af_body: Vec<u8> = if attach_pcr {
+            // RAI rides only the FIRST packet of a keyframe video PES.
+            let attach_rai = first && is_keyframe_video && pid == PID_VIDEO;
+
+            let mut af_body: Vec<u8> = if attach_pcr {
                 build_pcr_adaptation(pcr.unwrap_or(0))
             } else {
                 Vec::new()
             };
+            if attach_rai {
+                if af_body.is_empty() {
+                    af_body.push(0x40); // flags: RAI only
+                } else {
+                    af_body[0] |= 0x40; // OR RAI into existing PCR flags
+                }
+            }
 
             let remaining = pes.len() - offset;
             // Capacity for payload given AF body and 1-byte AF length.
@@ -510,7 +531,7 @@ fn build_pcr_adaptation(pcr_90k: u64) -> Vec<u8> {
     // elementary_stream_priority(1) | PCR_flag(1) | OPCR_flag(1) |
     // splicing_point_flag(1) | transport_private_data_flag(1) |
     // adaptation_field_extension_flag(1) | PCR(48b).
-    let mut af = vec![0x50]; // PCR_flag=1, random_access_indicator=1
+    let mut af = vec![0x10]; // PCR_flag=1; RAI is OR'd in by the caller when applicable
     let pcr_base = pcr_90k & 0x1_FFFF_FFFF; // 33-bit
     let pcr_ext: u16 = 0; // 9-bit, we keep it zero (no sub-tick precision)
     // Encode PCR: 33b base | 6b reserved | 9b extension = 48b
@@ -598,7 +619,7 @@ mod tests {
         let mut frame = Vec::new();
         frame.extend_from_slice(&4u32.to_be_bytes());
         frame.extend_from_slice(&[0x40, 0x01, 0x0C, 0x01]);
-        mux.write_video(0, &frame).unwrap();
+        mux.write_video(0, true, &frame).unwrap();
         mux.finish().unwrap();
         drop(mux);
 
@@ -619,7 +640,7 @@ mod tests {
         let mut frame = Vec::new();
         frame.extend_from_slice(&3u32.to_be_bytes());
         frame.extend_from_slice(&[0x40, 0x01, 0x0C]);
-        mux.write_video(0, &frame).unwrap();
+        mux.write_video(0, true, &frame).unwrap();
         mux.write_audio(20_000_000, &[0x0B, 0x77, 0x12, 0x34])
             .unwrap();
         mux.finish().unwrap();
@@ -641,7 +662,7 @@ mod tests {
         let mut frame = Vec::new();
         frame.extend_from_slice(&(big.len() as u32).to_be_bytes());
         frame.extend_from_slice(&big);
-        mux.write_video(0, &frame).unwrap();
+        mux.write_video(0, true, &frame).unwrap();
         mux.finish().unwrap();
         drop(mux);
 
@@ -663,7 +684,7 @@ mod tests {
             let mut frame = Vec::new();
             frame.extend_from_slice(&3u32.to_be_bytes());
             frame.extend_from_slice(&[0xAA, 0xBB, 0xCC]);
-            mux.write_video(pts, &frame).unwrap();
+            mux.write_video(pts, pts == 0, &frame).unwrap();
         }
         mux.finish().unwrap();
         drop(mux);
@@ -678,4 +699,130 @@ mod tests {
             assert_eq!(w[1], (w[0] + 1) & 0x0F);
         }
     }
+
+    /// Return the adaptation field body (length byte stripped) for one
+    /// 188-byte TS packet, or None when the packet has no AF.
+    fn af_body(packet: &[u8]) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+        let afc = (packet[3] >> 4) & 0x03;
+        if afc & 0b10 == 0 {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let af_len = packet[4] as usize;
+        if af_len == 0 {
+            return Some(Vec::new());
+        }
+        Some(packet[5..5 + af_len].to_vec())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rai_set_on_keyframe_pes_packet() {
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        let mut mux = M2tsMux::new(&mut sink);
+        let mut frame = Vec::new();
+        frame.extend_from_slice(&4u32.to_be_bytes());
+        frame.extend_from_slice(&[0x40, 0x01, 0x0C, 0x01]);
+        mux.write_video(0, true, &frame).unwrap();
+        mux.finish().unwrap();
+        drop(mux);
+
+        // Find the first PUSI packet on PID_VIDEO.
+        let pkt = sink
+            .chunks(188)
+            .find(|p| u16::from_be_bytes([p[1] & 0x1F, p[2]]) == PID_VIDEO && (p[1] & 0x40) != 0)
+            .expect("video PUSI packet exists");
+        let af = af_body(pkt).expect("AF present on first packet of keyframe video PES");
+        assert!(!af.is_empty(), "AF flags byte present");
+        assert_eq!(af[0] & 0x40, 0x40, "RAI bit set");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pcr_packet_without_keyframe_has_rai_clear() {
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        let mut mux = M2tsMux::new(&mut sink);
+        // First frame is the keyframe (gates codec_private; also gets PCR).
+        let mut frame0 = Vec::new();
+        frame0.extend_from_slice(&4u32.to_be_bytes());
+        frame0.extend_from_slice(&[0x40, 0x01, 0x0C, 0x01]);
+        mux.write_video(0, true, &frame0).unwrap();
+        // Push enough non-key video frames to cross PCR_INTERVAL_PACKETS
+        // video packets so a later PCR-bearing packet exists.
+        // Each frame is ~50 KB → ~270 packets, well over 40.
+        let big: Vec<u8> = (0..(50 * 1024)).map(|i| (i & 0xff) as u8).collect();
+        for i in 1..3 {
+            let mut frame = Vec::new();
+            frame.extend_from_slice(&(big.len() as u32).to_be_bytes());
+            frame.extend_from_slice(&big);
+            mux.write_video((i as i64) * 40_000_000, false, &frame)
+                .unwrap();
+        }
+        mux.finish().unwrap();
+        drop(mux);
+
+        // The first PUSI video packet carries PCR + RAI (keyframe).
+        // A later video PUSI packet with AF + PCR but NOT keyframe must
+        // have RAI clear.
+        let video_pusi: Vec<&[u8]> = sink
+            .chunks(188)
+            .filter(|p| u16::from_be_bytes([p[1] & 0x1F, p[2]]) == PID_VIDEO && (p[1] & 0x40) != 0)
+            .collect();
+        assert!(
+            video_pusi.len() >= 2,
+            "expected ≥2 video PES starts, got {}",
+            video_pusi.len()
+        );
+        // Find a later one with AF that carries PCR (flags & 0x10 set).
+        let later_pcr = video_pusi
+            .iter()
+            .skip(1)
+            .find_map(|p| {
+                let af = af_body(p)?;
+                if !af.is_empty() && (af[0] & 0x10) != 0 {
+                    Some(af)
+                } else {
+                    None
+                }
+            })
+            .expect("later PCR-bearing PUSI exists");
+        assert_eq!(
+            later_pcr[0] & 0x40,
+            0,
+            "RAI must be clear on non-keyframe PCR packet"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn keyframe_video_with_pcr_combines_flags() {
+        // PCR attaches only when video_packets_since_pcr >=
+        // PCR_INTERVAL_PACKETS (40). The very first video packet emits a
+        // PAT+PMT first, so packets_written != 0 and attach_pcr is false on
+        // frame 0. We push: keyframe (no PCR) → many non-key (drives the
+        // PCR counter past the interval) → second keyframe (PCR + RAI).
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        let mut mux = M2tsMux::new(&mut sink);
+        let mut small = Vec::new();
+        small.extend_from_slice(&4u32.to_be_bytes());
+        small.extend_from_slice(&[0x40, 0x01, 0x0C, 0x01]);
+        mux.write_video(0, true, &small).unwrap();
+        // ~50 KB ≈ 270 packets — well over PCR_INTERVAL_PACKETS.
+        let big: Vec<u8> = (0..(50 * 1024)).map(|i| (i & 0xff) as u8).collect();
+        let mut big_frame = Vec::new();
+        big_frame.extend_from_slice(&(big.len() as u32).to_be_bytes());
+        big_frame.extend_from_slice(&big);
+        mux.write_video(40_000_000, false, &big_frame).unwrap();
+        // Now a second keyframe — must combine RAI (keyframe) and PCR
+        // (counter exceeded).
+        mux.write_video(80_000_000, true, &small).unwrap();
+        mux.finish().unwrap();
+        drop(mux);
+
+        // Collect video PUSI packets and find the third (second keyframe).
+        let video_pusi: Vec<&[u8]> = sink
+            .chunks(188)
+            .filter(|p| u16::from_be_bytes([p[1] & 0x1F, p[2]]) == PID_VIDEO && (p[1] & 0x40) != 0)
+            .collect();
+        assert!(video_pusi.len() >= 3, "three video PES starts expected");
+        let af = af_body(video_pusi[2]).expect("AF present");
+        assert!(!af.is_empty(), "AF flags byte present");
+        assert_eq!(af[0], 0x50, "flags == RAI | PCR");
+    }
 }

src/mux/mkv.rs

@@ -87,11 +87,19 @@ impl MkvTrack {
     }
 
     pub fn audio(a: &AudioStream) -> Self {
+        // Codec ID strings must distinguish the DTS family — strict
+        // players (Plex transcoder, some hardware decoders, some AV
+        // receivers) reject lossless DTS-HD MA payload when the
+        // track advertises plain `A_DTS` because it implies the
+        // bitstream is the 1.5 Mbps "core" only. Fix is just to
+        // emit the right ID per BD-STN codec field.
         let codec_id = match a.codec {
             Codec::Ac3 => "A_AC3",
             Codec::Ac3Plus => "A_EAC3",
             Codec::TrueHd => "A_TRUEHD",
-            Codec::DtsHdMa | Codec::DtsHdHr | Codec::Dts => "A_DTS",
+            Codec::DtsHdMa => "A_DTS/MA",
+            Codec::DtsHdHr => "A_DTS/HR",
+            Codec::Dts => "A_DTS",
             Codec::Lpcm => "A_PCM/INT/BIG",
             _ => "A_AC3",
         };
@@ -159,6 +167,12 @@ struct CuePoint {
     cluster_pos: u64, // relative to Segment start
 }
 
+/// SeekHead entry that needs its 8-byte SeekPosition back-patched after Cues are written.
+struct SeekPositionFixup {
+    target_id: u32,
+    value_offset: u64, // absolute file offset of the 8-byte SeekPosition value
+}
+
 /// MKV muxer. Call write_frame() for each frame, then finish() at the end.
 pub struct MkvMuxer<W: Write + Seek> {
     writer: W,
@@ -170,6 +184,10 @@ pub struct MkvMuxer<W: Write + Seek> {
     base_pts_ms: Option<i64>,
     cues: Vec<CuePoint>,
     frame_count: u64,
+    seek_fixups: Vec<SeekPositionFixup>,
+    info_offset: u64,
+    tracks_offset: u64,
+    chapters_offset: Option<u64>,
 }
 
 /// New cluster every 5 seconds.
@@ -200,7 +218,34 @@ impl<W: Write + Seek> MkvMuxer<W> {
         ebml::write_unknown_size(&mut writer)?;
         let segment_start = writer.stream_position()?;
 
+        // SeekHead with fixed-width SeekPosition placeholders. Order: Info, Tracks, [Chapters], Cues.
+        let mut seek_fixups: Vec<SeekPositionFixup> = Vec::new();
+        let seekhead_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut writer, ebml::SEEK_HEAD)?;
+        let mut targets: Vec<u32> = vec![ebml::INFO, ebml::TRACKS];
+        if !chapters.is_empty() {
+            targets.push(ebml::CHAPTERS);
+        }
+        targets.push(ebml::CUES);
+        let seek_id_be = (ebml::SEEK as u16).to_be_bytes();
+        let seek_inner_id_be = (ebml::SEEK_ID as u16).to_be_bytes();
+        let seek_pos_id_be = (ebml::SEEK_POSITION as u16).to_be_bytes();
+        for target_id in &targets {
+            writer.write_all(&[seek_id_be[0], seek_id_be[1], 0x92])?;
+            writer.write_all(&[seek_inner_id_be[0], seek_inner_id_be[1], 0x84])?;
+            writer.write_all(&target_id.to_be_bytes())?;
+            writer.write_all(&[seek_pos_id_be[0], seek_pos_id_be[1], 0x88])?;
+            let value_offset = writer.stream_position()?;
+            writer.write_all(&[0u8; 8])?;
+            seek_fixups.push(SeekPositionFixup {
+                target_id: *target_id,
+                value_offset,
+            });
+        }
+        ebml::end_master(&mut writer, seekhead_pos)?;
+
         // Info
+        let info_start = writer.stream_position()?;
+        let info_offset = info_start - segment_start;
         let info_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut writer, ebml::INFO)?;
         ebml::write_uint(&mut writer, ebml::TIMESTAMP_SCALE, 1_000_000)?; // 1ms precision
         if duration_secs > 0.0 {
@@ -215,6 +260,8 @@ impl<W: Write + Seek> MkvMuxer<W> {
         ebml::end_master(&mut writer, info_pos)?;
 
