diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
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+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -27,18 +27,25 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Added
 
-- **Auto-sync overhaul (FR #1196)**: comprehensive rebuild of the M3U auto-channel-sync flow. The work introduces a per-field override system, hide-from-output flag, range-bounded auto-numbering with a re-pack helper, multi-stream channel safety, multi-provider shared-range merging, and an across-the-board move from per-row writes to bulk operations. Migrations included: `apps/channels/0037_channeloverride_and_user_hidden`, `0038_backfill_auto_created_by_null`, `0039_channelgroupm3uaccount_auto_sync_channel_end`, `0040_channel_channel_number_nullable`, and `apps/m3u/0020_m3uaccount_auto_cleanup_unused_channels`.
-  - **Per-field channel overrides for auto-synced channels.** A new `ChannelOverride` table (one-to-one with `Channel`) holds user-specified values for `name`, `channel_number`, `channel_group`, `logo`, `tvg_id`, `tvc_guide_stationid`, `epg_data`, and `stream_profile`. Sync writes only to `Channel.*` columns; the override row takes precedence at read time via a new `with_effective_values()` queryset helper that coalesces both sources at the SQL layer. Every output surface that consumes channel data, HDHR (`/hdhr/lineup.json` and per-profile variants, `/hdhr/discover.json`), M3U (`/output/m3u`, per-profile variants), EPG (`/output/epg`, per-profile variants), XC API (`get_live_streams`, `xmltv.php`), the channels list and detail endpoints, and the TV Guide summary endpoint (`GET /api/channels/channels/summary/`), reads through this helper so overrides surface consistently. The channel edit form shows "Provider: <value>" subtext beneath each overridable field, and the channels table flags rows with active overrides via a Pencil icon and tooltip listing the overridden field names.
-  - **Per-field reset-to-provider icon.** FK pickers (channel group, logo, EPG, stream profile) display a small reset icon when the field has an active override on an auto-synced channel. Clicking it sets the form value back to the provider value; the override for that field is cleared on save while other overrides remain intact.
-  - **Hide-from-output flag (`user_hidden`).** A user-toggleable boolean that excludes a channel from HDHR, M3U, EPG, and XC output without deleting it. Hidden channels are preserved across auto-sync refreshes and excluded from auto-cleanup. The channels table shows an EyeOff icon on hidden rows and accepts a "Hidden" filter in the visibility selector.
-  - **Auto-sync channel ranges per group.** `ChannelGroupM3UAccount` accepts `auto_sync_channel_start` and `auto_sync_channel_end`. Channels created by auto-sync are assigned numbers within the configured range; streams that do not fit are surfaced in the failure detail modal with a typed "range exhausted" reason.
-  - **Compact numbering with re-pack helper.** When `compact_numbering=True` on a group's account relation, sync packs visible auto-sync channels sequentially into the configured range. A "Re-pack now" button on the group settings runs the pack manually. Hidden channels do not occupy slots; un-hiding shifts visible numbers down to fill the gap. Override-pinned channel numbers are respected as fixed anchors.
+- **Auto-sync overhaul (FR #1196)**: comprehensive rebuild of the M3U auto-channel-sync flow. Introduces a per-field override system, hide-from-output flag, range-bounded auto-numbering with a re-pack helper, multi-stream channel safety, multi-provider shared-range merging, and an across-the-board move from per-row writes to bulk operations. Migrations included: `apps/channels/0037_channeloverride_and_user_hidden`, `0038_backfill_auto_created_by_null`, `0039_channelgroupm3uaccount_auto_sync_channel_end`, `0040_channel_channel_number_nullable`, and `apps/m3u/0020_m3uaccount_auto_cleanup_unused_channels`. (Closes #1196)
+  - **Per-field channel overrides for auto-synced channels.** A new `ChannelOverride` table (one-to-one with `Channel`) holds user-specified values for `name`, `channel_number`, `channel_group`, `logo`, `tvg_id`, `tvc_guide_stationid`, `epg_data`, and `stream_profile`. Sync writes only to `Channel.*` columns; the override row takes precedence at read time via a new `with_effective_values()` queryset helper that coalesces both sources at the SQL layer. Every output surface that consumes channel data reads through this helper so overrides surface consistently: HDHR (`/hdhr/lineup.json` and per-profile variants, `/hdhr/discover.json`), M3U (`/output/m3u`, per-profile variants), EPG (`/output/epg`, per-profile variants), XC API (`get_live_streams`, `xmltv.php`), the channels list/detail endpoints, and the TV Guide summary endpoint (`GET /api/channels/channels/summary/`). Channel API responses now include both the raw `name`/`channel_number`/etc. fields AND new `effective_*` annotations plus the `override` object, so frontend consumers can show both "what the user picked" and "what the provider sent" simultaneously.
