diff --git a/internal/cmd/daemon.go b/internal/cmd/daemon.go
index 97ce849..a1b0a8a 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/daemon.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/daemon.go
@@ -1168,6 +1168,7 @@ func runAutoScan(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, interval time.Duration,
 					Trickplay:            cfg.Library.Trickplay.Enabled,
 					TrickplayIntervalSec: cfg.Library.Trickplay.IntervalSeconds(),
 					TrickplayWidth:       cfg.Library.Trickplay.Width,
+					MaxLoadRatio:         cfg.Library.PrewarmMaxLoadRatio,
 				})
 			}
 
diff --git a/internal/cmd/scan.go b/internal/cmd/scan.go
index 23f320d..754ebc1 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/scan.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/scan.go
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ func runScan(dirPath string, workers int, ffprobePath string, noSync bool) error
 				Trickplay:            cfg.Library.Trickplay.Enabled,
 				TrickplayIntervalSec: cfg.Library.Trickplay.IntervalSeconds(),
 				TrickplayWidth:       cfg.Library.Trickplay.Width,
+				MaxLoadRatio:         cfg.Library.PrewarmMaxLoadRatio,
 			})
 		} else {
 			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  Skipping sidecar prewarm: ffmpeg unavailable: %v\n", err)
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 325ebda..2d6e664 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -205,6 +205,12 @@ type LibraryConfig struct {
 	// no contention with the active stream (the cause of broken seekbar previews)
 	// — and the file panel picks a few positions from the same grid.
 	Trickplay TrickplayConfig `toml:"trickplay"`
+
+	// PrewarmMaxLoadRatio gates the heavy trickplay decode on system load: a sprite
+	// job only starts while the 1-min load average is ≤ this × NumCPU, so scan-time
+	// generation never saturates the machine or the NAS. Default 0.7; 0 falls back
+	// to the default. Linux-only (no load reading elsewhere → unthrottled).
+	PrewarmMaxLoadRatio float64 `toml:"prewarm_max_load_ratio"`
 }
 
 // TrickplayConfig controls scan-time trickplay sprite generation.
@@ -297,6 +303,7 @@ func Default() Config {
 				Interval: "10s",
 				Width:    240,
 			},
+			PrewarmMaxLoadRatio: 0.7,
 		},
 	}
 }
@@ -381,6 +388,11 @@ func applyDefaults(cfg *Config, meta toml.MetaData) {
 	if !meta.IsDefined("library", "trickplay", "width") {
 		cfg.Library.Trickplay.Width = 240
 	}
+	// Load-gate defaults ON for configs predating the key, so an old install can't
+	// saturate the box with scan-time sprite generation.
+	if !meta.IsDefined("library", "prewarm_max_load_ratio") {
+		cfg.Library.PrewarmMaxLoadRatio = 0.7
+	}
 