         // Tracks
+        let tracks_start = writer.stream_position()?;
+        let tracks_offset = tracks_start - segment_start;
         let tracks_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut writer, ebml::TRACKS)?;
         for (i, track) in tracks.iter().enumerate() {
             let entry_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut writer, ebml::TRACK_ENTRY)?;
@@ -302,7 +349,10 @@ impl<W: Write + Seek> MkvMuxer<W> {
         ebml::end_master(&mut writer, tracks_pos)?;
 
         // Chapters
+        let mut chapters_offset: Option<u64> = None;
         if !chapters.is_empty() {
+            let chapters_start = writer.stream_position()?;
+            chapters_offset = Some(chapters_start - segment_start);
             let chapters_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut writer, ebml::CHAPTERS)?;
             let edition_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut writer, ebml::EDITION_ENTRY)?;
             for (i, ch) in chapters.iter().enumerate() {
@@ -330,42 +380,60 @@ impl<W: Write + Seek> MkvMuxer<W> {
             base_pts_ms: None,
             cues: Vec::new(),
             frame_count: 0,
+            seek_fixups,
+            info_offset,
+            tracks_offset,
+            chapters_offset,
         })
     }
 
     /// Write a single frame.
+    ///
+    /// When `duration_ns` is `Some`, the frame is emitted as a
+    /// `BlockGroup` with `BlockDuration` so the player knows exactly
+    /// when to remove the on-screen artifact (the practical case is
+    /// PGS subtitles — without it, the last bitmap lingers until the
+    /// next display set replaces it). Otherwise a plain `SimpleBlock`.
     pub fn write_frame(
         &mut self,
         track_idx: usize,
         pts_ns: i64,
         keyframe: bool,
         data: &[u8],
+        duration_ns: Option<u64>,
     ) -> io::Result<()> {
         let raw_ms = pts_ns / 1_000_000;
         let base = *self.base_pts_ms.get_or_insert(raw_ms);
         let pts_ms = raw_ms - base;
 
-        // Start new cluster if needed
-        if !self.cluster_open || (pts_ms - self.cluster_ts_ms) >= CLUSTER_DURATION_MS {
-            if self.cluster_open {
-                // Close current cluster (it's a master with unknown size — we use known size)
-                // Actually, for streaming we keep clusters open-ended. Just start a new one.
+        // Cluster boundaries must coincide with a video keyframe so every
+        // Cues entry resolves to a seekable IDR at the cluster start.
+        let is_video_key = keyframe && track_idx == 0;
+        let needs_new_cluster = !self.cluster_open
+            || (is_video_key && (pts_ms - self.cluster_ts_ms) >= CLUSTER_DURATION_MS);
+
+        if needs_new_cluster {
+            if !is_video_key {
+                return Ok(());
             }
             self.start_cluster(pts_ms)?;
-
-            // Add cue point at cluster start for keyframes (video track 0)
-            if keyframe && track_idx == 0 {
-                self.cues.push(CuePoint {
-                    timestamp_ms: pts_ms,
-                    track: track_idx + 1,
-                    cluster_pos: self.cluster_pos - self.segment_start,
-                });
-            }
+            self.cues.push(CuePoint {
+                timestamp_ms: pts_ms,
+                track: track_idx + 1,
+                cluster_pos: self.cluster_pos - self.segment_start,
+            });
         }
 
-        // Write SimpleBlock
         let relative_ts = (pts_ms - self.cluster_ts_ms) as i16;
-        self.write_simple_block(track_idx + 1, relative_ts, keyframe, data)?;
+        match duration_ns {
+            Some(dur_ns) => {
+                let duration_ms = (dur_ns / 1_000_000).max(1);
+                self.write_block_group(track_idx + 1, relative_ts, keyframe, data, duration_ms)?;
+            }
+            None => {
+                self.write_simple_block(track_idx + 1, relative_ts, keyframe, data)?;
+            }
+        }
         self.frame_count += 1;
 
         Ok(())
@@ -377,6 +445,8 @@ impl<W: Write + Seek> MkvMuxer<W> {
         self.end_cluster()?;
 
         // Write Cues
+        let cues_start = self.writer.stream_position()?;
+        let cues_offset = cues_start - self.segment_start;
         if !self.cues.is_empty() {
             let cues_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut self.writer, ebml::CUES)?;
             for cue in &self.cues {
@@ -395,6 +465,21 @@ impl<W: Write + Seek> MkvMuxer<W> {
             ebml::end_master(&mut self.writer, cues_pos)?;
         }
 
+        // Back-patch SeekHead SeekPosition values now that all element offsets are known.
+        for fixup in &self.seek_fixups {
+            let offset = match fixup.target_id {
+                ebml::INFO => self.info_offset,
+                ebml::TRACKS => self.tracks_offset,
+                ebml::CHAPTERS => self.chapters_offset.unwrap_or(0),
+                ebml::CUES => cues_offset,
+                _ => 0,
+            };
+            self.writer
+                .seek(std::io::SeekFrom::Start(fixup.value_offset))?;
+            self.writer.write_all(&offset.to_be_bytes())?;
+        }
+        self.writer.seek(std::io::SeekFrom::End(0))?;
+
         self.writer.flush()?;
         Ok(())
     }
@@ -447,6 +532,34 @@ impl<W: Write + Seek> MkvMuxer<W> {
 
         Ok(())
     }
+
+    fn write_block_group(
+        &mut self,
+        track_num: usize,
+        relative_ts: i16,
+        keyframe: bool,
+        data: &[u8],
+        duration_ms: u64,
+    ) -> io::Result<()> {
+        let track_vint = if track_num < 0x80 {
+            vec![(track_num as u8) | 0x80]
+        } else {
+            vec![0x40 | ((track_num >> 8) as u8), track_num as u8]
+        };
+        let flags: u8 = if keyframe { 0x80 } else { 0x00 };
+        let block_size = track_vint.len() + 2 + 1 + data.len();
+
+        let bg_pos = ebml::start_master(&mut self.writer, ebml::BLOCK_GROUP)?;
+        ebml::write_id(&mut self.writer, ebml::BLOCK)?;
+        ebml::write_size(&mut self.writer, block_size as u64)?;
+        self.writer.write_all(&track_vint)?;
+        self.writer.write_all(&relative_ts.to_be_bytes())?;
+        self.writer.write_all(&[flags])?;
+        self.writer.write_all(data)?;
+        ebml::write_uint(&mut self.writer, ebml::BLOCK_DURATION, duration_ms)?;
+        ebml::end_master(&mut self.writer, bg_pos)?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 // ============================================================
@@ -556,7 +669,7 @@ mod tests {
         let tracks = [make_video_track()];
         let mut muxer = MkvMuxer::new(buf, &tracks, None, 60.0, &[]).unwrap();
         muxer
-            .write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF])
+            .write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF], None)
             .unwrap();
         let data = muxer.writer.into_inner();
         assert!(
@@ -594,7 +707,9 @@ mod tests {
         let writer = SharedWriter(shared.clone());
         let tracks = [make_video_track()];
         let mut muxer = MkvMuxer::new(writer, &tracks, Some("Cue Test"), 60.0, &[]).unwrap();
-        muxer.write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0x01, 0x02, 0x03]).unwrap();
+        muxer
+            .write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0x01, 0x02, 0x03], None)
+            .unwrap();
         muxer.finish().unwrap();
 
         let data = shared.lock().unwrap().clone().into_inner();
@@ -610,13 +725,17 @@ mod tests {
         let tracks = [make_video_track(), make_audio_track()];
         let mut muxer = MkvMuxer::new(buf, &tracks, Some("Multi"), 120.0, &[]).unwrap();
         // Write frames to both tracks
-        muxer.write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0x00, 0x00, 0x01]).unwrap();
-        muxer.write_frame(1, 0, false, &[0x0B, 0x77, 0x00]).unwrap();
         muxer
-            .write_frame(0, 40_000_000, false, &[0x00, 0x00, 0x01])
+            .write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0x00, 0x00, 0x01], None)
             .unwrap();
         muxer
-            .write_frame(1, 32_000_000, false, &[0x0B, 0x77, 0x01])
+            .write_frame(1, 0, false, &[0x0B, 0x77, 0x00], None)
+            .unwrap();
+        muxer
+            .write_frame(0, 40_000_000, false, &[0x00, 0x00, 0x01], None)
+            .unwrap();
+        muxer
+            .write_frame(1, 32_000_000, false, &[0x0B, 0x77, 0x01], None)
             .unwrap();
         // Should not panic
         let data = muxer.writer.into_inner();
@@ -631,10 +750,12 @@ mod tests {
 
         // Record position before first frame
         let pos_before_kf = muxer.writer.position();
-        muxer.write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0xAA]).unwrap();
+        muxer.write_frame(0, 0, true, &[0xAA], None).unwrap();
         let pos_after_kf = muxer.writer.position();
 
-        muxer.write_frame(0, 1_000_000, false, &[0xBB]).unwrap();
+        muxer
+            .write_frame(0, 1_000_000, false, &[0xBB], None)
+            .unwrap();
         let pos_after_nkf = muxer.writer.position();
 