+  - **Per-field reset-to-provider icon.** FK pickers (channel group, logo, EPG, stream profile) and scalar inputs (name, channel_number, tvg_id, tvc_guide_stationid) display a small reset icon ("Provider: <value>" subtext + Undo2 button) when the field has an active override on an auto-synced channel. Clicking it sets the form value back to the provider value; the override for that field is cleared on save while other overrides remain intact.
+  - **Auto-created channel source attribution.** The channel edit form shows an "Auto-created from: <provider name> / <stream name>" label at the top of auto-synced channels so the user can see which M3U account and which stream produced the row.
+  - **Hide-from-output flag (`user_hidden`).** A user-toggleable boolean that excludes a channel from HDHR, M3U, EPG, and XC output without deleting it. Hidden channels are preserved across auto-sync refreshes and excluded from auto-cleanup. The channels table shows an EyeOff icon on hidden rows.
+  - **Channels table visibility filter and inline indicators.** The table header has a new visibility selector ("Active Only" / "Hidden Only" / "Show All") plus a "Has Overrides" filter that narrows to channels with an active override row. Each row's name cell renders a yellow Pencil icon when overrides are active (tooltip lists the overridden field names) and an EyeOff icon when the channel is hidden.
+  - **Bulk hide / unhide in the bulk edit modal.** Selecting any number of channels and toggling user_hidden in bulk edit applies the change in a single PATCH; auto-routes through override-aware bulk endpoint so it works equivalently for auto-synced and manual channels.
+  - **Auto-sync channel ranges per group.** `ChannelGroupM3UAccount` accepts `auto_sync_channel_start` (lower bound, inclusive) and `auto_sync_channel_end` (upper bound, inclusive; nullable for unbounded fill). Channels created by auto-sync are assigned numbers within the configured range; streams that do not fit are surfaced in the failure detail modal with a typed "RANGE_EXHAUSTED" reason.
+  - **Per-group inline configuration in the M3U Live group filter.** Each group row now exposes a Sync toggle, a Numbering Mode selector (Provider / Next Available / Fixed), and Start/End channel-number inputs alongside the existing fields. The numbering modes control how each stream's channel number is chosen during sync: Provider tries the M3U-supplied number first then falls back to next-available; Next Available always picks the lowest free number from 1 upward; Fixed picks sequentially from the configured Start.
+  - **Per-group "Configure" modal.** A gear-icon button on each group row opens a `GroupConfigureModal` containing the full set of advanced options. Fields surfaced in the modal: Channel Sort Order (provider order / name / tvg_id / updated_at, with reverse toggle), Compact Numbering toggle and "Re-pack now" button, Group Override (re-route this group's auto-created channels into a different `ChannelGroup` so multiple provider groups merge into one logical group), Name Regex Find/Replace pattern, Exclude Regex pattern, Force Dummy EPG, and a live regex preview pane.
+  - **Live regex preview pane.** A new `GET /api/channels/streams/regex-preview/` endpoint scans the group's streams (capped at 5000) for the find / match / exclude patterns the user is editing and returns up to 10 sample matches per pattern plus accurate total counts. The frontend debounces the call (500ms) and runs it inside the configure modal so the user sees live evidence of what their patterns will match before saving.
+  - **Live overlap warning across rows.** As the user edits Start/End values across multiple groups in the same provider, an `AbortController`-debounced scan calls a new `GET /api/channels/channels/numbers-in-range/` endpoint to detect (a) cross-row range overlaps (in-memory, all group pairs) and (b) channels already occupying the configured range that are not the expected occupants for that group. An informational warning surfaces inline; configurations are not blocked.