 	if !meta.IsDefined("downloads", "transcode", "enabled") {
 		cfg.Download.Transcode.Enabled = true
diff --git a/internal/library/loadgate_test.go b/internal/library/loadgate_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b7c505
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/library/loadgate_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+package library
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/torrentclaw/unarr/internal/library/mediainfo"
+)
+
+// A huge ratio means the threshold is always above the real load, so the gate
+// must return immediately (no blocking) regardless of how busy the box is.
+func TestWaitForLowLoad_HighRatioReturnsImmediately(t *testing.T) {
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		waitForLowLoad(context.Background(), 1e9)
+		close(done)
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-done:
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("waitForLowLoad blocked despite an impossibly-high threshold")
+	}
+}
+
+// With a tiny ratio the gate would block (load almost always exceeds it), but a
+// cancelled context must unblock it promptly — the prewarm has to stop cleanly on
+// Ctrl-C / daemon shutdown even while waiting for the machine to go idle.
+func TestWaitForLowLoad_RespectsContextCancel(t *testing.T) {
+	if _, ok := mediainfo.LoadAverage1(); !ok {
+		t.Skip("no load reading on this platform — gate is a no-op")
+	}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	cancel() // already cancelled
+
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		waitForLowLoad(ctx, 0.0001) // threshold ~0 → would otherwise block
+		close(done)
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-done:
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("waitForLowLoad ignored a cancelled context")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/library/mediainfo/harden_linux_test.go b/internal/library/mediainfo/harden_linux_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..910add5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/library/mediainfo/harden_linux_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package mediainfo
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// TestHardenCmd_KillsChildOnParentDeath is the e2e guarantee for the orphan fix:
+// a child spawned with hardenCmd must be SIGKILL'd by the kernel the instant its
+// parent process dies (Pdeathsig), so an agent crash/restart can never leave an
+// ffmpeg running to ppid 1. It re-execs this test binary as a short-lived helper
+// that starts `sleep`, prints the sleep PID, then exits — and asserts that PID is
+// gone afterwards.
+func TestHardenCmd_KillsChildOnParentDeath(t *testing.T) {
+	if os.Getenv("UNARR_PDEATHSIG_CHILD") == "1" {
+		// Helper role: start a hardened long sleep, announce its PID, then exit so
+		// the kernel fires Pdeathsig on it.
+		cmd := exec.Command("sleep", "120")
+		hardenCmd(cmd)
+		if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
+			fmt.Println("ERR", err)
+			os.Exit(2)
+		}
+		fmt.Println(cmd.Process.Pid)
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+
+	helper := exec.Command(os.Args[0], "-test.run=TestHardenCmd_KillsChildOnParentDeath", "-test.v")
+	helper.Env = append(os.Environ(), "UNARR_PDEATHSIG_CHILD=1")
+	out, err := helper.Output()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("helper run: %v (out=%q)", err, out)
+	}
+
+	var sleepPID int
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(string(out), "\n") {
+		if n, perr := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(line)); perr == nil && n > 0 {
+			sleepPID = n
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if sleepPID == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("could not parse child PID from helper output: %q", out)
+	}
+
+	// Give the kernel a moment to deliver SIGKILL after the helper exited.
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(3 * time.Second)
+	for time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		if syscall.Kill(sleepPID, 0) != nil {
+			return // process gone → Pdeathsig worked
+		}
+		time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	// Cleanup if it somehow survived, then fail.
+	_ = syscall.Kill(sleepPID, syscall.SIGKILL)
+	t.Fatalf("child %d survived parent death — Pdeathsig not applied (orphan leak)", sleepPID)
+}
diff --git a/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_linux.go b/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_linux.go
index 9b1d508..210e922 100644
--- a/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_linux.go
+++ b/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_linux.go
@@ -2,7 +2,13 @@
 
 package mediainfo
 
-import "syscall"
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+)
 
 // Linux I/O priority (ioprio) constants. The 16-bit ioprio value packs a class
 // in the top 3 bits (shift 13) and a class-data nibble below it; the IDLE class
@@ -23,3 +29,47 @@ func setIdleIOPriority(pid int) {
 	ioprio := ioprioClassIdle << ioprioClassShift // IDLE class, data 0
 	_, _, _ = syscall.Syscall(syscall.SYS_IOPRIO_SET, uintptr(ioprioWhoProcess), uintptr(pid), uintptr(ioprio))
 }
+
+// setLowCPUPriority best-effort drops a process to the lowest CPU niceness (19),
+// so the heavy trickplay full-decode pass yields the CPU to foreground work.
+// Pairs with setIdleIOPriority (disk): IDLE I/O alone is not enough when the
+// bottleneck is software/contended 4K decode — without CPU nice, N stacked
+// decodes pin every core (the host hit load ~140). Errors are ignored — it's an
+// optimization, not required for correctness.
+func setLowCPUPriority(pid int) {
+	_ = syscall.Setpriority(syscall.PRIO_PROCESS, pid, 19)
+}
+
+// hardenCmd makes the child ffmpeg die with this agent. Setpgid isolates it in
+// its own process group, and Pdeathsig=SIGKILL asks the kernel to kill it the
+// instant the agent process dies. Without this, exec.CommandContext can only
+// enforce its timeout from an in-process goroutine — an agent crash / restart /
+// SIGKILL kills that goroutine, so the ffmpeg is reparented to init (ppid 1) and
+// runs its full 45-min decode to the end. Successive dev restarts stacked those
+// orphans (one pair per restart) and spiked the box to load ~140.
+func hardenCmd(cmd *exec.Cmd) {
+	if cmd.SysProcAttr == nil {
+		cmd.SysProcAttr = &syscall.SysProcAttr{}
+	}
+	cmd.SysProcAttr.Setpgid = true
+	cmd.SysProcAttr.Pdeathsig = syscall.SIGKILL
+}
+
+// LoadAverage1 returns the 1-minute system load from /proc/loadavg. ok=false when
+// it can't be read, so callers treat "unknown" as "don't gate" (proceed) rather
+// than blocking forever.
+func LoadAverage1() (float64, bool) {
+	b, err := os.ReadFile("/proc/loadavg")
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	fields := strings.Fields(string(b))
+	if len(fields) == 0 {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	v, err := strconv.ParseFloat(fields[0], 64)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	return v, true
+}
diff --git a/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_other.go b/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_other.go
index 3f84d6a..cea220a 100644
--- a/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_other.go
+++ b/internal/library/mediainfo/ioprio_other.go
@@ -2,5 +2,12 @@
 