         let data = muxer.writer.into_inner();
@@ -812,4 +933,422 @@ mod tests {
             "FlagForced element should not be present for non-forced subtitle"
         );
     }
+
+    // ============================================================
+    // Seekability tests: SeekHead, keyframe-aligned clusters, Cues
+    // ============================================================
+
+    use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+
+    /// Writer that lets the test inspect the buffer after `finish()` consumes the muxer.
+    struct SharedWriter(Arc<Mutex<Cursor<Vec<u8>>>>);
+    impl Write for SharedWriter {
+        fn write(&mut self, buf: &[u8]) -> io::Result<usize> {
+            self.0.lock().unwrap().write(buf)
+        }
+        fn flush(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+            self.0.lock().unwrap().flush()
+        }
+    }
+    impl Seek for SharedWriter {
+        fn seek(&mut self, pos: io::SeekFrom) -> io::Result<u64> {
+            self.0.lock().unwrap().seek(pos)
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Build interleaved frames at 24 fps video (IDR every gop_secs) + 48 kHz audio (1024 samples per frame).
+    fn frames_for(duration_secs: f64, gop_secs: f64) -> Vec<(usize, i64, bool, Vec<u8>)> {
+        let video_interval_ns: i64 = 1_000_000_000 / 24;
+        let audio_interval_ns: i64 = (1024i64 * 1_000_000_000) / 48_000;
+        let gop_frames = (gop_secs * 24.0).round() as i64;
+
+        let mut out: Vec<(usize, i64, bool, Vec<u8>)> = Vec::new();
+        let total_ns = (duration_secs * 1_000_000_000.0) as i64;
+
+        let mut vi: i64 = 0;
+        loop {
+            let pts = vi * video_interval_ns;
+            if pts >= total_ns {
+                break;
+            }
+            let keyframe = vi % gop_frames == 0;
+            out.push((0, pts, keyframe, vec![0xAB; 64]));
+            vi += 1;
+        }
+
+        let mut ai: i64 = 0;
+        loop {
+            let pts = ai * audio_interval_ns;
+            if pts >= total_ns {
+                break;
+            }
+            out.push((1, pts, true, vec![0xCD; 32]));
+            ai += 1;
+        }
+
+        out.sort_by_key(|f| f.1);
+        out
+    }
+
+    /// Mux frames through a SharedWriter and return the final buffer.
+    fn mux_to_bytes(
+        tracks: &[MkvTrack],
+        chapters: &[Chapter],
+        frames: &[(usize, i64, bool, Vec<u8>)],
+    ) -> (Vec<u8>, u64) {
+        let shared = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Cursor::new(Vec::new())));
+        let writer = SharedWriter(shared.clone());
+        let mut muxer = MkvMuxer::new(writer, tracks, None, 0.0, chapters).unwrap();
+        for (t, pts, kf, data) in frames {
+            muxer.write_frame(*t, *pts, *kf, data, None).unwrap();
+        }
+        let frame_count = muxer.frame_count;
+        muxer.finish().unwrap();
+        let data = shared.lock().unwrap().clone().into_inner();
+        (data, frame_count)
+    }
+
+    /// Find the Segment header in the buffer and return (segment_id_pos, segment_start_pos).
+    /// segment_start = position immediately after Segment's id + size bytes.
+    fn locate_segment(data: &[u8]) -> (usize, usize) {
+        let segment_id_pos = find_id(data, ebml::SEGMENT).expect("segment id not found");
+        // Segment is written via write_id + write_unknown_size: 4 byte id + 8 byte size
+        (segment_id_pos, segment_id_pos + 4 + 8)
+    }
+
+    /// Walk Segment's top-level children. Returns Vec<(id, data_start_offset, data_size)>
+    /// where data_start_offset is absolute file offset and data_size is the element body size.
+    fn segment_children(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<(u32, usize, u64)> {
+        let (_, seg_start) = locate_segment(data);
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        let mut cursor = Cursor::new(&data[seg_start..]);
+        while (cursor.position() as usize) < data.len() - seg_start {
+            let pos_before = cursor.position();
+            let (id, size, hdr_len) = match ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor) {
+                Ok(v) => v,
+                Err(_) => break,
+            };
+            let data_abs = seg_start + pos_before as usize + hdr_len;
+            out.push((id, data_abs, size));
+            // Skip the body to advance to the next element.
+            cursor
+                .seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(size as i64))
+                .expect("seek past element body");
+        }
+        out
+    }
+
+    /// Find every Cluster: returns Vec<(cluster_data_start_abs, cluster_data_size, cluster_timestamp_ms)>.
+    fn find_clusters(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<(usize, u64, u64)> {
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        for (id, body_start, body_size) in segment_children(data) {
+            if id == ebml::CLUSTER {
+                let mut cursor = Cursor::new(&data[body_start..body_start + body_size as usize]);
+                let (tid, tsize, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+                assert_eq!(
+                    tid,
+                    ebml::CLUSTER_TIMESTAMP,
+                    "cluster must start with timestamp"
+                );
+                let ts = ebml::read_uint_val(&mut cursor, tsize as usize).unwrap();
+                out.push((body_start, body_size, ts));
+            }
+        }
+        out
+    }
+
+    /// Parse the first SimpleBlock that appears in a cluster body slice.
+    /// Returns (track_num, flags_byte). track_num decoded from VINT.
+    fn first_simple_block(cluster_body: &[u8]) -> (u64, u8) {
+        let mut cursor = Cursor::new(cluster_body);
+        loop {
+            let (id, size, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            if id == ebml::SIMPLE_BLOCK {
+                let body_start = cursor.position() as usize;
+                // Decode track VINT.
+                let b0 = cluster_body[body_start];
+                let (track_num, vint_len) = if b0 & 0x80 != 0 {
+                    ((b0 & 0x7F) as u64, 1usize)
+                } else if b0 & 0x40 != 0 {
+                    let b1 = cluster_body[body_start + 1];
+                    ((((b0 & 0x3F) as u64) << 8) | b1 as u64, 2)
+                } else {
+                    panic!("unsupported track vint width");
+                };
+                let flags = cluster_body[body_start + vint_len + 2];
+                return (track_num, flags);
+            }
+            // Skip non-SimpleBlock child.
+            cursor.seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(size as i64)).unwrap();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Parse the Cues element body into Vec<(cue_time, cue_track, cue_cluster_position)>.
+    fn parse_cues(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<(u64, u64, u64)> {
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        let (cues_id, cues_body_start, cues_body_size) = segment_children(data)
+            .into_iter()
+            .find(|(id, _, _)| *id == ebml::CUES)
+            .expect("cues element not found");
+        assert_eq!(cues_id, ebml::CUES);
+        let cues_body = &data[cues_body_start..cues_body_start + cues_body_size as usize];
+        let mut cursor = Cursor::new(cues_body);
+        while (cursor.position() as usize) < cues_body.len() {
+            let (id, size, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(id, ebml::CUE_POINT);
+            let cp_end = cursor.position() + size;
+            let mut cue_time = 0u64;
+            let mut cue_track = 0u64;
+            let mut cue_pos = 0u64;
+            while cursor.position() < cp_end {
+                let (sid, ssize, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+                match sid {
+                    ebml::CUE_TIME => {
+                        cue_time = ebml::read_uint_val(&mut cursor, ssize as usize).unwrap();
+                    }
+                    ebml::CUE_TRACK_POSITIONS => {
+                        let ctp_end = cursor.position() + ssize;
+                        while cursor.position() < ctp_end {
+                            let (iid, isize_, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+                            match iid {
+                                ebml::CUE_TRACK => {
+                                    cue_track =
+                                        ebml::read_uint_val(&mut cursor, isize_ as usize).unwrap();
+                                }
+                                ebml::CUE_CLUSTER_POSITION => {
+                                    cue_pos =
+                                        ebml::read_uint_val(&mut cursor, isize_ as usize).unwrap();
+                                }
+                                _ => {
+                                    cursor.seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(isize_ as i64)).unwrap();
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    _ => {
+                        cursor.seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(ssize as i64)).unwrap();
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            out.push((cue_time, cue_track, cue_pos));
+        }
+        out
+    }
+
+    /// Parse the SeekHead body into Vec<(seek_id, seek_position)>.
+    fn parse_seekhead(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<(u32, u64)> {
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        let (sh_id, sh_body_start, sh_body_size) = segment_children(data)
+            .into_iter()
+            .find(|(id, _, _)| *id == ebml::SEEK_HEAD)
+            .expect("seekhead not found");
+        assert_eq!(sh_id, ebml::SEEK_HEAD);
+        let sh_body = &data[sh_body_start..sh_body_start + sh_body_size as usize];
+        let mut cursor = Cursor::new(sh_body);
+        while (cursor.position() as usize) < sh_body.len() {
+            let (id, size, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(id, ebml::SEEK);
+            let seek_end = cursor.position() + size;
+            let mut seek_id_val: u32 = 0;
+            let mut seek_pos_val: u64 = 0;
+            while cursor.position() < seek_end {
+                let (sid, ssize, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+                match sid {
+                    ebml::SEEK_ID => {
+                        let raw = ebml::read_uint_val(&mut cursor, ssize as usize).unwrap();
+                        seek_id_val = raw as u32;
+                    }
+                    ebml::SEEK_POSITION => {
+                        seek_pos_val = ebml::read_uint_val(&mut cursor, ssize as usize).unwrap();
+                    }
+                    _ => {
+                        cursor.seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(ssize as i64)).unwrap();
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            out.push((seek_id_val, seek_pos_val));
+        }
+        out
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn cluster_starts_only_on_video_keyframe() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track(), make_audio_track()];
+        let frames = frames_for(30.0, 1.0);
+        let (data, _) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames);
+        let clusters = find_clusters(&data);
+        assert!(!clusters.is_empty(), "expected at least one cluster");
+        for (body_start, body_size, _ts) in clusters {
+            let body = &data[body_start..body_start + body_size as usize];
+            // Skip past the CLUSTER_TIMESTAMP element first.
+            let mut cursor = Cursor::new(body);
+            let (tid, tsize, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(tid, ebml::CLUSTER_TIMESTAMP);
+            cursor.seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(tsize as i64)).unwrap();
+            let after_ts = cursor.position() as usize;
+            let (track_num, flags) = first_simple_block(&body[after_ts..]);
+            assert_eq!(
+                track_num, 1,
+                "first block in cluster must be track 1 (video)"
+            );
+            assert_eq!(
+                flags & 0x80,
+                0x80,
+                "first block in cluster must have keyframe flag set, got 0x{:02X}",
+                flags
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn cue_count_equals_cluster_count() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track(), make_audio_track()];
+        let frames = frames_for(30.0, 1.0);
+        let (data, _) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames);
+        let clusters = find_clusters(&data);
+        let cues = parse_cues(&data);
+        assert_eq!(
+            clusters.len(),
+            cues.len(),
+            "cluster count {} != cue count {}",
+            clusters.len(),
+            cues.len()
+        );
+        // For 30s @ 5s min cluster duration with 1s GOP, expect 6 clusters / 6 cues.
+        assert_eq!(
+            clusters.len(),
+            6,
+            "expected 6 clusters for 30s @ 5s cluster duration"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn cue_positions_resolve_to_clusters() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track(), make_audio_track()];
+        let frames = frames_for(30.0, 1.0);
+        let (data, _) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames);
+        let (_, seg_start) = locate_segment(&data);
+        let cues = parse_cues(&data);
+        assert!(!cues.is_empty());
+        for (_time, _track, pos) in cues {
+            let abs = seg_start + pos as usize;
+            let mut cursor = Cursor::new(&data[abs..]);
+            let (id, _size, _hdr_len) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(
+                id,
+                ebml::CLUSTER,
+                "cue position 0x{:X} did not resolve to a cluster",
+                pos
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn cue_times_match_cluster_timestamps() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track(), make_audio_track()];
+        let frames = frames_for(30.0, 1.0);
+        let (data, _) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames);
+        let (_, seg_start) = locate_segment(&data);
+        let cues = parse_cues(&data);
+        for (time, _track, pos) in cues {
+            let abs = seg_start + pos as usize;
+            let mut cursor = Cursor::new(&data[abs..]);
+            let (id, size, _hdr_len) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(id, ebml::CLUSTER);
+            let body_start = abs + (cursor.position() as usize);
+            let body = &data[body_start..body_start + size as usize];
+            let mut bc = Cursor::new(body);
+            let (tid, tsize, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut bc).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(tid, ebml::CLUSTER_TIMESTAMP);
+            let cluster_ts = ebml::read_uint_val(&mut bc, tsize as usize).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(
+                cluster_ts, time,
+                "cluster timestamp {} != cue time {}",
+                cluster_ts, time
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn seekhead_is_first_child_of_segment() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track(), make_audio_track()];
+        let (data, _) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames_for(10.0, 1.0));
+        let children = segment_children(&data);
+        assert!(!children.is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(
+            children[0].0,
+            ebml::SEEK_HEAD,
+            "first child of segment must be SeekHead, got id 0x{:X}",
+            children[0].0
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn seekhead_points_to_real_elements() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track(), make_audio_track()];
+        let (data, _) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames_for(10.0, 1.0));
+        let (_, seg_start) = locate_segment(&data);
+        let entries = parse_seekhead(&data);
+        let required = [ebml::INFO, ebml::TRACKS, ebml::CUES];
+        for &want_id in &required {
+            let entry = entries
+                .iter()
+                .find(|(id, _)| *id == want_id)
+                .unwrap_or_else(|| panic!("seekhead missing entry for id 0x{:X}", want_id));
+            let abs = seg_start + entry.1 as usize;
+            let mut cursor = Cursor::new(&data[abs..]);
+            let (got_id, _, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(
+                got_id, want_id,
+                "seekhead entry for 0x{:X} resolves to wrong id 0x{:X}",
+                want_id, got_id
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn seekhead_omits_chapters_when_empty() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track()];
+        let (data, _) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames_for(5.0, 1.0));
+        let entries = parse_seekhead(&data);
+        assert_eq!(
+            entries.len(),
+            3,
+            "expected 3 seek entries (Info, Tracks, Cues), got {}",
+            entries.len()
+        );
+        assert!(
+            entries.iter().all(|(id, _)| *id != ebml::CHAPTERS),
+            "seekhead should not contain Chapters entry when chapters are empty"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pre_first_keyframe_frames_dropped() {
+        let tracks = [make_video_track()];
+        let frames = vec![
+            (0usize, 0i64, false, vec![0x11; 16]),
+            (0usize, 41_000_000i64, true, vec![0x22; 16]),
+        ];
+        let (data, frame_count) = mux_to_bytes(&tracks, &[], &frames);
+        assert_eq!(frame_count, 1, "muxer.frame_count must equal 1");
+        let clusters = find_clusters(&data);
+        assert_eq!(clusters.len(), 1, "expected exactly one cluster");
+        let (body_start, body_size, _ts) = clusters[0];
+        let body = &data[body_start..body_start + body_size as usize];
+        let mut cursor = Cursor::new(body);
+        // Skip CLUSTER_TIMESTAMP.
+        let (tid, tsize, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(tid, ebml::CLUSTER_TIMESTAMP);
+        cursor.seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(tsize as i64)).unwrap();
+        let mut sb_count = 0;
+        while (cursor.position() as usize) < body.len() {
+            let (id, sz, _) = ebml::read_element_header(&mut cursor).unwrap();
+            if id == ebml::SIMPLE_BLOCK {
+                sb_count += 1;
+            }
+            cursor.seek(io::SeekFrom::Current(sz as i64)).unwrap();
+        }
+        assert_eq!(sb_count, 1, "expected exactly one SimpleBlock in output");
+    }
 }

src/mux/mkvstream.rs

@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ impl crate::pes::Stream for MkvStream {
                         pts: pts_ms * 1_000_000, // ms → ns
                         keyframe,
                         data,
+                        duration_ns: None,
                     }));
                 }
                 _ => {
@@ -150,9 +151,13 @@ impl crate::pes::Stream for MkvStream {
 
     fn write(&mut self, frame: &crate::pes::PesFrame) -> io::Result<()> {
         match &mut self.mode {
-            Mode::Write { muxer: Some(m) } => {
-                m.write_frame(frame.track, frame.pts, frame.keyframe, &frame.data)
-            }
+            Mode::Write { muxer: Some(m) } => m.write_frame(
+                frame.track,
+                frame.pts,
+                frame.keyframe,
+                &frame.data,
+                frame.duration_ns,
+            ),
             Mode::Write { muxer: None } => Ok(()),
             Mode::Read(_) => Err(crate::error::Error::StreamReadOnly.into()),
         }

src/mux/mod.rs

@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@
 
 // Public modules — types here are intentionally part of the consumable API.
 pub mod codec;
+pub mod demux_thread;
 pub mod disc;
-pub mod iso;
+pub mod pipelined_stream;
 pub mod resolve;
 
