diff --git a/docs/architecture/vod-multi-source.md b/docs/architecture/vod-multi-source.md
index 84c8ab86b..d7c138929 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/vod-multi-source.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/vod-multi-source.md
@@ -425,6 +425,13 @@ was never established, so there is nothing to correct.
 
 ## What the primary button describes
 
+Two position signals, not one. `vodPlaybackPosition` is the LAST position
+seen — whichever copy produced it — and feeds the progress bar and the switch
+handoff. `routePlaybackPosition` is the route copy's own row, and everything
+that acts on the route's stream reads that: Resume, its label, its timecode.
+Collapsing them lets an alternative's progress resume the route copy at a
+timecode nobody reached in it.
+
 A pin means the button plays a copy the page did not load a position for.
 `createPrimaryActionPosition` therefore looks that copy's row up and lets it
 govern the label, the timecode and the Restart affordance — including when the
@@ -434,7 +441,10 @@ route's own row changes nothing; the loaded position already IS that copy's.
 
 ## Claims about the present
 
-`isActive` means "the source a switch or Play would use". Discovery sets it the
+`isActive` means "the source a switch or Play would use" — selection, not
+playback. `pinnedSourceAwaitingPlay` therefore takes `playbackLive` as well:
+a pinned row stays selected after its player is closed, and skipping the pin
+on selection alone would send the next Play to the route copy. Discovery sets it the
 moment the page opens, and it survives closing the player — so it cannot, on
 its own, back a statement in the present tense.
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.spec.ts
index 097a07515..c3c73ff43 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.spec.ts
@@ -206,6 +206,26 @@ describe('VodDetailsPlaybackService — external session ownership', () => {
             });
         }
 
+        it('keeps the route’s own resume point when an alternative plays', () => {
+            activeSource.set({
+                playlistId: 'playlist-2',
+                contentXtreamId: 991,
+                contentType: 'vod',
+            });
+
+            // An alternative's position arrives under ITS ids. Letting it stand in
+            // for the route copy's row would have Resume start the route stream at
+            // a timecode nobody ever reached in it.
+            emit('playlist-2', 991, 4200);
+
+            expect(service.vodPlaybackPosition()?.positionSeconds).toBe(4200);
+            expect(service.routePlaybackPosition()).toBeNull();
+            expect(service.hasPlaybackPosition()).toBe(false);
+
+            emit(ROUTE_PLAYLIST, ROUTE_VOD_ID, 60);
+            expect(service.routePlaybackPosition()?.positionSeconds).toBe(60);
+        });
+
         it('takes the route stream’s progress', () => {
             emit(ROUTE_PLAYLIST, ROUTE_VOD_ID, 120);
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.ts
index 51e25385c..45878bf27 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-playback.service.ts
@@ -63,8 +63,26 @@ export class VodDetailsPlaybackService {
     );
 
     readonly inlinePlayback = signal<ResolvedPortalPlayback | null>(null);
+    /**
+     * The LAST position seen, whichever copy produced it.
+     *
+     * Multi-source can put playback on a copy in another playlist, and this
+     * follows it — the progress bar and the switch feed both want the stream
+     * on screen, not the one the route happens to address.
+     */
     readonly vodPlaybackPosition = signal<PlaybackPositionData | null>(null);
 
+    /**
+     * The ROUTE copy's own row.
+     *
+     * Everything that acts on the route's stream — Resume, its label, its
+     * timecode — has to read this instead. Positions are keyed by (playlist,
+     * stream), so once an alternative has played, `vodPlaybackPosition` names
+     * a different film's row entirely and resuming from it would jump the
+     * route copy to a timecode nobody reached in it.
+     */
+    readonly routePlaybackPosition = signal<PlaybackPositionData | null>(null);
+
     private readonly externalButton = createExternalPlaybackButtonState({
         session: this.externalPlayback.activeSession,
         playlistId: computed(() => this.xtreamStore.currentPlaylist()?.id),
@@ -82,9 +100,28 @@ export class VodDetailsPlaybackService {
         getPortalPlaybackProgressPercent(this.vodPlaybackPosition())
     );
 