+  - **Compact numbering with re-pack helper.** When `compact_numbering=True` on a group's account relation, sync packs visible auto-sync channels sequentially into the configured range. A "Re-pack now" button in the group config modal runs the pack manually via a new `POST /api/m3u/accounts/{id}/repack-group/` endpoint. Hidden channels do not occupy slots; un-hiding shifts visible numbers down to fill the gap. Override-pinned channel numbers are respected as fixed anchors. Single-channel hide / unhide via the post-save signal triggers an incremental `assign_compact_numbers_for_channels` pass without requiring a full sync.
   - **Multi-stream channel safety in sync.** A user-attached second stream on an auto-created channel no longer causes the channel to be deleted when one of those streams disappears from the provider. The deletion path filters out channels where at least one current stream remains alive, and per-stream iteration mutates the same `Channel` instance so `bulk_update` writes the merged final state.
-  - **Auto-cleanup unused channels toggle on M3U accounts.** A new boolean controls whether sync deletes auto-created channels that no longer match any stream. Off by default; users with manual curation workflows can opt in.
-  - **Failure modal grouped by reason.** The auto-sync completion notification's failure detail modal groups entries by typed reason (range exhausted, parse error, FK integrity, etc.) with collapsible sections. The in-memory cap was raised from 50 to 1000 so realistic multi-provider failure sets are not truncated.
-  - **Multi-provider shared-range merging.** Two M3U accounts can target the same group with overlapping channel-number ranges. Sync seeds `used_numbers` globally so the second provider's channels pick up where the first left off without colliding. A warning surfaces in the group-settings UI when ranges overlap; the merge is intentional, the warning is informational.
-  - **"Has Overrides" filter on the channels table.** A new toggle in the table header shows only channels that currently have an active override row.
+  - **Auto-cleanup unused channels toggle on M3U accounts.** A new boolean controls whether sync deletes auto-created channels that no longer match any stream. Off by default; users with manual curation workflows can opt in. Hidden channels are always preserved regardless of the toggle so users can keep event/PPV channels that disappear and reappear across refreshes.
+  - **Failure modal grouped by reason.** The auto-sync completion notification's failure detail modal groups entries by typed reason (`RANGE_EXHAUSTED`, `INTEGRITY_ERROR`, `OTHER`) with collapsible sections and a per-group cap. The in-memory cap was raised from 50 to 1000 so realistic multi-provider failure sets are not truncated. The notification's auto-close timeout extends from 4s to 12s when failures are present so users have time to see and click into the modal.
+  - **Multi-provider shared-range merging.** Two M3U accounts can target the same group with overlapping channel-number ranges. Sync seeds `used_numbers` globally so the second provider's channels pick up where the first left off without colliding. The overlap warning in the group-settings UI surfaces this configuration as informational; the merge is intentional, not a hard error.
   - **Selection summary in the bulk edit modal.** The bulk edit form shows `Selection: X auto-synced, Y manual` at the top so users can see how a single set of changes will route between override rows and direct writes.
+  - **Delete-Playlist preview.** A new `GET /api/m3u/accounts/{id}/auto-created-channels-count/` endpoint returns the count and up to 5 sample names of auto-created channels owned by the account. The Delete Playlist confirmation dialog uses this to show the user exactly how many channels will cascade away before they confirm.
   - **Custom `Channel.objects` manager.** A thin manager wraps the existing `with_effective_values()` helper so new code can call `Channel.objects.with_effective_values(...)` directly. The module-level helper remains the canonical implementation; existing call sites are unchanged.
 - **In-progress recording playback from the DVR page**. The Watch button on a recording card is now enabled while the recording is still in progress, and the in-app floating player can play the live HLS playlist with full timeshift / scrub-back to the start of the recording.
   - The frontend now bundles `hls.js` and routes any `.m3u8` URL through it (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and other Chromium-based browsers). Native HLS via `<video src=>` is reserved for Safari, where it Just Works for the same playlist.