 // Internal modules — implementation details. Their *types* are re-exported
@@ -54,11 +55,12 @@ pub(crate) mod ts;
 pub(crate) mod tsmux;
 
 pub use disc::DiscStream;
-pub use iso::IsoSectorReader;
 pub use m2ts::M2tsStream;
 pub use mkvstream::MkvStream;
 pub use network::NetworkStream;
 pub use null::NullStream;
+pub use pipelined_stream::PipelinedPesStream;
+pub use resolve::build_iso_pipeline;
 pub use resolve::{InputOptions, StreamUrl, input, output, parse_url};
 pub use stdio::StdioStream;
 

src/mux/network.rs

@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ mod tests {
             pts: 90000,
             keyframe: true,
             data: vec![0x47; 192],
+            duration_ns: None,
         };
         pes::Stream::write(&mut writer, &frame).unwrap();
         pes::Stream::finish(&mut writer).unwrap();

src/mux/null.rs

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ mod tests {
             pts: 0,
             keyframe: true,
             data: vec![0x01, 0x02, 0x03],
+            duration_ns: None,
         };
         sink.write(&frame).unwrap();
         let _ = sink.info();

src/mux/pipelined_stream.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,226 @@
+//! `PipelinedPesStream` — the read-side of the freemkv mux
+//! highway.
+//!
+//! Given a [`crate::mux::demux_thread::DemuxThread`] (which has the
+//! producer + demux workers already spawned), a set of codec
+//! parsers, and the title metadata, this struct implements
+//! [`crate::pes::Stream`] by running codec parse on the caller's
+//! thread and emitting `PesFrame`s one at a time.
+//!
+//! The pipeline runs three threads in parallel:
+//!
+//! ```text
+//! Thread A: read + decrypt   (PrefetchedSectorSource / BytePrefetcher)
+//! Thread B: M2TS demux       (DemuxThread)
+//! Thread C: codec parse      (this struct, on the caller's thread)
+//! ```
+//!
+//! Communication between A→B and B→C is via bounded channels with
+//! recycled buffer pools — no allocations or memcpys in the steady-
+//! state hot loop.
+//!
+//! This is the *only* read-side `Stream` impl in tree. Both ISO file
+//! mux ([`crate::mux::resolve`]) and BD-TS file mux ([`crate::mux::M2tsStream`])
+//! return a `PipelinedPesStream`; the differences are in how the
+//! producer thread (A) is configured — sector-aligned reads with
+//! AACS decrypt for ISO, raw byte reads for M2TS.
+
+use super::codec::CodecParser;
+use super::demux_thread::{DemuxBatch, DemuxThread};
+use super::ts::PesPacket;
+use crate::disc::DiscTitle;
+use crate::pes::{PesFrame, Stream};
+use crossbeam_channel::Receiver;
+use std::io;
+
+/// Stream impl that consumes pre-demuxed `PesPacket` batches from a
+/// [`DemuxThread`] and runs codec parse on the caller's thread.
+pub struct PipelinedPesStream {
+    title: DiscTitle,
+    parsers: Vec<(u16, Box<dyn CodecParser>)>,
+    pid_to_track: Vec<(u16, usize)>,
+
+    demux_rx: Receiver<DemuxBatch>,
+    /// Kept alive so dropping this stream joins the demux + producer
+    /// workers deterministically. Never poked directly after spawn.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    demux_thread: DemuxThread,
+
+    pending_frames: std::collections::VecDeque<PesFrame>,
+    eof: bool,
+}
+
+impl PipelinedPesStream {
+    /// Wire up the stream. Caller has already spawned the
+    /// `DemuxThread` (which in turn owns the producer); we take the
+    /// receiver end + the join handle bundle so cleanup is bounded
+    /// on drop.
+    pub fn new(
+        demux_thread: DemuxThread,
+        demux_rx: Receiver<DemuxBatch>,
+        title: DiscTitle,
+        parsers: Vec<(u16, Box<dyn CodecParser>)>,
+        pid_to_track: Vec<(u16, usize)>,
+    ) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            title,
+            parsers,
+            pid_to_track,
+            demux_rx,
+            demux_thread,
+            pending_frames: std::collections::VecDeque::new(),
+            eof: false,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Pull one batch of `PesPacket`s from the demux thread, run
+    /// codec parse on each, enqueue resulting `PesFrame`s on
+    /// `pending_frames`. Returns Ok(true) on success, Ok(false) on
+    /// EOF (channel closed cleanly), Err on demuxer error.
+    fn pump_one_batch(&mut self) -> io::Result<bool> {
+        match self.demux_rx.recv() {
+            Ok(DemuxBatch::Ts(packets)) => {
+                self.consume_ts(packets);
+                Ok(true)
+            }
+            Ok(DemuxBatch::Ps(packets)) => {
+                self.consume_ps(packets);
+                Ok(true)
+            }
+            Ok(DemuxBatch::Err(e)) => Err(e),
+            Err(_) => Ok(false),
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn consume_ts(&mut self, packets: Vec<PesPacket>) {
+        let skip_parse = std::env::var_os("FREEMKV_SKIP_PARSE").is_some();
+        for pes in packets {
+            if let Some((_, track)) = self
+                .pid_to_track
+                .iter()
+                .find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
+                .copied()
+            {
+                if skip_parse {
+                    // Profiling escape hatch — bypass codec parser.
+                    self.pending_frames.push_back(PesFrame {
+                        track,
+                        pts: pes.pts.map(super::codec::pts_to_ns).unwrap_or(0),
+                        keyframe: false,
+                        data: pes.data,
+                        duration_ns: None,
+                    });
+                } else if let Some((_, parser)) =
+                    self.parsers.iter_mut().find(|(pid, _)| *pid == pes.pid)
+                {
+                    for frame in parser.parse(&pes) {
+                        self.pending_frames
+                            .push_back(PesFrame::from_codec_frame(track, frame));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn consume_ps(&mut self, packets: Vec<super::ps::PsPacket>) {
+        for ps in packets {
+            let track = match ps.stream_id {
+                0xE0..=0xEF => 0,
+                0xC0..=0xDF => 1,
+                0xBD => ps
+                    .sub_stream_id
+                    .map(|s| (s & 0x1F) as usize + 1)
+                    .unwrap_or(1),
+                _ => continue,
+            };
+            if track >= self.title.streams.len() {
+                continue;
+            }
+            let pid = self
+                .pid_to_track
+                .iter()
+                .find(|(_, idx)| *idx == track)
+                .map(|(p, _)| *p)
+                .unwrap_or(0);
+            let pes = PesPacket {
+                pid,
+                pts: ps.pts.map(|p| p as i64),
+                dts: ps.dts.map(|d| d as i64),
+                data: ps.data,
+            };
+            if let Some((_, parser)) = self.parsers.iter_mut().find(|(p, _)| *p == pid) {
+                for frame in parser.parse(&pes) {
+                    self.pending_frames
+                        .push_back(PesFrame::from_codec_frame(track, frame));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Stream for PipelinedPesStream {
+    fn read(&mut self) -> io::Result<Option<PesFrame>> {
+        if let Some(frame) = self.pending_frames.pop_front() {
+            return Ok(Some(frame));
+        }
+        if self.eof {
+            return Ok(None);
+        }
+        loop {
+            match self.pump_one_batch()? {
+                true => {
+                    if let Some(frame) = self.pending_frames.pop_front() {
+                        return Ok(Some(frame));
+                    }
+                    // Batch contained no trackable packets — pull again.
+                }
+                false => {
+                    self.eof = true;
+                    return Ok(self.pending_frames.pop_front());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn write(&mut self, _: &PesFrame) -> io::Result<()> {
+        Err(crate::error::Error::StreamReadOnly.into())
+    }
+
+    fn finish(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    fn info(&self) -> &DiscTitle {
+        &self.title
+    }
+
+    fn headers_ready(&self) -> bool {
+        // Match the previous DiscStream semantics: video tracks need
+        // codec_private before the consumer can write the container
+        // header. FREEMKV_SKIP_PARSE forces ready (no parser ever
+        // populates codec_private in that mode).
+        if std::env::var_os("FREEMKV_SKIP_PARSE").is_some() {
+            return true;
+        }
+        for (idx, s) in self.title.streams.iter().enumerate() {
+            if let crate::disc::Stream::Video(v) = s {
+                if !v.secondary && self.codec_private(idx).is_none() {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        true
+    }
+
+    fn codec_private(&self, track: usize) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+        let pid = self
+            .pid_to_track
+            .iter()
+            .find(|(_, idx)| *idx == track)
+            .map(|(p, _)| *p)?;
+        self.parsers
+            .iter()
+            .find(|(p, _)| *p == pid)
+            .and_then(|(_, parser)| parser.codec_private())
+    }
+}

src/mux/resolve.rs

@@ -15,11 +15,13 @@
 //! Bare paths without a scheme are rejected.
 //! For disc→ISO (raw sector copy), use `Disc::copy()` instead.
 
