diff --git a/CURRENT.md b/CURRENT.md
index 7431fd9..95c0147 100644
--- a/CURRENT.md
+++ b/CURRENT.md
@@ -40,6 +40,11 @@ mobile draft at 390px.
   - [x] C11 preview caching: Discord-hosted image/GIF previews (WebP 320px, hash-addressed, 5 MiB
     cap, one attempt) run after every walk in both modes. Live run `...-20260916090722`:
     `previewed: 2`; thumbs served over `/api/media/<scrape>/<item>/thumb` (200).
+  - [x] C18 Video previews and the status row. Uploaded videos have no Discord thumbnails: the
+    grid renders a first-frame `<video>` for them, and downloads generate a poster frame with
+    ffmpeg into `thumbs/` (live: both video attachments in the test channel got posters). The
+    status row is now `(Images/Videos) | Downloaded A/B | Cached C/B (excl Downl) | Loaded L/B`
+    with B = total for the active filters.
   - [x] C17 Media grid and viewer. Embed videos now render their cached thumbnail with a play
     icon; a Metadata dropdown picks banner fields (User, Type, Date, Source, Resolution, Length);
     nothing shows until Load media; the status row reads `downloaded A/B | cached C/D (excludes
diff --git a/docs/media-scraper.md b/docs/media-scraper.md
index cb19643..a4c71ca 100644
--- a/docs/media-scraper.md
+++ b/docs/media-scraper.md
@@ -109,6 +109,8 @@ Downloads run after a finished walk when the scrape used `mode: "download"`:
 - With a custom destination, files go to `<destination>/<scrape-id>/media/` and the row stores the
   absolute path; without one they stay in `<scrape>/media/`. Embed previews are copied to
   `<destination>/<scrape-id>/thumbnails/` while the local copy stays for the Media tab.
+- Downloaded videos get a poster frame (`ffmpeg -ss 0.5`, 480px WebP) cached in `thumbs/`, because
+  Discord serves no thumbnails for uploaded video files.
 - Progress counters: `downloaded`, `downloadErrors`.
 
 Previews run after every walk:
diff --git a/docs/media.md b/docs/media.md
index da6d6de..2bf09e7 100644
--- a/docs/media.md
+++ b/docs/media.md
@@ -138,12 +138,14 @@ that deletion is irreversible. The delete button is disabled for a 5 second coun
   21:9, Other), resolution (SD, HD, FHD, QHD, 4K+, Unknown), and a posted-date range (from/to).
   Nothing renders until **Load media** is pressed. A **Metadata** dropdown toggles which fields
   show in the small banner under each tile (User, Type, Date, Source, Resolution, Length). Video
-  tiles carry a translucent play icon top-right. Clicking a tile opens a viewer: wide media shows
-  the metadata banner below, vertical media shows it to the right; the banner has the full link
-  (with an external-site warning) and **View full**, and the play action embeds a YouTube, Vimeo,
-  Twitch, or Streamable player when possible. The status row reads
-  `downloaded A/B (images/videos) | cached C/D (excludes downloaded) | N loaded`. A scrape strip
-  shows live progress with Stop.
+  tiles carry a translucent play icon top-right. Discord serves no thumbnails for uploaded videos,
+  so a video without a cached preview renders a first-frame `<video>` in the grid, and downloaded
+  videos get an ffmpeg poster cached in `thumbs/`. Clicking a tile opens a viewer: wide media
+  shows the metadata banner below, vertical media shows it to the right; the banner has the full
+  link (with an external-site warning) and **View full**, and the play action embeds a YouTube,
+  Vimeo, Twitch, or Streamable player when possible. The status row reads
+  `(Images/Videos) | Downloaded A/B | Cached C/B (excl Downl) | Loaded L/B`, where B is the total
+  for the active filters. A scrape strip shows live progress with Stop.
   **New scrape…** (rightmost) opens a popup with Server and Group chat trees (servers expand to
   channels; each row has Links and Download). Every scrape button asks for confirmation; the
   dialog takes optional From/To dates and a **Check Message Count** button (Discord search total,
diff --git a/media-scrape/src/download.ts b/media-scrape/src/download.ts
index f2ae447..eea86de 100644
--- a/media-scrape/src/download.ts
+++ b/media-scrape/src/download.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
 import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
-import { writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { readFileSync, renameSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { promisify } from "node:util";
 import type { MediaRow } from "./store.js";
@@ -228,6 +228,54 @@ export async function downloadPreview(
     }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Grab a poster frame from a downloaded video with ffmpeg.
+ * Discord has no server-side thumbnails for uploaded videos, so the archive makes its own.
+ */
+export async function videoPoster(
+    inputPath: string,
+    outDir: string,
+    ffmpeg = process.env.VESKSLOP_FFMPEG ?? "ffmpeg"
+): Promise<{ hash: string; bytes: number } | null> {
+    const temp = join(outDir, `.poster-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}.webp`);
+
+    try {
+        await execFileAsync(
+            ffmpeg,
+            [
+                "-v",
+                "error",
+                "-y",
+                "-ss",
+                "0.5",
+                "-i",
+                inputPath,
+                "-frames:v",
+                "1",
+                "-vf",
+                "scale=480:-1",
+                temp
+            ],
+            { timeout: 30_000 }
+        );
+
+        const buffer = readFileSync(temp);
+        if (!buffer.length) return null;
+
+        const hash = createHash("sha256").update(buffer).digest("hex");
+        renameSync(temp, join(outDir, `${hash}.webp`));
+        return { hash, bytes: buffer.length };
+    } catch {
+        return null;
+    } finally {
+        try {
+            rmSync(temp, { force: true });
+        } catch {
+            // already renamed
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /** The gap before the next file, in milliseconds. */
 export function downloadGapMs(options: DownloadOptions = {}): number {
     const min = options.minGapMs ?? 1000;
diff --git a/media-scrape/src/engine.ts b/media-scrape/src/engine.ts
index c492f66..fa8ca52 100644
--- a/media-scrape/src/engine.ts
+++ b/media-scrape/src/engine.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
     downloadOne,
     downloadPreview,
     probeDimensions,
+    videoPoster,
     type DownloadOptions
 } from "./download.js";
 import {
@@ -324,6 +325,14 @@ export class ScrapeEngine {
                     );
                     if (dimensions) store.updateDimensions(row.id, dimensions.width, dimensions.height);
                 }
+
+                if (row.kind === "video" && !row.preview_hash) {
+                    const poster = await videoPoster(join(targetDir, outcome.path), join(dir, "thumbs"));
+                    if (poster) {
+                        store.markPreview(row.id, poster);
+                        meta.previewed = (meta.previewed ?? 0) + 1;
+                    }
+                }
             } else {
                 store.markDownloadError(row.id, outcome.error ?? outcome.state);
                 if (outcome.state === "failed") meta.downloadErrors = (meta.downloadErrors ?? 0) + 1;
diff --git a/media-scrape/src/index.ts b/media-scrape/src/index.ts
index 854eb70..6f1b300 100644
--- a/media-scrape/src/index.ts
+++ b/media-scrape/src/index.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ export {
     downloadOne,
     downloadPreview,
     previewUrlFor,
+    probeDimensions,
+    videoPoster,
     type DownloadOptions,
     type DownloadOutcome
 } from "./download.js";
diff --git a/media-scrape/test/run.ts b/media-scrape/test/run.ts
index bd8ca96..fe4a2c7 100644
--- a/media-scrape/test/run.ts
+++ b/media-scrape/test/run.ts
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@
  */
 