 package mediainfo
 
-// setIdleIOPriority is a no-op on non-Linux platforms (ioprio is Linux-specific).
+import "os/exec"
+
+// These are Linux-specific optimizations / safeguards; no-ops elsewhere.
 func setIdleIOPriority(_ int) {}
+func setLowCPUPriority(_ int) {}
+func hardenCmd(_ *exec.Cmd)   {}
+
+// LoadAverage1 is unavailable off Linux; ok=false means callers don't gate.
+func LoadAverage1() (float64, bool) { return 0, false }
diff --git a/internal/library/mediainfo/trickplay.go b/internal/library/mediainfo/trickplay.go
index 67fa762..5a33453 100644
--- a/internal/library/mediainfo/trickplay.go
+++ b/internal/library/mediainfo/trickplay.go
@@ -3,15 +3,56 @@ package mediainfo
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"math"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 )
 
+// ErrTrickplayInProgress means another worker — possibly an agent on another host
+// sharing the same library (e.g. the dev binary on /mnt/nas and the docker agent
+// on /downloads, the SAME files) — already holds this sprite's lock and is
+// generating it. The caller must SKIP, not count it as a failure.
+var ErrTrickplayInProgress = errors.New("trickplay: generation already in progress")
+
+// trickplayLockTTL bounds a stale lock: longer than the caller's 45-min generation
+// deadline so a live job is never stolen, short enough that a crashed/killed
+// worker's lock is reclaimed on a later scan.
+const trickplayLockTTL = 90 * time.Minute
+
+// acquireTrickplayLock takes an exclusive, cross-process lock for one sprite by
+// O_CREATE|O_EXCL on a ".lock" file in the shared sidecar dir, so two agents that
+// watch the same library never decode the same 4K file at once (the cause of the
+// 5×-per-file ffmpeg pile-up). A lock older than trickplayLockTTL is assumed
+// abandoned (owner crashed) and reclaimed. Returns ErrTrickplayInProgress when a
+// fresh lock is held by someone else.
+func acquireTrickplayLock(lockPath string) (func(), error) {
+	for attempt := 0; attempt < 2; attempt++ {
+		f, err := os.OpenFile(lockPath, os.O_CREATE|os.O_EXCL|os.O_WRONLY, 0o644)
+		if err == nil {
+			host, _ := os.Hostname()
+			fmt.Fprintf(f, "%s pid=%d t=%d\n", host, os.Getpid(), time.Now().Unix())
+			_ = f.Close()
+			return func() { _ = os.Remove(lockPath) }, nil
+		}
+		if !os.IsExist(err) {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("trickplay lock: %w", err)
+		}
+		if fi, statErr := os.Stat(lockPath); statErr == nil && time.Since(fi.ModTime()) > trickplayLockTTL {
+			_ = os.Remove(lockPath) // stale → reclaim and retry
+			continue
+		}
+		return nil, ErrTrickplayInProgress
+	}
+	return nil, ErrTrickplayInProgress
+}
+
 // TrickplayManifest describes the montage sprite layout so a client can map a
 // playback time to one tile: tileIndex = floor(timeSec / IntervalSec), then
 // col = tileIndex % Cols, row = tileIndex / Cols, and the tile's pixel box is
@@ -126,6 +167,15 @@ func GenerateTrickplay(ctx context.Context, ffmpegPath, mediaPath string, interv
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(spritePath), 0o755); err != nil {
 		return TrickplayManifest{}, err
 	}
+
+	// Single-flight across processes/agents: only one worker decodes this file at
+	// a time. Returns ErrTrickplayInProgress (skip, not fail) if another holds it.
+	release, err := acquireTrickplayLock(spritePath + ".lock")
+	if err != nil {
+		return TrickplayManifest{}, err
+	}
+	defer release()
+
 	tmpSprite := spritePath + ".tmp"
 