-use super::disc::DiscStream;
 use super::network::NetworkStream;
 use super::null::NullStream;
+use super::pipelined_stream::PipelinedPesStream;
 use super::stdio::StdioStream;
 use super::{M2tsStream, MkvStream};
+use crate::disc::{ContentFormat, DiscTitle};
+use crate::sector::SectorSource;
 use std::io;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
@@ -185,7 +187,12 @@ pub fn input(url: &str, opts: &InputOptions) -> io::Result<Box<dyn crate::pes::S
                 },
                 None => crate::disc::ScanOptions::default(),
             };
-            let mut reader = super::iso::IsoSectorReader::open(&path.to_string_lossy())?;
+            // FileSectorSource is the sole file-backed sector source.
+            // It carries the platform-tuned SEQUENTIAL fadvise hint
+            // (so the kernel readahead window widens) and the periodic
+            // DONTNEED page-cache eviction that bounds memory pressure
+            // when the mux output is being written to the same disk.
+            let mut reader = crate::io::file_sector_source::FileSectorSource::open(path)?;
             let capacity = reader.capacity_sectors();
             let disc = crate::disc::Disc::scan_image(&mut reader, capacity, &scan_opts)
                 .map_err(|e| -> io::Error { e.into() })?;
@@ -203,21 +210,40 @@ pub fn input(url: &str, opts: &InputOptions) -> io::Result<Box<dyn crate::pes::S
             let title = disc.titles[idx].clone();
             let keys = disc.decrypt_keys();
             let format = disc.content_format;
-            // ISO file: use large batch size (16 MB) — sequential read from fast storage, no bad sectors.
-            // Physical drives need small batches for adaptive error handling and retry logic.
+            // ISO file: 16 MiB batch — sequential read from fast
+            // storage, no bad sectors. Measured optimum on the rip1
+            // testbed; bumping to 32 MiB regressed (more cache
+            // pressure, longer per-batch latency starves the consumer
+            // between iterations). Physical drives keep smaller
+            // batches for adaptive error handling.
             const ISO_MUX_BATCH_SECTORS: u16 = 8192;
-            let mut stream =
-                DiscStream::new(Box::new(reader), title, keys, ISO_MUX_BATCH_SECTORS, format);
-            if opts.raw {
-                stream.set_raw();
-            }
+
+            // Pass `DecryptKeys::None` to the decrypt decorator when
+            // --raw is set — the read stack still flows through the
+            // same producer+demux+parse pipeline, just without the
+            // AACS / CSS step. Single highway for all ISO reads.
+            let effective_keys = if opts.raw {
+                crate::decrypt::DecryptKeys::None
+            } else {
+                keys
+            };
+            let stream = build_iso_pipeline(
+                reader,
+                title,
+                effective_keys,
+                ISO_MUX_BATCH_SECTORS,
+                format,
+                None,
+                None,
+            );
             Ok(Box::new(stream))
         }
         StreamUrl::M2ts { ref path } => {
             validate_file_path(path, "m2ts")?;
             let file = std::fs::File::open(path)?;
             let reader = std::io::BufReader::with_capacity(IO_BUF_SIZE, file);
-            Ok(Box::new(M2tsStream::open(reader)?))
+            let stream = build_m2ts_pipeline(reader)?;
+            Ok(Box::new(stream))
         }
         StreamUrl::Mkv { ref path } => {
             validate_file_path(path, "mkv")?;
@@ -281,3 +307,137 @@ pub fn output(
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// Demuxer-side state derived from a `DiscTitle`: the codec parser
+/// table (keyed by PID), the PID-to-track index map, and an initial
+/// `TsDemuxer` / `PsDemuxer` (whichever the content format calls
+/// for).
+type DemuxState = (
+    Vec<(u16, Box<dyn super::codec::CodecParser>)>,
+    Vec<(u16, usize)>,
+    Option<super::ts::TsDemuxer>,
+    Option<super::ps::PsDemuxer>,
+);
+
+/// Build the title's codec parser table + initial `TsDemuxer` /
+/// `PsDemuxer`. Used by both the ISO and M2TS pipeline builders.
+fn build_demux_state(title: &DiscTitle, format: ContentFormat) -> DemuxState {
+    let mut pids = Vec::new();
+    let mut parsers = Vec::new();
+    let mut pid_to_track = Vec::new();
+    for (idx, s) in title.streams.iter().enumerate() {
+        let (pid, codec) = match s {
+            crate::disc::Stream::Video(v) => (v.pid, v.codec),
+            crate::disc::Stream::Audio(a) => (a.pid, a.codec),
+            crate::disc::Stream::Subtitle(s) => (s.pid, s.codec),
+        };
+        pids.push(pid);
+        pid_to_track.push((pid, idx));
+        parsers.push((pid, super::codec::parser_for_codec(codec, None)));
+    }
+    let (ts, ps) = match format {
+        ContentFormat::MpegPs => (None, Some(super::ps::PsDemuxer::new())),
+        ContentFormat::BdTs => {
+            if pids.is_empty() {
+                (None, None)
+            } else {
+                (Some(super::ts::TsDemuxer::new(&pids)), None)
+            }
+        }
+    };
+    (parsers, pid_to_track, ts, ps)
+}
+
+/// Assemble the ISO mux pipeline (read+decrypt → demux → parse) for
+/// a `FileSectorSource`-backed reader. Returns the resulting
+/// `PipelinedPesStream`.
+pub fn build_iso_pipeline<S: SectorSource + Send + 'static>(
+    reader: S,
+    title: DiscTitle,
+    keys: crate::decrypt::DecryptKeys,
+    batch_sectors: u16,
+    format: ContentFormat,
+    halt: Option<crate::halt::Halt>,
+    event_fn: Option<crate::sector::prefetched::EventFn>,
+) -> PipelinedPesStream {
+    let extents = title.extents.clone();
+    let decrypting =
+        crate::sector::DecryptingSectorSource::new(Box::new(reader) as Box<dyn SectorSource>, keys);
+    let prefetched = crate::sector::PrefetchedSectorSource::new_with_events(
+        decrypting,
+        extents,
+        batch_sectors,
+        halt.clone(),
+        event_fn,
+    );
+    let (rx, recycle_tx, shell) = prefetched.into_channels();
+
+    let (parsers, pid_to_track, ts, ps) = build_demux_state(&title, format);
+    let (demux_thread, demux_rx) =
+        super::demux_thread::DemuxThread::spawn_zero_copy(rx, recycle_tx, shell, halt, ts, ps);
+    PipelinedPesStream::new(demux_thread, demux_rx, title, parsers, pid_to_track)
+}
+
+/// Assemble the M2TS file mux pipeline (read → demux → parse) for a
+/// byte-stream reader. Scans the head for FMKV header or PMT/PAT,
+/// rebuilds the title metadata, then wraps a chained reader (head +
+/// remainder) in a `BytePrefetcher` feeding the demux + parse
+/// threads.
+fn build_m2ts_pipeline<R: std::io::Read + Send + 'static>(
+    mut reader: R,
+) -> io::Result<PipelinedPesStream> {
+    use super::meta;
+    use std::io::Read;
+
+    const M2TS_SCAN_BYTES: usize = 1024 * 1024;
+    let mut head = vec![0u8; M2TS_SCAN_BYTES];
+    let head_len = {
+        let mut filled = 0;
+        while filled < head.len() {
+            match reader.read(&mut head[filled..])? {
+                0 => break,
+                n => filled += n,
+            }
+        }
+        filled
+    };
+    head.truncate(head_len);
+
+    // Try FMKV metadata header first; fall back to PMT scan.
+    let mut cursor = io::Cursor::new(&head);
+    let (title, head_consumed) = if let Ok(Some(m)) = meta::read_header(&mut cursor) {
+        (m.to_title(), cursor.position() as usize)
+    } else {
+        let streams = super::ts::scan_streams(&head)
+            .ok_or_else(|| -> io::Error { crate::error::Error::NoStreams.into() })?;
+        let t = DiscTitle {
+            duration_secs: 0.0,
+            streams,
+            ..DiscTitle::empty()
+        };
+        (t, 0)
+    };
+
+    // Chain: any un-consumed head bytes + the remainder of the
+    // reader. The demuxer sees a contiguous M2TS byte stream.
+    let remaining_head = head[head_consumed..].to_vec();
+    let chained: Box<dyn Read + Send> = Box::new(io::Cursor::new(remaining_head).chain(reader));
+
+    let prefetcher = crate::io::byte_prefetcher::BytePrefetcher::new(
+        chained,
+        crate::io::byte_prefetcher::DEFAULT_CHUNK_BYTES,
+        None,
+    );
+    let (rx, recycle_tx, shell) = prefetcher.into_channels();
+
+    let (parsers, pid_to_track, ts, ps) = build_demux_state(&title, ContentFormat::BdTs);
+    let (demux_thread, demux_rx) =
+        super::demux_thread::DemuxThread::spawn_zero_copy(rx, recycle_tx, shell, None, ts, ps);
+    Ok(PipelinedPesStream::new(
+        demux_thread,
+        demux_rx,
+        title,
+        parsers,
+        pid_to_track,
+    ))
+}

src/mux/ts.rs

@@ -37,11 +37,20 @@ struct PesAssembler {
     active: bool,
 }
 
+/// Initial capacity for a fresh PES buffer. Sized to cover the
+/// common BD-TS audio / subtitle PES outright (a few KB to ~16 KB).
+/// Video PES (typically 150–300 KB on UHD) will grow this via the
+/// standard Vec doubling, but the doublings hit the allocator's
+/// slab caches instead of the 64-page first-touch faults that the
+/// previous `Vec::with_capacity(256 * 1024)` triggered on every PES
+/// boundary.
+const PES_BUFFER_INIT_CAP: usize = 16 * 1024;
+
 impl PesAssembler {
     fn new(pid: u16) -> Self {
         Self {
             pid,
-            buffer: Vec::with_capacity(256 * 1024),
+            buffer: Vec::with_capacity(PES_BUFFER_INIT_CAP),
             pts: None,
             dts: None,
             active: false,
@@ -55,7 +64,7 @@ impl PesAssembler {
                 pid: self.pid,
                 pts: self.pts,
                 dts: self.dts,
-                data: std::mem::replace(&mut self.buffer, Vec::with_capacity(256 * 1024)),
+                data: std::mem::replace(&mut self.buffer, Vec::with_capacity(PES_BUFFER_INIT_CAP)),
             })
         } else {
             self.buffer.clear();
@@ -124,97 +133,54 @@ impl TsDemuxer {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Feed a chunk of BD transport stream data. Handles non-192-byte-aligned input
-    /// by buffering leftover bytes between calls. Returns completed PES packets.
+    /// Feed a chunk of BD transport stream data. Handles non-192-byte-
+    /// aligned input by buffering leftover bytes between calls. Returns
+    /// completed PES packets.
+    ///
+    /// 16 MiB ISO batches never divide evenly into 192-byte BD-TS
+    /// packets, so every call after the first carries a ~64-byte
+    /// remainder. The pre-0.24 implementation handled this by building
+    /// a `combined` Vec containing remainder + the entire new input —
+    /// a 16 MiB+ memcpy on every call. Now we splice exactly one
+    /// boundary packet from a stack buffer, then process the rest of
+    /// `data` in place. Zero-copy on the bulk path; one 192-byte copy
+    /// on the boundary.
     pub fn feed(&mut self, data: &[u8]) -> Vec<PesPacket> {
         let mut completed = Vec::with_capacity(4);
-
-        // Prepend any remainder from previous call
-        let mut combined: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
-        let work: &[u8] = if !self.remainder.is_empty() {
-            combined.reserve(self.remainder.len() + data.len());
-            combined.extend_from_slice(&self.remainder);
-            combined.extend_from_slice(data);
-            self.remainder.clear();
-            &combined
-        } else {
-            data
-        };
-
         let mut offset = 0;
 
-        while offset + BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE <= work.len() {
-            let packet = &work[offset..offset + BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE];
-            offset += BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE;
-
-            // Skip 4-byte TP_extra_header, check sync byte
-            if packet[4] != SYNC_BYTE {
-                continue;
-            }
-
-            let ts = &packet[4..]; // 188-byte standard TS packet
-
-            // Parse TS header
-            let pid = (((ts[1] & 0x1F) as u16) << 8) | ts[2] as u16;
-            let pusi = ts[1] & 0x40 != 0; // Payload Unit Start Indicator
-            let adaptation = (ts[3] >> 4) & 0x03;
-
-            // Check if we're tracking this PID
-            let idx = if (pid as usize) < self.pid_index.len() {
-                self.pid_index[pid as usize]
-            } else {
-                -1
-            };
-            if idx < 0 {
-                continue;
-            }
-            let asm = &mut self.assemblers[idx as usize];
-
-            // Find payload start (skip adaptation field if present)
-            let payload_start = if adaptation == 0x03 || adaptation == 0x02 {
-                // Adaptation field present
-                let af_len = ts[4] as usize;
-                if af_len > 183 {
-                    continue; // Malformed: AF length exceeds TS payload
-                }
-                5 + af_len
-            } else {
-                4
-            };
-
-            if payload_start >= TS_PACKET_SIZE {
-                continue;
-            }
-
-            // No payload
-            if adaptation == 0x02 {
-                continue;
-            }
-
-            let payload = &ts[payload_start..];
-
-            if pusi {
-                // New PES packet starts here — parse PES header
-                let (pts, dts, pes_data_start) = parse_pes_header(payload);
-                if let Some(prev) = asm.start(pts, dts) {
-                    completed.push(prev);
-                }
-                if pes_data_start < payload.len() {
-                    asm.push(&payload[pes_data_start..]);
-                }
-            } else {
-                // Continuation of current PES packet
-                asm.push(payload);
+        // Boundary packet: if a partial packet was left from the last
+        // call, complete it from the head of `data` without touching
+        // the rest of `data`.
+        if !self.remainder.is_empty() {
+            let need = BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE - self.remainder.len();
+            if data.len() < need {
+                // Still not a full packet — accumulate and wait.
+                self.remainder.extend_from_slice(data);
+                return completed;
             }
+            let mut boundary = [0u8; BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE];
+            boundary[..self.remainder.len()].copy_from_slice(&self.remainder);
+            boundary[self.remainder.len()..].copy_from_slice(&data[..need]);
+            self.remainder.clear();
+            self.process_packet(&boundary, &mut completed);
+            offset = need;
         }
 