+    /** Mirrors an incoming position into the route's row when it owns it. */
+    private trackPosition(position: PlaybackPositionData | null): void {
+        this.vodPlaybackPosition.set(position);
+        if (this.isRouteContent(position)) {
+            this.routePlaybackPosition.set(position);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private isRouteContent(position: PlaybackPositionData | null): boolean {
+        return (
+            !!position &&
+            position.playlistId === this.xtreamStore.currentPlaylist()?.id &&
+            position.contentXtreamId === this.bindings()?.vodId()
+        );
+    }
+
+    /** Whether the ROUTE copy has somewhere to resume from. */
     readonly hasPlaybackPosition = computed(() => {
-        const inProgress =
-            this.vodPlaybackProgress() > 0 && this.vodPlaybackProgress() < 90;
+        const progress = getPortalPlaybackProgressPercent(
+            this.routePlaybackPosition()
+        );
+        const inProgress = progress > 0 && progress < 90;
         this.logger.debug('hasPlaybackPosition check', {
             vodId: this.bindings()?.vodId(),
             inProgress,
@@ -99,7 +136,7 @@ export class VodDetailsPlaybackService {
                     // An external player on an ALTERNATIVE reports under
                     // that playlist's ids; dropping those rewinds a switch.
                     if (this.ownsContent(data)) {
-                        this.vodPlaybackPosition.set(data);
+                        this.trackPosition(data);
                     }
                 }
             ) ?? null;
@@ -196,7 +233,7 @@ export class VodDetailsPlaybackService {
         const info = getXtreamVodInfo(vodItem);
         this.addToRecentlyViewed();
         const vodId = this.bindings()?.vodId() ?? NaN;
-        const position = this.vodPlaybackPosition();
+        const position = this.routePlaybackPosition();
         const streamUrl = this.xtreamStore.constructVodStreamUrl(vodItem);
 
         const contentInfo: PlayerContentInfo = {
@@ -240,7 +277,7 @@ export class VodDetailsPlaybackService {
     }
 
     formatPosition(): string {
-        return formatPlaybackPosition(this.vodPlaybackPosition());
+        return formatPlaybackPosition(this.routePlaybackPosition());
     }
 
     closeInlinePlayer(): void {
@@ -255,7 +292,7 @@ export class VodDetailsPlaybackService {
                 playlistId,
                 position
             ),
-        onSaved: (position) => this.vodPlaybackPosition.set(position),
+        onSaved: (position) => this.trackPosition(position),
     });
 
     /**
@@ -284,6 +321,7 @@ export class VodDetailsPlaybackService {
             'vod'
         );
         this.vodPlaybackPosition.set(position);
+        this.routePlaybackPosition.set(position);
     }
 
     private addToRecentlyViewed(): void {
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-route.component.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-route.component.ts
index be2ed8b8b..aa09e489f 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-route.component.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-details-route.component.ts
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ export class VodDetailsRouteComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
         sources: this.multiSource.sources,
         routePlaylistId: computed(() => this.xtreamStore.currentPlaylist()?.id),
         routeContentId: this.selectedVodId,
-        routePosition: this.playback.vodPlaybackPosition,
+        routePosition: this.playback.routePlaybackPosition,
         load: (source) => this.positionFor(source),
     });
     readonly hasPlaybackPosition = this.primaryAction.hasPosition;
@@ -394,6 +394,7 @@ export class VodDetailsRouteComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
                 this.playback.startResolvedPlayback(playback);
             },
             movie: this.multiSourceMovie,
+            playbackLive: this.playbackLive,
         });
 
         // Initializes on first render and RE-initializes when the route
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-counts.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-counts.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c95ae76ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-counts.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import { Signal, computed } from '@angular/core';
+import type { VodSourceDescriptor } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+
+/**
+ * What the chip and the caption count.
+ *
+ * Kept apart because the two numbers differ and the distinction is easy to
+ * lose: the chip counts STREAMS, while the caption's "also found in N others"
+ * counts PLAYLISTS — the popover groups a playlist's copies under it, so three
+ * copies inside one portal must not read as three portals.
+ */
+export interface VodSourceCounts {
+    /** Every source except the one in use. */
+    alternatives: Signal<VodSourceDescriptor[]>;
+    /** The chip appears only when there is genuinely somewhere else to go. */
+    hasAlternatives: Signal<boolean>;
+    alternativeCount: Signal<number>;
+    alternativePlaylistCount: Signal<number>;
+}
+
+export function createVodSourceCounts(
+    sources: Signal<VodSourceDescriptor[]>
+): VodSourceCounts {
+    const alternatives = computed(() =>
+        sources().filter((source) => !source.isActive)
+    );
+
+    return {
+        alternatives,
+        hasAlternatives: computed(() => alternatives().length > 0),
+        alternativeCount: computed(() => alternatives().length),
+        alternativePlaylistCount: computed(
+            () => new Set(alternatives().map((s) => s.playlistId)).size
+        ),
+    };
+}
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin-writes.spec.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin-writes.spec.ts
index 619d54e71..9ed7f3b49 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin-writes.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin-writes.spec.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — pin persistence', () => {
     let service: VodMultiSourceHostService;
 