@@ -57,6 +64,13 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Performance
 
+- **Auto-sync at scale (FR #1196 implementation choices)**: the new override-aware sync flow is more capable than the prior path but the implementation choices below keep it viable on libraries with thousands of channels.
+  - **Bulk writes throughout `sync_auto_channels`.** Per-row `Channel.objects.create()` and `.save()` calls were replaced with `bulk_create()` and `bulk_update()` paths that batch the entire group's create + update sets into single round-trips. The renumber pass collects all dirty channels into one list and flushes with a single `bulk_update` at the end of the loop. `ChannelStream.order` writes were similarly consolidated into a single `bulk_update`.
+  - **Single-pass collision detection via a global `used_numbers` set.** Choosing a free channel number was previously an `O(N)` DB query per stream. The new path seeds a `set()` of all reserved numbers (existing channels + override pins) once per run; `_next_available_number()` is `O(cluster size)` against that set. The seed deliberately excludes only this account's visible auto-created channels (the rows about to be reassigned), so cross-account and hidden-channel reservations are honored without extra queries.
+  - **SQL-level effective-value coalescing via `with_effective_values()`.** All channel-data consumers (HDHR, M3U, EPG, XC, channel list / detail, TV Guide summary) read effective values directly from a single annotated queryset that left-joins the override row at the database layer. Prevents N+1 `ChannelOverride` lookups across the channel scan and lets the same query serve the join.
+  - **EPG dispatch deduplication.** `bulk_create` and `bulk_update` bypass `post_save`, so the post-loop step explicitly dispatches `parse_programs_for_tvg_id.delay` once per unique `epg_data_id` actually changed in the run, not per channel. Avoids fan-out where one EPG source change otherwise queued thousands of redundant parse tasks.
+  - **Logo and EPGData lookup caching during sync.** `sync_auto_channels` now caches Logo and EPGData lookups in a per-run dict so repeated provider URLs / IDs across many streams do not produce duplicate `Logo.objects.get_or_create` or `EPGData.objects.filter` calls.
+  - **Override-aware bulk PATCH endpoint.** `update_channels_with_override_routing` partitions the bulk-edit selection into auto-created (override write) vs manual (direct write) once, then issues two bulk PATCHes instead of N single-row updates.
 - **TS proxy buffer writes pipelined**: `StreamBuffer.add_chunk` previously issued five separate Redis commands per buffered chunk (`incr`, `setex`, `zadd`, `zremrangebyscore`, `expire`), each a full round trip. The `incr` is still issued first because its return value is needed to build the chunk key, but the remaining four commands are now queued on a non-transactional pipeline and flushed in a single `execute()` call. Drops per-chunk Redis round trips from 5 to 2 on busy channels.
 - **TS proxy per-client stats writes throttled**: `ClientStreamer._process_chunks` was issuing a Redis `hset` of client stats (chunks sent, bytes sent, transfer rates, last_active) on every chunk delivered to every client. The `hset` is now gated to once per second per client via a new `stats_write_interval` throttle, matching the actual polling cadence of the frontend stats panel. The TTL refresh logic and in-memory rate calculations are unchanged. Dramatically reduces Redis traffic on channels with many concurrent viewers.
 - **`send_m3u_update` skips redundant `M3UAccount` lookup**: the helper used to re-fetch the `M3UAccount` row on every progress tick just to populate `status` and `last_message`. It now skips the query entirely when the caller has already supplied both fields in `kwargs`, and uses `.only("status", "last_message")` when the lookup is needed. Removes thousands of pointless `SELECT` queries from M3U download and processing progress streams.
@@ -87,10 +101,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Changed
 
-- **`Channel.channel_number` is now nullable.** Auto-sync may produce channels without an assigned number (for example, a sync run where the configured range was exhausted before this stream could be slotted). Existing channels are unchanged. HDHR / M3U / EPG / XC output endpoints filter out channels with `null` channel_number, so a number-less row is invisible to clients but visible in the channels page where the user can assign one.
-- **M3U account delete always cascades auto-created channels.** The delete dialog is a single confirmation showing the count of affected channels. Manual channels are unaffected; their non-provider streams remain intact, and only streams owned by the deleted account are removed.