-        // Save leftover bytes for next call (cap at one packet to prevent unbounded growth)
-        if offset < work.len() {
-            let leftover = &work[offset..];
+        // Aligned-packets fast path — reads directly out of `data`.
+        while offset + BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE <= data.len() {
+            let packet = &data[offset..offset + BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE];
+            offset += BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE;
+            self.process_packet(packet, &mut completed);
+        }
+
+        // Save leftover bytes for next call (cap at one packet to
+        // prevent unbounded growth on a desynchronised stream).
+        if offset < data.len() {
+            let leftover = &data[offset..];
             if leftover.len() < BD_TS_PACKET_SIZE {
                 self.remainder.extend_from_slice(leftover);
             } else {
-                // More than one full packet leftover — something is wrong, discard
                 self.remainder.clear();
             }
         }
@@ -222,6 +188,65 @@ impl TsDemuxer {
         completed
     }
 
+    /// Demux a single 192-byte BD-TS packet (4-byte TP_extra_header +
+    /// 188-byte TS). Routes payload bytes into the per-PID
+    /// `PesAssembler`; completed PES packets are pushed onto
+    /// `completed` so the caller's allocation amortises across the
+    /// batch.
+    fn process_packet(&mut self, packet: &[u8], completed: &mut Vec<PesPacket>) {
+        // Sync byte check skips malformed packets.
+        if packet[4] != SYNC_BYTE {
+            return;
+        }
+        let ts = &packet[4..]; // 188-byte standard TS packet
+
+        let pid = (((ts[1] & 0x1F) as u16) << 8) | ts[2] as u16;
+        let pusi = ts[1] & 0x40 != 0; // Payload Unit Start Indicator
+        let adaptation = (ts[3] >> 4) & 0x03;
+
+        let idx = if (pid as usize) < self.pid_index.len() {
+            self.pid_index[pid as usize]
+        } else {
+            -1
+        };
+        if idx < 0 {
+            return;
+        }
+        let asm = &mut self.assemblers[idx as usize];
+
+        let payload_start = if adaptation == 0x03 || adaptation == 0x02 {
+            let af_len = ts[4] as usize;
+            if af_len > 183 {
+                return; // Malformed: AF length exceeds TS payload
+            }
+            5 + af_len
+        } else {
+            4
+        };
+
+        if payload_start >= TS_PACKET_SIZE {
+            return;
+        }
+        // adaptation == 0x02 → AF only, no payload.
+        if adaptation == 0x02 {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        let payload = &ts[payload_start..];
+
+        if pusi {
+            let (pts, dts, pes_data_start) = parse_pes_header(payload);
+            if let Some(prev) = asm.start(pts, dts) {
+                completed.push(prev);
+            }
+            if pes_data_start < payload.len() {
+                asm.push(&payload[pes_data_start..]);
+            }
+        } else {
+            asm.push(payload);
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Flush all assemblers, returning any remaining PES packets.
     pub fn flush(&mut self) -> Vec<PesPacket> {
         let mut completed = Vec::new();

src/mux/tsmux.rs

@@ -42,28 +42,39 @@ impl<W: Write> TsMuxer<W> {
     /// Write a PES frame as BD-TS packets.
     /// Video frame data is expected as length-prefixed NALUs (MKV/PES format)
     /// and is converted to Annex B for transport stream.
-    pub fn write_frame(&mut self, track: usize, pts_ns: i64, data: &[u8]) -> io::Result<()> {
+    pub fn write_frame(
+        &mut self,
+        track: usize,
+        pts_ns: i64,
+        keyframe: bool,
+        data: &[u8],
+    ) -> io::Result<()> {
         if track >= self.pids.len() {
             return Ok(()); // unknown track, skip
         }
-        let base = *self.base_pts_ns.get_or_insert(pts_ns);
-        let pts_ns = pts_ns - base;
-
         let pid = self.pids[track];
         let is_video = (0x1011..=0x101F).contains(&pid);
 
-        // For video: convert length-prefixed NALUs to Annex B (start codes)
-        // On first keyframe, prepend parameter sets from codec_private
+        // Drop non-key video before any keyframe — decoder has no IDR or
+        // parameter sets to anchor on.
+        if is_video && !keyframe && !self.params_written[track] {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+
+        let base = *self.base_pts_ns.get_or_insert(pts_ns);
+        let pts_ns = pts_ns - base;
+
+        // For video: convert length-prefixed NALUs to Annex B (start codes).
+        // Prepend codec_private parameter sets on the FIRST keyframe only.
         let es_data = if is_video && !data.is_empty() {
             let mut annex_b = Vec::new();
-            // Prepend codec_private parameter sets on first keyframe
-            if !self.params_written[track] {
+            if keyframe && !self.params_written[track] {
                 if let Some(ref cp) = self.codec_privates[track] {
                     if let Some(params) = hvcc_to_annex_b(cp) {
                         annex_b.extend_from_slice(&params);
-                        self.params_written[track] = true;
                     }
                 }
+                self.params_written[track] = true;
             }
             annex_b.extend_from_slice(&length_prefixed_to_annex_b(data));
             annex_b
@@ -85,8 +96,24 @@ impl<W: Write> TsMuxer<W> {
         let mut first = true;
         while offset < pes_packet.len() {
             let remaining = pes_packet.len() - offset;
-            let payload_len = remaining.min(TS_PAYLOAD);
-            let need_stuffing = payload_len < TS_PAYLOAD;
+
+            // Invariant: TP_extra(4) + TS_header(4) + AF(af_bytes) + payload(payload_len) = 192,
+            // i.e. af_bytes + payload_len = TS_PAYLOAD (184).
+            // RAI on first packet of a keyframe video PES requires AF with flags=0x40.
+            let want_rai = first && keyframe && is_video;
+
+            // Pick payload_len and af_bytes per case.
+            let (af_bytes, payload_len): (usize, usize) = if want_rai {
+                // Minimum AF = 2 bytes (length=1, flags=0x40). Payload caps at 182.
+                let max_payload = TS_PAYLOAD - 2;
+                let p = remaining.min(max_payload);
+                (TS_PAYLOAD - p, p)
+            } else if remaining >= TS_PAYLOAD {
+                (0, TS_PAYLOAD) // no AF, full payload
+            } else {
+                // Stuffing-only AF, payload = remaining.
+                (TS_PAYLOAD - remaining, remaining)
+            };
 
             // TP_extra_header (4 bytes — arrival time, set to 0)
             let tp_extra = [0u8; 4];
@@ -102,38 +129,45 @@ impl<W: Write> TsMuxer<W> {
                 ts_header[1] |= 0x40; // PUSI
             }
             ts_header[2] = pid as u8;
-            ts_header[3] = 0x10 | cc; // no adaptation, has payload
+            ts_header[3] = if af_bytes > 0 {
+                0x30 | cc // AF + payload
+            } else {
+                0x10 | cc // payload only
+            };
 
-            if need_stuffing {
-                // Adaptation field for stuffing
-                let stuff_len = TS_PAYLOAD - payload_len;
-                ts_header[3] = 0x30 | cc; // adaptation + payload
+            self.writer.write_all(&tp_extra)?;
+            self.writer.write_all(&ts_header)?;
 
-                self.writer.write_all(&tp_extra)?;
-                self.writer.write_all(&ts_header)?;
-
-                // Write adaptation field: length byte + flags byte + 0xFF padding
-                // stuff_len == 1: AF length = 0 (just the length byte, no flags)
-                // stuff_len >= 2: AF length = stuff_len-1, flags = 0, rest 0xFF
+            if af_bytes > 0 {
                 static STUFF_FF: [u8; 184] = [0xFF; 184];
-                if stuff_len == 1 {
-                    self.writer.write_all(&[0u8])?; // adaptation_field_length = 0
+                if want_rai {
+                    // RAI AF: length byte + flags(0x40) + (af_bytes - 2) stuffing.
+                    let af_len_field = (af_bytes - 1) as u8;
+                    self.writer.write_all(&[af_len_field])?;
+                    self.writer.write_all(&[0x40u8])?;
+                    let stuff = af_bytes - 2;
+                    if stuff > 0 {
+                        self.writer.write_all(&STUFF_FF[..stuff])?;
+                    }
                 } else {
-                    self.writer.write_all(&[(stuff_len - 1) as u8])?; // AF length
-                    self.writer.write_all(&[0u8])?; // flags
-                    if stuff_len > 2 {
-                        self.writer.write_all(&STUFF_FF[..stuff_len - 2])?;
+                    // Stuffing-only AF.
+                    // af_bytes == 1: length=0, no flags.
+                    // af_bytes >= 2: length = af_bytes-1, flags=0, rest 0xFF.
+                    if af_bytes == 1 {
+                        self.writer.write_all(&[0u8])?;
+                    } else {
+                        self.writer.write_all(&[(af_bytes - 1) as u8])?;
+                        self.writer.write_all(&[0u8])?;
+                        if af_bytes > 2 {
+                            self.writer.write_all(&STUFF_FF[..af_bytes - 2])?;
+                        }
                     }
                 }
-                self.writer
-                    .write_all(&pes_packet[offset..offset + payload_len])?;
-            } else {
-                self.writer.write_all(&tp_extra)?;
-                self.writer.write_all(&ts_header)?;
-                self.writer
-                    .write_all(&pes_packet[offset..offset + payload_len])?;
             }
 