 	// fps filter wants a rational; format 1/effInterval with enough precision.
@@ -144,17 +194,31 @@ func GenerateTrickplay(ctx context.Context, ffmpegPath, mediaPath string, interv
 		"-f", "mjpeg",
 		tmpSprite,
 	}
+	// Pin this goroutine to its OS thread for the whole child lifetime. hardenCmd's
+	// Pdeathsig is delivered when the THREAD that forked dies, not the process
+	// (golang/go#27505); without the lock Go could recycle that thread mid-decode
+	// and the kernel would SIGKILL a perfectly healthy ffmpeg. Locked here (before
+	// the fork in Start) and released after Wait, the thread lives exactly as long
+	// as ffmpeg: it dies only when the agent process itself dies → SIGKILL fires
+	// only then, which is precisely the orphan we want to prevent.
+	runtime.LockOSThread()
+	defer runtime.UnlockOSThread()
+
 	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, ffmpegPath, args...)
 	var stderr strings.Builder
 	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
-	// Start + idle I/O priority + Wait (matches the subtitle/thumbnail extractors):
-	// this full-decode pass is the heaviest sidecar job and runs in the background
-	// alongside live streaming on the same disk/NFS, so it must yield I/O.
+	// Die-with-parent BEFORE Start so an agent crash can't orphan this decode.
+	hardenCmd(cmd)
+	// Start + idle I/O + lowest CPU niceness + Wait (matches the subtitle/thumbnail
+	// extractors): this full-decode pass is the heaviest sidecar job and runs in the
+	// background alongside live streaming on the same box/NFS, so it must yield both
+	// disk AND CPU. The prewarm also gates it on system load before getting here.
 	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
 		_ = os.Remove(tmpSprite)
 		return TrickplayManifest{}, fmt.Errorf("ffmpeg tile start: %w", err)
 	}
 	setIdleIOPriority(cmd.Process.Pid)
+	setLowCPUPriority(cmd.Process.Pid)
 	if err := cmd.Wait(); err != nil {
 		_ = os.Remove(tmpSprite)
 		return TrickplayManifest{}, fmt.Errorf("ffmpeg tile: %w: %s", err, strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String()))
diff --git a/internal/library/mediainfo/trickplay_lock_test.go b/internal/library/mediainfo/trickplay_lock_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41c94b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/library/mediainfo/trickplay_lock_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+package mediainfo
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestAcquireTrickplayLock_SingleFlight(t *testing.T) {
+	lock := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "sprite.jpg.lock")
+
+	release, err := acquireTrickplayLock(lock)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("first acquire: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, statErr := os.Stat(lock); statErr != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("lock file not created: %v", statErr)
+	}
+
+	// Second acquire while the first is held → skip sentinel, not a real error.
+	if _, err := acquireTrickplayLock(lock); !errors.Is(err, ErrTrickplayInProgress) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected ErrTrickplayInProgress, got %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// After release the lock file is gone and it can be re-acquired.
+	release()
+	if _, statErr := os.Stat(lock); !os.IsNotExist(statErr) {
+		t.Fatalf("lock file should be removed after release, stat err = %v", statErr)
+	}
+	release2, err := acquireTrickplayLock(lock)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("re-acquire after release: %v", err)
+	}
+	release2()
+}
+
+func TestAcquireTrickplayLock_ReclaimsStale(t *testing.T) {
+	lock := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "sprite.jpg.lock")
+
+	// Simulate a crashed worker: a lock file older than the TTL with no live owner.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(lock, []byte("deadhost pid=999 t=0\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	old := time.Now().Add(-trickplayLockTTL - time.Minute)
+	if err := os.Chtimes(lock, old, old); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	release, err := acquireTrickplayLock(lock)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("stale lock should be reclaimed, got %v", err)
+	}
+	release()
+}
+
+func TestAcquireTrickplayLock_FreshNotReclaimed(t *testing.T) {
+	lock := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "sprite.jpg.lock")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(lock, []byte("livehost pid=123 t=now\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// Fresh mtime (just written) → a live owner is assumed; must NOT be stolen.
+	if _, err := acquireTrickplayLock(lock); !errors.Is(err, ErrTrickplayInProgress) {
+		t.Fatalf("fresh lock must not be reclaimed, got %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/library/prewarm.go b/internal/library/prewarm.go
index 5d5162a..50b444e 100644
--- a/internal/library/prewarm.go
+++ b/internal/library/prewarm.go
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ package library
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"log"
 	"math"
+	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
@@ -33,6 +35,12 @@ type PrewarmOptions struct {
 	Trickplay            bool
 	TrickplayIntervalSec float64
 	TrickplayWidth       int
+
+	// MaxLoadRatio gates the heavy trickplay decode on system load: a job only
+	// starts while the 1-min load average is ≤ MaxLoadRatio×NumCPU, so sprite
+	// generation never saturates the machine or the NAS. ≤0 → default 0.7. Has no
+	// effect on platforms without a load reading (proceeds unthrottled).
+	MaxLoadRatio float64
 }
 