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
 import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import { downloadOne, downloadPreview, previewUrlFor } from "../src/download.js";
+import { downloadOne, downloadPreview, previewUrlFor, videoPoster } from "../src/download.js";
 import { ScrapeEngine, type FetchPage, type ScrapeBackend } from "../src/engine.js";
 import { extractMedia } from "../src/extract.js";
 import { PuppetBackend } from "../src/puppet-backend.js";
@@ -711,6 +712,33 @@ void (async () => {
         store.close();
     });
 
+    await test("videoPoster extracts a cached frame", async () => {
+        const dir = join(root, "poster-test");
+        mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+        const videoPath = join(dir, "clip.mp4");
+
+        try {
+            execFileSync("ffmpeg", [
+                "-v",
+                "error",
+                "-y",
+                "-f",
+                "lavfi",
+                "-i",
+                "testsrc=duration=1:size=64x64:rate=5",
+                videoPath
+            ]);
+        } catch {
+            console.log("ok - videoPoster skipped (no ffmpeg)");
+            return;
+        }
+
+        const poster = await videoPoster(videoPath, dir);
+        assert.ok(poster?.hash);
+        assert.ok((poster?.bytes ?? 0) > 0);
+        assert.equal(existsSync(join(dir, `${poster?.hash}.webp`)), true);
+    });
+
     await test("snowflake helpers round-trip dates", () => {
         const id = snowflakeFromIso("2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z");
         assert.ok(id);
diff --git a/poc/public/media.css b/poc/public/media.css
index e208ae4..6c70ba6 100644
--- a/poc/public/media.css
+++ b/poc/public/media.css
@@ -99,7 +99,8 @@
     cursor: pointer;
 }
 
-.vk-media-media img {
+.vk-media-media img,
+.vk-media-media video {
     width: 100%;
     height: 100%;
     object-fit: cover;
diff --git a/poc/public/media.js b/poc/public/media.js
index 556b79c..e9441e2 100644
--- a/poc/public/media.js
+++ b/poc/public/media.js
@@ -194,8 +194,8 @@
     function renderStatus() {
         const stats = state.stats ?? { total: 0, downloaded: 0, cached: 0, notDownloaded: 0 };
         setStatus(
-            `downloaded ${stats.downloaded}/${stats.total} (images/videos)  |  ` +
-                `cached ${stats.cached}/${stats.notDownloaded} (excludes downloaded)  |  ${state.items.length} loaded`
+            `(Images/Videos) | Downloaded ${stats.downloaded}/${stats.total} | ` +
+                `Cached ${stats.cached}/${stats.total} (excl Downl) | Loaded ${state.items.length}/${stats.total}`
         );
     }
 
@@ -403,12 +403,27 @@
         const source = gridSource(item);
         const visual = item.kind === "image" || item.kind === "gif" || item.kind === "video";
 
-        if (visual && /^(https?:|\/)/.test(source)) {
+        if (visual && /^(https?:|\/)/.test(source) && item.kind !== "video") {
             const img = document.createElement("img");
             img.loading = "lazy";
             img.src = source;
             img.alt = item.kind;
             media.append(img);
+        } else if (item.kind === "video" && /^(https?:|\/)/.test(source)) {
+            // Discord has no server-side video thumbnails; the browser shows the first frame.
+            const video = document.createElement("video");
+            video.preload = "metadata";
+            video.muted = true;
+            video.playsInline = true;
+            video.src = source;
+            video.addEventListener(
+                "loadedmetadata",
+                () => {
+                    if (video.duration) video.currentTime = Math.min(0.1, video.duration / 2);
+                },
+                { once: true }
+            );
+            media.append(video);
         } else {
             media.append(el("span", "vk-media-card-kind", item.kind.toUpperCase()));
         }