+            self.writer
+                .write_all(&pes_packet[offset..offset + payload_len])?;
+
             offset += payload_len;
             first = false;
         }
@@ -257,3 +291,206 @@ fn length_prefixed_to_annex_b(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
     }
     out
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    const BD_PACKET_SIZE: usize = 192;
+    const VIDEO_PID: u16 = 0x1011;
+
+    /// Parsed BD-TS packet (192 bytes total: 4 TP_extra + 4 TS header + 184 body).
+    struct TsPacket {
+        pid: u16,
+        pusi: bool,
+        #[allow(dead_code)]
+        cc: u8,
+        /// Adaptation field body (length byte stripped) when present.
+        af: Option<Vec<u8>>,
+        /// Payload bytes (after AF, if any).
+        payload: Vec<u8>,
+    }
+
+    /// Walk 192-byte BD-TS packets.
+    fn parse_bd_ts(buf: &[u8]) -> Vec<TsPacket> {
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        for chunk in buf.chunks(BD_PACKET_SIZE) {
+            if chunk.len() != BD_PACKET_SIZE {
+                break;
+            }
+            // Skip TP_extra_header (4 bytes), parse TS header.
+            let h = &chunk[4..];
+            assert_eq!(h[0], 0x47, "bad sync byte");
+            let pusi = (h[1] & 0x40) != 0;
+            let pid = (((h[1] & 0x1F) as u16) << 8) | h[2] as u16;
+            let afc = (h[3] >> 4) & 0x03;
+            let cc = h[3] & 0x0F;
+            let body = &h[4..]; // 184 bytes
+
+            let (af, payload) = match afc {
+                0b01 => (None, body.to_vec()),
+                0b11 => {
+                    let af_len = body[0] as usize;
+                    let af_body = body[1..1 + af_len].to_vec();
+                    let payload = body[1 + af_len..].to_vec();
+                    (Some(af_body), payload)
+                }
+                0b10 => {
+                    let af_len = body[0] as usize;
+                    (Some(body[1..1 + af_len].to_vec()), Vec::new())
+                }
+                _ => (None, Vec::new()),
+            };
+
+            out.push(TsPacket {
+                pid,
+                pusi,
+                cc,
+                af,
+                payload,
+            });
+        }
+        out
+    }
+
+    /// Build a fake HEVC NAL with a 4-byte length prefix.
+    /// nal_type=19/20 are IDR; 1 is non-key (TRAIL_N/R).
+    fn fake_hevc_nal(nal_type: u8, body_len: usize) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut nal = Vec::with_capacity(2 + body_len);
+        // 2-byte NAL header: forbidden_zero(1)=0 | nal_unit_type(6) | layer_id(6)=0 | tid_plus1(3)=1
+        nal.push((nal_type & 0x3F) << 1);
+        nal.push(0x01);
+        for i in 0..body_len {
+            nal.push((i & 0xFF) as u8);
+        }
+        let mut framed = Vec::with_capacity(4 + nal.len());
+        framed.extend_from_slice(&(nal.len() as u32).to_be_bytes());
+        framed.extend_from_slice(&nal);
+        framed
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn keyframe_param_threads_through() {
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut mux = TsMuxer::new(&mut sink, &[VIDEO_PID]);
+            let idr = fake_hevc_nal(19, 100);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 0, true, &idr).unwrap();
+            let p = fake_hevc_nal(1, 80);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 41_000_000, false, &p).unwrap();
+            mux.finish().unwrap();
+        }
+        assert!(!sink.is_empty());
+        let packets = parse_bd_ts(&sink);
+        assert!(packets.iter().any(|p| p.pid == VIDEO_PID && p.pusi));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rai_set_on_first_packet_of_keyframe_pes() {
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut mux = TsMuxer::new(&mut sink, &[VIDEO_PID]);
+            let idr = fake_hevc_nal(19, 200);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 0, true, &idr).unwrap();
+            mux.finish().unwrap();
+        }
+        let packets = parse_bd_ts(&sink);
+        let first_pusi = packets
+            .iter()
+            .find(|p| p.pid == VIDEO_PID && p.pusi)
+            .expect("video PUSI packet exists");
+        let af = first_pusi.af.as_ref().expect("AF present on keyframe PES");
+        assert!(!af.is_empty(), "AF body has flags byte");
+        assert_eq!(af[0] & 0x40, 0x40, "RAI bit set");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rai_clear_on_non_keyframe_pes() {
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut mux = TsMuxer::new(&mut sink, &[VIDEO_PID]);
+            let idr = fake_hevc_nal(19, 100);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 0, true, &idr).unwrap();
+            let p = fake_hevc_nal(1, 100);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 41_000_000, false, &p).unwrap();
+            mux.finish().unwrap();
+        }
+        let packets = parse_bd_ts(&sink);
+        // Second PUSI packet on the video PID belongs to the non-key frame.
+        let pusi_video: Vec<&TsPacket> = packets
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|p| p.pid == VIDEO_PID && p.pusi)
+            .collect();
+        assert!(pusi_video.len() >= 2, "two PUSI packets expected");
+        let second = pusi_video[1];
+        match &second.af {
+            None => {}
+            Some(af) if af.is_empty() => {} // length=0 case
+            Some(af) => assert_eq!(af[0] & 0x40, 0, "RAI must be clear on non-key PES"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn codec_private_prepended_only_on_first_keyframe() {
+        // Build a minimal hvcC with one recognizable NAL.
+        let marker: &[u8] = &[0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xCA, 0xFE];
+        let mut hvcc = vec![0u8; 22];
+        hvcc.push(1); // numArrays
+        hvcc.push(32); // VPS NAL type byte (high bits arbitrary)
+        hvcc.extend_from_slice(&1u16.to_be_bytes()); // numNalus
+        hvcc.extend_from_slice(&(marker.len() as u16).to_be_bytes());
+        hvcc.extend_from_slice(marker);
+
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut mux = TsMuxer::new(&mut sink, &[VIDEO_PID]);
+            mux.set_codec_private(0, hvcc);
+            // Non-IDR before any IDR: should be dropped.
+            let p = fake_hevc_nal(1, 50);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 0, false, &p).unwrap();
+            // IDR: should carry codec_private NALs prepended.
+            let idr = fake_hevc_nal(19, 50);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 41_000_000, true, &idr).unwrap();
+            mux.finish().unwrap();
+        }
+        let packets = parse_bd_ts(&sink);
+        // Concatenate all video PID payloads in emission order.
+        let video_bytes: Vec<u8> = packets
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|p| p.pid == VIDEO_PID)
+            .flat_map(|p| p.payload.clone())
+            .collect();
+        // marker bytes must appear in the stream (codec_private was prepended).
+        let pos_marker = video_bytes
+            .windows(marker.len())
+            .position(|w| w == marker)
+            .expect("codec_private marker bytes present in TS payload");
+        // Find IDR body byte (0x26 = (19<<1)). pos_idr must be AFTER marker.
+        let idr_header = (19u8 << 1) & 0x7E;
+        let pos_idr = video_bytes
+            .iter()
+            .position(|&b| b == idr_header)
+            .expect("IDR NAL header present in TS payload");
+        assert!(
+            pos_marker < pos_idr,
+            "codec_private must precede IDR in TS payload"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn non_key_before_first_keyframe_dropped() {
+        let mut sink: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut mux = TsMuxer::new(&mut sink, &[VIDEO_PID]);
+            let p = fake_hevc_nal(1, 80);
+            mux.write_frame(0, 0, false, &p).unwrap();
+            mux.finish().unwrap();
+        }
+        // Nothing should be emitted for that PID.
+        let packets = parse_bd_ts(&sink);
+        assert!(
+            !packets.iter().any(|p| p.pid == VIDEO_PID),
+            "non-key before first keyframe must be dropped"
+        );
+    }
+}

src/pes.rs

@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ pub struct PesFrame {
     pub keyframe: bool,
     /// Raw elementary stream data (NAL units, audio samples, etc).
     pub data: Vec<u8>,
+    /// Optional duration in nanoseconds. In-memory only; not part of
+    /// the on-wire serialization. Currently set by the PGS parser so
+    /// the MKV muxer can emit `BlockDuration`.
+    pub duration_ns: Option<u64>,
 }
 
 impl PesFrame {
@@ -64,6 +68,7 @@ impl PesFrame {
             pts,
             keyframe,
             data,
+            duration_ns: None,
         }))
     }
 
@@ -74,6 +79,7 @@ impl PesFrame {
             pts: frame.pts_ns,
             keyframe: frame.keyframe,
             data: frame.data,
+            duration_ns: frame.duration_ns,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -115,6 +121,16 @@ pub trait Stream: Send {
     fn headers_ready(&self) -> bool {
         true
     }
+
+    /// Cumulative count of read errors the stream skipped past (e.g.
+    /// zero-filled bad sectors on a live drive). Default `0` for
+    /// streams that don't have a notion of skip-on-error (file ISO,
+    /// network, stdio, the pipeline highway, etc.); concrete impls
+    /// with adaptive retry (`DiscStream` on the drive single-pass
+    /// path) override.
+    fn errors(&self) -> u64 {
+        0
+    }
 }
 
 /// Wraps any output stream and counts bytes written.
@@ -183,6 +199,7 @@ mod tests {
             pts,
             keyframe: track == 0 && pts == 0,
             data: vec![track as u8, (pts & 0xff) as u8, 0xAA],
+            duration_ns: None,
         }
     }
 

src/platform/fs_type/linux.rs

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 use std::ffi::CString;
 use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStrExt;
+use std::os::unix::io::RawFd;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 use super::FsType;
@@ -18,6 +19,27 @@ const XFS_SUPER_MAGIC: i64 = 0x5846_5342;
 const BTRFS_SUPER_MAGIC: i64 = 0x9123_683E;
 const TMPFS_MAGIC: i64 = 0x0102_1994;
 
+/// Classify an `f_type` magic from `statfs`/`fstatfs`. Single source
+/// of truth for the magic comparisons used by both the path-based
+/// (`detect_impl`) and fd-based (`detect_fd_impl`) entry points.
+///
+/// Cast to `i64` because `statfs::f_type` is signed `__fsword_t` on
+/// glibc and unsigned `c_ulong` on musl; a portable comparison needs a
+/// common type. On glibc x86_64 both already are i64 — clippy flags
+/// the cast as unnecessary on that target only, but we need it for
+/// musl.
+#[allow(clippy::unnecessary_cast)]
+fn classify_f_type(f_type: i64) -> FsType {
+    let nfs_magic = libc::NFS_SUPER_MAGIC as i64;
+    if f_type == nfs_magic {
+        return FsType::Nfs;
+    }
+    match f_type {
+        EXT2_SUPER_MAGIC | XFS_SUPER_MAGIC | BTRFS_SUPER_MAGIC | TMPFS_MAGIC => FsType::Local,
+        _ => FsType::Unknown,
+    }
+}
+
 pub(super) fn detect_impl(path: &Path) -> FsType {
     let cpath = match CString::new(path.as_os_str().as_bytes()) {
         Ok(c) => c,
@@ -30,20 +52,19 @@ pub(super) fn detect_impl(path: &Path) -> FsType {
     if rc != 0 {
         return FsType::Unknown;
     }
-    // `f_type` is signed (`__fsword_t`) on glibc and unsigned
-    // (`c_ulong`) on musl. Cast both sides to i64 for a portable
-    // comparison. On glibc x86_64 both already are i64 — clippy flags
-    // the cast as unnecessary on that target only, but we need it for
-    // musl, so silence the lint.
     #[allow(clippy::unnecessary_cast)]
-    let f_type = buf.f_type as i64;
+    classify_f_type(buf.f_type as i64)
+}
+
+/// fd-based variant of [`detect_impl`]. Same return semantics. Used
+/// by the writeback pipeline, which knows the open `File` but not its
+/// original path.
+pub(super) fn detect_fd_impl(fd: RawFd) -> FsType {
+    let mut buf: libc::statfs = unsafe { std::mem::zeroed() };
+    let rc = unsafe { libc::fstatfs(fd, &mut buf) };
+    if rc != 0 {
+        return FsType::Unknown;
+    }
     #[allow(clippy::unnecessary_cast)]
-    let nfs_magic = libc::NFS_SUPER_MAGIC as i64;
-    if f_type == nfs_magic {
-        return FsType::Nfs;
-    }
-    match f_type {
-        EXT2_SUPER_MAGIC | XFS_SUPER_MAGIC | BTRFS_SUPER_MAGIC | TMPFS_MAGIC => FsType::Local,
-        _ => FsType::Unknown,
-    }
+    classify_f_type(buf.f_type as i64)
 }

src/platform/fs_type/mod.rs

@@ -51,6 +51,9 @@ use other::detect_impl;
 #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
 use windows::detect_impl;
 
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+use linux::detect_fd_impl;
+
 /// Best-effort classification of the filesystem under `path`.
 ///
 /// Falls back to [`FsType::Unknown`] on any syscall error or unrecognised
@@ -60,6 +63,25 @@ pub fn detect(path: &Path) -> FsType {
     detect_impl(path)
 }
 
+/// fd-based classification. Same return semantics as [`detect`], but
+/// takes a `RawFd` so callers that only have an open file (notably
+/// [`crate::io::writeback::WritebackPipeline`]) don't have to
+/// round-trip through the path.
+///
+/// Only implemented on Linux; other platforms return
+/// [`FsType::Unknown`] (none of them have a writeback policy that
+/// keys off this classification today).
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+pub fn detect_fd(fd: std::os::unix::io::RawFd) -> FsType {
+    detect_fd_impl(fd)
+}
+
+#[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
+#[allow(dead_code)] // API parity with the linux impl; callers cfg-gate.
+pub fn detect_fd(_fd: i32) -> FsType {
+    FsType::Unknown
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;

src/sector/mod.rs

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 //! ISO images are opened for read OR write at construction time.
 //!
 //! - [`SectorSource`] is implemented by `Drive` (hardware) and
-//!   [`FileSectorSource`] / `IsoSectorReader` (file-backed).
+//!   [`FileSectorSource`] (file-backed).
 //! - [`SectorSink`] is implemented by [`FileSectorSink`]
 //!   (ISO-backed) and sweep/patch consumer adapters.
 //! - [`DecryptingSectorSource`] is a decorator that wraps any
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 pub mod decrypting;
 pub mod file;
+pub mod prefetched;
 
 use crate::error::Result;
 