-- **Bulk channel edit auto-routes auto-created channels through the override path.** When a bulk edit includes auto-synced channels, the changed fields are written to each channel's `ChannelOverride` row instead of the raw `Channel.*` columns, so the edit survives the next sync. A "Clear all overrides" affordance pre-clears overrides on the selection before applying new edits in the same submit (clear runs before the routing PATCH so a same-submit clear cannot wipe just-written overrides).
-- **Channel-number duplicates are explicitly allowed.** Sync's `used_numbers` seed still avoids assigning the same number to two newly-created auto channels in the same run.
+- **`Channel.channel_number` is now nullable.** Auto-sync may produce channels without an assigned number (for example, a sync run where the configured range was exhausted before this stream could be slotted, or a hidden channel in compact mode whose slot was released for visible channels). Existing channels are unchanged. HDHR / M3U / EPG / XC output endpoints filter out channels with `null` channel_number, so a number-less row is invisible to clients but visible in the channels page where the user can assign one. Migration `0040_channel_channel_number_nullable` includes a reverse-direction backfill so a rollback that re-imposes NOT NULL still succeeds even if NULLs are present.
+- **M3U account delete always cascades auto-created channels.** The delete dialog is a single confirmation showing the count of affected channels (fetched from the new auto-created-channels-count endpoint). Auto-created channels are removed regardless of `user_hidden` or override state: override rows cascade via the one-to-one FK; hidden status does not preserve the channel because there is no provider left to populate it on the next sync. Manual channels are unaffected; their non-provider streams remain intact, and only streams owned by the deleted account are removed. The destroy response now returns `{"deleted_channels": N}` (HTTP 200) instead of an empty 204 so the confirmation toast can show the actual count.
+- **Bulk channel edit auto-routes auto-created channels through the override path.** When a bulk edit includes auto-synced channels, the changed fields are written to each channel's `ChannelOverride` row instead of the raw `Channel.*` columns, so the edit survives the next sync. Manual channels in the same selection write directly to `Channel.*`. A "Clear all overrides" affordance pre-clears overrides on the selection before applying new edits in the same submit (clear runs before the routing PATCH so a same-submit clear cannot wipe just-written overrides).
+- **Inline edits on the channels table route through the override row for auto-synced channels.** Editing a cell directly in the table (number, name, group, EPG, logo) now writes to `ChannelOverride.<field>` for auto-synced rows so the edit survives the next refresh; manual rows continue to write directly. The save mechanic and validation are unchanged from the user's perspective.
+- **Channel-number duplicates are explicitly allowed.** Sync's `used_numbers` seed still avoids assigning the same number to two newly-created auto channels in the same run, so accidental duplication during sync remains impossible. Manual or override-driven duplication is permitted; downstream client behavior on duplicates varies by client.
 - **Plugin discovery startup gated to the main process**. `apps/plugins/apps.py` now consults `should_skip_initialization()` before its eager in-memory `discover_plugins()` pass in `AppConfig.ready()`. The pass previously ran in every uwsgi worker fork, every Celery worker, and every `manage.py` invocation. Plugin discovery now happens lazily on first Connect event in worker processes (cached thereafter); the existing `post_migrate` handler still keeps the database side in sync.
 - DVR recording pipeline rewritten around FFmpeg + HLS. The previous implementation wrote a single growing `.ts` file via the proxy and remuxed it to `.mkv` at the end; the new implementation runs FFmpeg with `-f hls`, regenerates monotonic PTS to handle erratic IPTV source timestamps, shifts output timestamps so they start at 0 (fixing negative-PTS streams that prevented HLS segment boundary detection), and concatenates the resulting segments into the final MKV at the end of the recording. Server-restart resume now continues segment numbering from the previous session rather than overwriting earlier segments.
 - Stall detection added to the recording loop. Once the first segment confirms the stream is flowing, the loop watches both segment count and segment file mtime. If neither advances for the configured stall window (e.g. when an upstream proxy ghost-kills the client), FFmpeg is signaled and the recording ends cleanly rather than hanging until `end_time`. Recording duration is honored via SIGINT so FFmpeg writes `#EXT-X-ENDLIST` cleanly into the final playlist.