 // prewarmJob is one extraction unit: all text subtitles of a file in one ffmpeg
@@ -65,6 +73,15 @@ func PrewarmSidecars(ctx context.Context, cache *LibraryCache, opts PrewarmOptio
 	if workers < 1 {
 		workers = 2
 	}
+	maxLoadRatio := opts.MaxLoadRatio
+	if maxLoadRatio <= 0 {
+		maxLoadRatio = 0.7
+	}
+	// Trickplay is the heaviest job (full 4K decode). Cap it to ONE concurrent
+	// decode across this agent's workers — the thumbnail/subtitle jobs (light /
+	// I/O-bound) keep their `workers` parallelism. Cross-agent dup work is stopped
+	// by the per-file lock inside GenerateTrickplay.
+	trickSem := make(chan struct{}, 1)
 
 	jobs := make(chan prewarmJob)
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
@@ -115,19 +132,39 @@ func PrewarmSidecars(ctx context.Context, cache *LibraryCache, opts PrewarmOptio
 					if _, ok := mediainfo.ReadCachedTrickplay(j.path, j.width); ok {
 						continue
 					}
+					// Serialize the heavy decode (1 at a time) and wait for the box to
+					// be idle enough before starting — sprite generation must never
+					// saturate the CPU or the NAS.
+					select {
+					case trickSem <- struct{}{}:
+					case <-ctx.Done():
+						return
+					}
+					waitForLowLoad(ctx, maxLoadRatio)
+					if ctx.Err() != nil {
+						<-trickSem
+						return
+					}
 					// Full-decode pass (samples 1 frame per interval over the whole
 					// file) — generous deadline like subtitles; idempotent + cached.
+					// INVARIANT: this deadline MUST stay below mediainfo.trickplayLockTTL,
+					// or another agent could reclaim a still-running job's lock and double
+					// the decode. If you raise this, raise trickplayLockTTL too.
 					jctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 45*time.Minute)
 					_, err := mediainfo.GenerateTrickplay(jctx, opts.FFmpegPath, j.path, opts.TrickplayIntervalSec, j.width, j.duration)
 					cancel()
+					<-trickSem
 					mu.Lock()
-					if err != nil {
+					switch {
+					case err == nil:
+						trickCached++
+					case errors.Is(err, mediainfo.ErrTrickplayInProgress):
+						// another worker/agent owns this file — skip, not a failure.
+					default:
 						failed++
 						if sampleErr == "" {
 							sampleErr = err.Error()
 						}
-					} else {
-						trickCached++
 					}
 					mu.Unlock()
 					continue
@@ -239,6 +276,47 @@ func PrewarmSidecars(ctx context.Context, cache *LibraryCache, opts PrewarmOptio
 	}
 }
 
+// prewarmLoadWaitCap bounds how long the load gate DEFERS a trickplay job. It's a
+// throttle, not an off-switch: on a host whose baseline load is permanently above
+// the threshold (a shared prod box, or any 1–2 core machine), an unbounded wait
+// would mean sprites NEVER generate. After the cap we proceed anyway — the other
+// safeguards (single-flight lock, trickSem=1, nice 19 + idle I/O, Pdeathsig) keep
+// one throttled decode from saturating the box.
+const prewarmLoadWaitCap = 15 * time.Minute
+
+// waitForLowLoad defers until the 1-minute system load is at or below
+// max(maxRatio×NumCPU, 1.5), or ctx is cancelled, or prewarmLoadWaitCap elapses —
+// so the heavy trickplay decode prefers an idle machine but never stalls forever.
+// The 1.5 floor reserves ~one core so the gate can still open on 1–2 core hosts
+// (without it, threshold 0.7–1.4 is below almost any active machine's load and the
+// feature would be permanently off). No load reading (non-Linux) → returns at once.
+func waitForLowLoad(ctx context.Context, maxRatio float64) {
+	threshold := maxRatio * float64(runtime.NumCPU())
+	if threshold < 1.5 {
+		threshold = 1.5
+	}
+	deadline := time.After(prewarmLoadWaitCap)
+	logged := false
+	for {
+		load, ok := mediainfo.LoadAverage1()
+		if !ok || load <= threshold {
+			return
+		}
+		if !logged {
+			log.Printf("[prewarm] system load %.1f > %.1f — deferring trickplay (≤ %s)", load, threshold, prewarmLoadWaitCap)
+			logged = true
+		}
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case <-deadline:
+			log.Printf("[prewarm] load still high after %s — proceeding with throttled trickplay (nice + idle I/O + single-flight still apply)", prewarmLoadWaitCap)
+			return
+		case <-time.After(15 * time.Second):
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // thumbPositions returns the sample frame offsets (whole seconds) for an item,
 // matching the web panel: fractions of a known runtime, else fixed fallbacks.
 func thumbPositions(item LibraryItem) []float64 {