@@ -112,3 +113,4 @@ pub trait SectorSink: Send {
 pub use crate::io::file_sector_source::FileSectorSource;
 pub use decrypting::DecryptingSectorSource;
 pub use file::FileSectorSink;
+pub use prefetched::PrefetchedSectorSource;

src/sector/prefetched.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+//! `PrefetchedSectorSource` — runs the wrapped read+decrypt in a
+//! dedicated producer thread and surfaces the prepared plaintext
+//! buffers on demand via a bounded channel.
+//!
+//! ## Why
+//!
+//! The mux consumer (demux + codec parsing + frame output) is
+//! single-threaded by nature (streams are sequential). The mux
+//! producer (read sectors + AACS decrypt) is also single-threaded
+//! per-call but does CPU-heavy work (AES per 6144-byte unit). Running
+//! both on the same thread means the disk and decrypt cores sit idle
+//! while the demux runs, and vice versa.
+//!
+//! Splitting them across two threads with a bounded channel between
+//! lets both run in parallel — peak throughput becomes
+//! `min(producer_rate, consumer_rate)` instead of
+//! `1 / (1/producer + 1/consumer)`.
+//!
+//! ## Lifecycle
+//!
+//! The producer thread is spawned by [`PrefetchedSectorSource::new`].
+//! It walks the supplied extent list in order, reads the configured
+//! batch size at each LBA, and sends the resulting plaintext buffer
+//! into a [`crossbeam_channel::bounded`] channel of small depth (so
+//! the producer stays a couple of batches ahead without unbounded
+//! memory growth).
+//!
+//! When the channel sender drops (either because all extents were
+//! served or because the [`Halt`] token cancelled), the consumer
+//! observes `RecvError` on the next `read_sectors` and treats it as
+//! end-of-stream. Errors from the underlying reader are forwarded
+//! verbatim through the channel.
+//!
+//! ## Read API
+//!
+//! `read_sectors` ignores its `lba`/`count` arguments — the producer
+//! has already chosen what to read, in the order the extents dictate.
+//! This is sound for the mux read path, which always walks extents
+//! sequentially and never seeks. For random-access callers (sweep
+//! patch retries) this wrapper is the wrong tool — they should keep
+//! reading the underlying source directly.
+
+use crate::error::Result;
+use crate::event::{Event, EventKind};
+use crate::halt::Halt;
+use crate::sector::SectorSource;
+use crossbeam_channel::{Receiver, Sender, bounded};
+use std::thread::JoinHandle;
+
+/// Producer-thread event callback. Fires `BytesRead` after every
+/// successful batch read so the consumer side can update a UI
+/// progress indicator without polling. `Send + 'static` because the
+/// callback runs on the producer thread.
+pub type EventFn = Box<dyn Fn(Event) + Send + 'static>;
+
+const PREFETCH_CHANNEL_DEPTH: usize = 2;
+
+/// Smallest sector source the producer will issue per read. AACS
+/// alignment requires multiples of 3 sectors so a unit doesn't span
+/// two reads.
+const SECTOR_ALIGNMENT: u16 = 3;
+
+/// Item flowing through the prefetch forward channel.
+pub type Batch = std::result::Result<Vec<u8>, std::io::Error>;
+
+/// Producer-thread-backed [`SectorSource`] decorator. Construct it
+/// with the real reader, the extent list to walk, and the batch
+/// size; the wrapper spawns the producer immediately and starts
+/// filling the channel.
+pub struct PrefetchedSectorSource {
+    rx: Receiver<Batch>,
+    /// Recycle channel — consumer returns drained buffers here; the
+    /// producer re-fills them in place. Lets the producer/consumer
+    /// reuse a fixed pool of `PREFETCH_CHANNEL_DEPTH+1` buffers
+    /// instead of `Vec::new()`-ing one per batch (musl mallocng
+    /// cross-thread alloc/free was the dominant cost in the demux
+    /// thread before this).
+    recycle_tx: Sender<Vec<u8>>,
+    /// Joined on drop so producer cleanup runs deterministically.
+    producer: Option<JoinHandle<()>>,
+    /// Cumulative bytes drained by `read_sectors` calls. Exposed via
+    /// [`capacity_sectors`] indirectly: the consumer-side state needs
+    /// this to advance its position bookkeeping in lockstep with what
+    /// the producer fed.
+    total_sectors: u32,
+}
+
+impl PrefetchedSectorSource {
+    /// Spawn the producer thread. `reader` must already be the fully
+    /// composed read+decrypt stack (e.g.
+    /// [`DecryptingSectorSource`](crate::sector::DecryptingSectorSource))
+    /// — every byte the producer emits is what the consumer's demux
+    /// will feed to its codec parsers.
+    pub fn new<S>(
+        reader: S,
+        extents: Vec<crate::disc::Extent>,
+        batch_sectors: u16,
+        halt: Option<Halt>,
+    ) -> Self
+    where
+        S: SectorSource + Send + 'static,
+    {
+        Self::new_with_events(reader, extents, batch_sectors, halt, None)
+    }
+
+    /// Same as [`new`] but with a callback fired from the producer
+    /// thread after each successful batch — used by autorip's mux
+    /// path to surface `BytesRead` progress to the UI without the
+    /// consumer thread having to poll.
+    pub fn new_with_events<S>(
+        mut reader: S,
+        extents: Vec<crate::disc::Extent>,
+        batch_sectors: u16,
+        halt: Option<Halt>,
+        event_fn: Option<EventFn>,
+    ) -> Self
+    where
+        S: SectorSource + Send + 'static,
+    {
+        let total_sectors: u32 = extents.iter().map(|e| e.sector_count).sum();
+        let bytes_total_extents: u64 = extents.iter().map(|e| e.sector_count as u64 * 2048).sum();
+        let (tx, rx) = bounded::<Batch>(PREFETCH_CHANNEL_DEPTH);
+        let (recycle_tx, recycle_rx) = bounded::<Vec<u8>>(PREFETCH_CHANNEL_DEPTH + 1);
+        let batch_bytes = batch_sectors as usize * 2048;
+
+        // Seed the recycle pool so the producer always has a buffer
+        // to fill on the first iteration. Without these, the first
+        // `recycle_rx.recv()` would block forever (no consumer has
+        // returned a buffer yet).
+        for _ in 0..(PREFETCH_CHANNEL_DEPTH + 1) {
+            let _ = recycle_tx.send(vec![0u8; batch_bytes]);
+        }
+
+        let producer = std::thread::Builder::new()
+            .name("freemkv-prefetch".into())
+            .spawn(move || {
+                let mut ext_idx = 0usize;
+                let mut offset: u32 = 0;
+                let mut bytes_read_total: u64 = 0;
+                while ext_idx < extents.len() {
+                    if halt.as_ref().map(|h| h.is_cancelled()).unwrap_or(false) {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    let extent = &extents[ext_idx];
+                    let remaining = extent.sector_count.saturating_sub(offset);
+                    if remaining == 0 {
+                        ext_idx += 1;
+                        offset = 0;
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                    let mut sectors = remaining.min(batch_sectors as u32) as u16;
+                    if sectors >= SECTOR_ALIGNMENT {
+                        sectors -= sectors % SECTOR_ALIGNMENT;
+                    }
+                    let bytes = sectors as usize * 2048;
+                    let mut buf = match recycle_rx.recv() {
+                        Ok(b) => b,
+                        Err(_) => return, // consumer dropped both channels
+                    };
+                    if buf.len() < bytes {
+                        buf.resize(bytes, 0);
+                    } else {
+                        // Re-expose the full extent; previous truncate
+                        // shrank the visible len without freeing pages.
+                        // SAFETY: capacity is at least `bytes` after
+                        // construction with `vec![0u8; batch_bytes]`.
+                        unsafe { buf.set_len(bytes) };
+                    }
+                    let lba = extent.start_lba + offset;
+                    match reader.read_sectors(lba, sectors, &mut buf[..bytes], false) {
+                        Ok(n) => {
+                            buf.truncate(n);
+                            bytes_read_total = bytes_read_total.saturating_add(n as u64);
+                            if let Some(ref f) = event_fn {
+                                f(Event {
+                                    kind: EventKind::BytesRead {
+                                        bytes: bytes_read_total,
+                                        total: bytes_total_extents,
+                                    },
+                                });
+                            }
+                            if tx.send(Ok(buf)).is_err() {
+                                return; // consumer dropped
+                            }
+                            offset += sectors as u32;
+                        }
+                        Err(e) => {
+                            let _ = tx.send(Err(e.into()));
+                            return;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                // Drop tx implicitly — consumer sees RecvError → EOF.
+            })
+            .expect("freemkv-prefetch producer spawn failed");
+
+        Self {
+            rx,
+            recycle_tx,
+            producer: Some(producer),
+            total_sectors,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Peel off the receivers for zero-copy pipeline mode. The
+    /// caller (typically [`super::super::mux::demux_thread::DemuxThread`])
+    /// pulls buffers from `rx`, consumes them, and pushes the empty
+    /// `Vec<u8>` back through `recycle_tx` so the producer can
+    /// re-fill it. The producer-thread `JoinHandle` stays with the
+    /// returned `PrefetchedSectorSource` shell; drop that to join.
+    ///
+    /// Returns `(forward_rx, recycle_tx, shell)`. The shell only
+    /// holds the join handle and total_sectors for `capacity_sectors`
+    /// queries; its `SectorSource` impl becomes invalid after this
+    /// call (data has been moved out).
+    pub fn into_channels(self) -> (Receiver<Batch>, Sender<Vec<u8>>, PrefetchShell) {
+        let total = self.total_sectors;
+        // Drop the SectorSource side; transfer the producer join
+        // handle to a shell that just waits on Drop.
+        let mut me = self;
+        let producer = me.producer.take();
+        let rx = me.rx.clone();
+        let recycle = me.recycle_tx.clone();
+        std::mem::forget(me);
+        (rx, recycle, PrefetchShell { producer, total })
+    }
+}
+
+/// Returned from [`PrefetchedSectorSource::into_channels`]. Owns the
+/// producer thread join handle so dropping the shell joins the
+/// producer, even though the channels have been peeled off.
+pub struct PrefetchShell {
+    producer: Option<JoinHandle<()>>,
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    total: u32,
+}
+
+impl Drop for PrefetchShell {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if let Some(h) = self.producer.take() {
+            let _ = h.join();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for PrefetchedSectorSource {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        // Dropping the receiver closes the channel, which makes the
+        // next producer `send` return Err and exits the loop. Joining
+        // here gives us a deterministic shutdown — no detached thread
+        // can outlive the source.
+        if let Some(h) = self.producer.take() {
+            let _ = h.join();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl SectorSource for PrefetchedSectorSource {
+    fn capacity_sectors(&self) -> u32 {
+        self.total_sectors
+    }
+
+    fn read_sectors(
+        &mut self,
+        _lba: u32,
+        _count: u16,
+        buf: &mut [u8],
+        _recovery: bool,
+    ) -> Result<usize> {
+        // The producer has already decided the next batch. lba/count
+        // are advisory; the consumer's fill_extents will advance its
+        // own bookkeeping using the returned byte count, not the
+        // requested count.
+        match self.rx.recv() {
+            Ok(Ok(filled)) => {
+                let n = filled.len().min(buf.len());
+                buf[..n].copy_from_slice(&filled[..n]);
+                Ok(n)
+            }
+            Ok(Err(e)) => Err(crate::error::Error::IoError { source: e }),
+            // Channel closed (producer finished or panicked).
+            Err(_) => Ok(0),
+        }
+    }
+}

tests/streams.rs

@@ -301,6 +301,7 @@ fn m2ts_stream_write_read() {
             pts: i as i64 * 1_000_000,
             keyframe: i == 0,
             data: vec![i; 100],
+            duration_ns: None,
         };
         PesStream::write(&mut stream, &frame).unwrap();
     }
@@ -322,6 +323,7 @@ fn m2ts_pes_frame_roundtrip() {
         pts: 1_234_567_890,
         keyframe: true,
         data: vec![0xDE; 200],
+        duration_ns: None,
     };
 
     let mut buf = Vec::new();
@@ -589,6 +591,7 @@ fn mkvstream_write_finish() {
             pts: i as i64 * 1_000_000,
             keyframe: i == 0,
             data: vec![i; 100],
+            duration_ns: None,
         };
         PesStream::write(&mut stream, &frame).unwrap();
     }
@@ -650,6 +653,7 @@ fn mkvstream_roundtrip_bdts() {
             pts: i as i64 * 1_000_000,
             keyframe: true,
             data: vec![i; 100],
+            duration_ns: None,
         };
         PesStream::write(&mut stream, &frame).unwrap();
     }
@@ -842,6 +846,7 @@ fn mkvstream_e2e_h264_produces_valid_mkv() {
         pts: 1_000_000_000, // 1 second in ns
         keyframe: true,
         data: es_data,
+        duration_ns: None,
     };
     PesStream::write(&mut stream2, &frame1).unwrap();
 
@@ -851,6 +856,7 @@ fn mkvstream_e2e_h264_produces_valid_mkv() {
         pts: 1_041_700_000, // ~1 frame later in ns
         keyframe: false,
         data: es_data2,
+        duration_ns: None,
     };
     PesStream::write(&mut stream2, &frame2).unwrap();
     PesStream::finish(&mut stream2).unwrap();