     const movie = signal<VodMultiSourceMovie | null>(null);
+
+    // Whatever is on screen; the pin path distinguishes it from selection.
+
+    const playbackLive = signal(false);
     const vodAutoFailover = signal(false);
     const startPlayback = jest.fn();
     const discovery = { isAvailable: true, discover: jest.fn() };
@@ -84,7 +88,7 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — pin persistence', () => {
 
         service = TestBed.inject(VodMultiSourceHostService);
         TestBed.runInInjectionContext(() =>
-            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie })
+            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie, playbackLive })
         );
     });
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin.spec.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin.spec.ts
index 25849947d..cb26145a2 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-pin.spec.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — pinning', () => {
     let service: VodMultiSourceHostService;
 
     const movie = signal<VodMultiSourceMovie | null>(null);
+
+    // Whatever is on screen; the pin path distinguishes it from selection.
+
+    const playbackLive = signal(false);
     const vodAutoFailover = signal(false);
     const startPlayback = jest.fn();
     const discovery = { isAvailable: true, discover: jest.fn() };
@@ -84,7 +88,7 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — pinning', () => {
 
         service = TestBed.inject(VodMultiSourceHostService);
         TestBed.runInInjectionContext(() =>
-            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie })
+            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie, playbackLive })
         );
     });
 
@@ -186,6 +190,28 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — pinning', () => {
         );
     });
 
+    it('honours the pin again after its player is closed', async () => {
+        pins.get.mockResolvedValue({
+            matchKey: 'title:the matrix:1999',
+            playlistId: ALT_TWO.playlistId,
+            contentId: ALT_TWO.contentId,
+            portalType: 'xtream',
+        });
+        await loadMovie([ALT_TWO]);
+        await service.play(ALT_TWO.id);
+
+        // Playing it makes its row active AND live: Play must not relaunch
+        // what is already on screen.
+        playbackLive.set(true);
+        expect(service.pendingPinnedSourceId()).toBeNull();
+
+        // Closing the player leaves the row selected. Reading `isActive`
+        // alone here sends the next Play to the route copy and ignores the
+        // stored preference until the page is reopened.
+        playbackLive.set(false);
+        expect(service.pendingPinnedSourceId()).toBe(ALT_TWO.id);
+    });
+
     it('starts a pinned source that was never watched from the beginning', async () => {
         pins.get.mockResolvedValue({
             matchKey: 'title:the matrix:1999',
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-races.spec.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-races.spec.ts
index b08acfaad..fbbccac95 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-races.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-races.spec.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — stale resolutions', () => {
     let service: VodMultiSourceHostService;
 
     const movie = signal<VodMultiSourceMovie | null>(null);
+
+    // Whatever is on screen; the pin path distinguishes it from selection.
+
+    const playbackLive = signal(false);
     const vodAutoFailover = signal(false);
     const startPlayback = jest.fn();
     const discovery = { isAvailable: true, discover: jest.fn() };
@@ -82,7 +86,7 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — stale resolutions', () => {
 
         service = TestBed.inject(VodMultiSourceHostService);
         TestBed.runInInjectionContext(() =>
-            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie })
+            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie, playbackLive })
         );
     });
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-session.spec.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-session.spec.ts
index 79c6551e5..482a3e7dc 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-session.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host-session.spec.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — session lifecycle', () => {
     let service: VodMultiSourceHostService;
 
     const movie = signal<VodMultiSourceMovie | null>(null);
+
+    // Whatever is on screen; the pin path distinguishes it from selection.
+
+    const playbackLive = signal(false);
     const vodAutoFailover = signal(false);
     const startPlayback = jest.fn();
     const discovery = { isAvailable: true, discover: jest.fn() };
@@ -94,7 +98,7 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService — session lifecycle', () => {
 
         service = TestBed.inject(VodMultiSourceHostService);
         TestBed.runInInjectionContext(() =>
-            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie })
+            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie, playbackLive })
         );
     });
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.spec.ts
index 9bf0e0096..365d5db70 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.spec.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService', () => {
     let service: VodMultiSourceHostService;
 
