diff --git a/frontend/js/player.js b/frontend/js/player.js
index cc93a55..efd1cff 100644
--- a/frontend/js/player.js
+++ b/frontend/js/player.js
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ App.player = App.player || {};
         const refererParam = resolved.referer ? `&referer=${encodeURIComponent(resolved.referer)}` : '';
         const streamUrl = `/api/stream?url=${encodeURIComponent(resolved.url)}${refererParam}`;
         let isHls = /\.m3u8($|\?)/i.test(resolved.url);
+        let isDirectMedia = /\.(mp4|m4v|m4s|webm|ts|mov)($|\?)/i.test(resolved.url);
 
         // Cleanup existing player instance to prevent aborted bindings.
         if (state.hlsPlayer) {
@@ -98,6 +99,8 @@ App.player = App.player || {};
                 const contentType = headResp.headers.get('Content-Type') || '';
                 if (contentType.includes('application/vnd.apple.mpegurl')) {
                     isHls = true;
+                } else if (contentType.startsWith('video/') || contentType.startsWith('audio/')) {
+                    isDirectMedia = true;
                 }
             } catch (err) {
                 console.warn('Failed to detect stream type', err);
@@ -155,41 +158,73 @@ App.player = App.player || {};
             }
         };
 
-        if (isHls) {
-            if (window.Hls && window.Hls.isSupported()) {
-                state.hlsPlayer = new window.Hls();
-                state.hlsPlayer.loadSource(streamUrl);
-                state.hlsPlayer.attachMedia(video);
-                state.hlsPlayer.on(window.Hls.Events.MANIFEST_PARSED, function() {
-                    startPlayback();
-                });
-                startPlayback();
-                state.hlsPlayer.on(window.Hls.Events.ERROR, function(event, data) {
-                    if (data && data.fatal) {
-                        clearLoading();
-                        if (App.ui && App.ui.showError) {
-                            App.ui.showError('Unable to play this stream.');
-                        }
-                        App.player.close();
-                    }
-                });
-            } else if (video.canPlayType('application/vnd.apple.mpegurl')) {
-                video.src = streamUrl;
-                startPlayback();
-            } else {
-                console.error("HLS not supported in this browser.");
-                if (App.ui && App.ui.showError) {
-                    App.ui.showError('HLS is not supported in this browser.');
-                }
-                clearLoading();
-                return;
-            }
-        } else {
+        const canUseHls = !!(window.Hls && window.Hls.isSupported());
+        const prefersHls = isHls || (canUseHls && !isDirectMedia && !video.canPlayType('application/vnd.apple.mpegurl'));
+        let hlsTried = false;
+        let nativeTried = false;
+        let usingHls = false;
+
+        const startNative = () => {
+            if (nativeTried) return;
+            nativeTried = true;
+            usingHls = false;
             video.src = streamUrl;
             startPlayback();
+        };
+
+        const startHls = (allowFallback) => {
+            if (!canUseHls || hlsTried) return false;
+            hlsTried = true;
+            usingHls = true;
+            state.hlsPlayer = new window.Hls();
+            state.hlsPlayer.loadSource(streamUrl);
+            state.hlsPlayer.attachMedia(video);
+            state.hlsPlayer.on(window.Hls.Events.MANIFEST_PARSED, function() {
+                startPlayback();
+            });
+            startPlayback();
+            state.hlsPlayer.on(window.Hls.Events.ERROR, function(event, data) {
+                if (data && data.fatal) {
+                    const shouldFallback = allowFallback && !nativeTried && !isHls;
+                    if (state.hlsPlayer) {
+                        state.hlsPlayer.destroy();
+                        state.hlsPlayer = null;
+                    }
+                    if (shouldFallback) {
+                        startNative();
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    clearLoading();
+                    if (App.ui && App.ui.showError) {
+                        App.ui.showError('Unable to play this stream.');
+                    }
+                    App.player.close();
+                }
+            });
+            return true;
+        };
+
+        if (prefersHls) {
+            if (!startHls(true)) {
+                if (video.canPlayType('application/vnd.apple.mpegurl')) {
+                    startNative();
+                } else {
+                    console.error("HLS not supported in this browser.");
+                    if (App.ui && App.ui.showError) {
+                        App.ui.showError('HLS is not supported in this browser.');
+                    }
+                    clearLoading();
+                    return;
+                }
+            }
+        } else {
+            startNative();
         }
 
         video.onerror = () => {
+            if (!usingHls && canUseHls && !hlsTried && !isDirectMedia) {
+                if (startHls(true)) return;
+            }
             clearLoading();
             if (App.ui && App.ui.showError) {
                 App.ui.showError('Video failed to load.');