     const movie = signal<VodMultiSourceMovie | null>(null);
+
+    // Whatever is on screen; the pin path distinguishes it from selection.
+
+    const playbackLive = signal(false);
     const vodAutoFailover = signal(false);
     const startPlayback = jest.fn();
     const discovery = { isAvailable: true, discover: jest.fn() };
@@ -104,7 +108,7 @@ describe('VodMultiSourceHostService', () => {
 
         service = TestBed.inject(VodMultiSourceHostService);
         TestBed.runInInjectionContext(() =>
-            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie })
+            service.bind({ startPlayback, movie, playbackLive })
         );
     });
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.ts
index c52557e79..89c01c09b 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-host.service.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import {
     type SwitchOutcome,
 } from './vod-multi-source-session';
 import type { VodMultiSourceSwitchNotice } from './vod-multi-source-notice';
+import { createVodSourceCounts } from './vod-multi-source-counts';
 import { currentSourceRow } from './vod-multi-source-current-row';
 import { probeSource } from './vod-multi-source-probe';
 import {
@@ -59,6 +60,11 @@ export interface VodMultiSourceBindings {
     startPlayback: (playback: ResolvedPortalPlayback) => void;
     /** The movie on screen, or null while its identity is not yet knowable. */
     movie: Signal<VodMultiSourceMovie | null>;
+    /**
+     * Whether a stream is on screen right now — NOT whether a row is selected.
+     * A pinned row stays selected after its player is closed.
+     */
+    playbackLive: Signal<boolean>;
 }
 
 export type { VodMultiSourceSwitchNotice };
@@ -107,20 +113,11 @@ export class VodMultiSourceHostService {
     readonly lastSwitch = this._lastSwitch.asReadonly();
     readonly previousSourceId = this._previousSourceId.asReadonly();
 
-    readonly alternatives = computed(() =>
-        this._sources().filter((source) => !source.isActive)
-    );
-    /** The chip appears only when there is genuinely somewhere else to go. */
-    readonly hasAlternatives = computed(() => this.alternatives().length > 0);
-    /** Alternative STREAMS — what the "Sources N" chip counts. */
-    readonly alternativeCount = computed(() => this.alternatives().length);
-    /**
-     * Alternative PLAYLISTS: the popover groups a playlist's copies under it,
-     * so "also found in N other playlists" counts portals, not copies.
-     */
-    readonly alternativePlaylistCount = computed(
-        () => new Set(this.alternatives().map((s) => s.playlistId)).size
-    );
+    private readonly counts = createVodSourceCounts(this._sources);
+    readonly alternatives = this.counts.alternatives;
+    readonly hasAlternatives = this.counts.hasAlternatives;
+    readonly alternativeCount = this.counts.alternativeCount;
+    readonly alternativePlaylistCount = this.counts.alternativePlaylistCount;
     readonly matchKind = computed(() => this.controller.matchKind());
 
     /** Opt-in and off by default — a silent switch is never acceptable. */
@@ -232,7 +229,10 @@ export class VodMultiSourceHostService {
 
     /** The pinned source, when it is not the one the route already plays. */
     readonly pendingPinnedSourceId = computed(() =>
-        pinnedSourceAwaitingPlay(this._sources())
+        pinnedSourceAwaitingPlay(
+            this._sources(),
+            this.bindings?.playbackLive() === true
+        )
     );
 
     /**
diff --git a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-pin.ts b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-pin.ts
index 2c7208633..c5e1a69d0 100644
--- a/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-pin.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/vod-details/vod-multi-source-pin.ts
@@ -37,12 +37,22 @@ export function pinnedCopyInPlaylist(
  * "Make this the main source" has to survive reopening the movie, or the
  * persisted preference is just an icon. The host consults this before its
  * normal Play, so the pin decides where playback starts.
+ *
+ * `isActive` alone cannot answer this: it means SELECTED, and the pinned row
+ * stays selected after its player is closed. Skipping the pin then would send
+ * the next Play to the route copy and quietly ignore the stored preference
+ * until the page is reopened.
  */
 export function pinnedSourceAwaitingPlay(
-    sources: readonly VodSourceDescriptor[]
+    sources: readonly VodSourceDescriptor[],
+    playbackLive: boolean
 ): string | null {
     const pinned = sources.find((source) => source.isPinned);
-    return pinned && !pinned.isActive ? pinned.id : null;
+    if (!pinned) {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    return pinned.isActive && playbackLive ? null : pinned.id;
 }
 
 /** The row id the controller uses, derived from a stored pin. */