diff --git a/Configurations/master.conf b/Configurations/master.conf
index 3e45f63..ede94a8 100644
--- a/Configurations/master.conf
+++ b/Configurations/master.conf
@@ -358,7 +358,7 @@
 # Shares synced every 30 minutes — defined per host in host*.conf.
 # HOST1_CRITICAL_SYNC_SHARES / HOST2_CRITICAL_SYNC_SHARES
 # Format: "/path/to/share" or "/path/to/share|profile-name"
-# Order matters — Critical-Data first (auth stack), then Emby dirty sync.
+# Order matters — Critical-Data first (auth stack), then maintenance scripts.
 
 # ━━━ Intermediate Sync Maintenance ━━━
 # intermediate_sync_maintenance.sh runs every 4 hours — arr library sync, artwork fetch,
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@
 #   emby              — weekly clean sync — both Emby stopped, full mirror
 #                       called by weekly_sync_maintenance.sh only — do NOT schedule separately
 #   emby-fallback     — dirty sync — Emby stays running, WAL excluded
-#                       called by critical_sync_maintenance.sh every 30min
+#                       unused — replaced by play_state_sync
 
     declare -A PROFILE_RSYNC_OPTS=(
         [arrs_stack]="-av --info=progress2 --human-readable --bwlimit=$BW_LIMIT --delete --inplace"
@@ -606,7 +606,7 @@
         [critical-fallback]=120     # shorter — frequent dirty sync, retry faster
         [important-data]=300
         [emby]=300
-        [emby-fallback]=120         # shorter — frequent dirty sync, retry faster
+        [emby-fallback]=120         # shorter — retry faster (unused)
     )
 
 # Containers stopped on BOTH LOCAL and REMOTE before rsync.
@@ -615,11 +615,11 @@
 # SPACE-SEPARATED STRINGS — converted to array at runtime
     declare -A PROFILE_CRITICAL_CONTAINER_NAMES=(
         [arrs_stack]="Sonarr Lidarr Readarr Radarr Prowlarr Bazarr Pinchflat"
-        [critical-data]="Mariadb-Authelia Mariadb-Authelia-Secondary Redis-Authelia Redis-Authelia-Secondary Lldap-Gmer4Lfe NginxProxyManager Authelia Authelia-Secondary"
+        [critical-data]="Mariadb-Authelia Mariadb-Authelia-Secondary Redis-Authelia Redis-Authelia-Secondary Lldap NginxProxyManager Authelia Authelia-Secondary"
         [critical-fallback]=""      # dirty sync — auth stays running both sides
         [important-data]="Postgres-NextCloud NextCloud"
         [emby]="Emby"
-        [emby-fallback]=""          # dirty sync — Emby stays running both sides
+        [emby-fallback]=""          # unused — no containers stopped
     )
 
 # Containers needing a delay after rsync before starting.
@@ -654,12 +654,12 @@
         [emby-fallback]="logs transcodes cache metadata *.db-wal *.db-shm crash* plugins root"
     )
 
-# Remote restart after dirty sync — restart these on remote IF they were running before sync.
+# Remote restart after live sync — restart these on remote IF they were running before sync.
 # Same logic as stop/start — was stopped = stays stopped, was running = gets restarted.
-# Used by dirty sync profiles (critical-fallback, emby-fallback) so remote picks up changes.
+# Used by live sync profiles (critical-fallback) so remote picks up changes.
 # SPACE-SEPARATED STRINGS — converted to array at runtime
     declare -A PROFILE_REMOTE_RESTART_CONTAINERS=(
-        [critical-fallback]="NginxProxyManager Authelia Authelia-Secondary Lldap-Gmer4Lfe Mariadb-Authelia Mariadb-Authelia-Secondary Redis-Authelia Redis-Authelia-Secondary"
+        [critical-fallback]="NginxProxyManager Authelia Authelia-Secondary Lldap Mariadb-Authelia Mariadb-Authelia-Secondary Redis-Authelia Redis-Authelia-Secondary"
         [emby-fallback]="Emby"
     )
 
diff --git a/Orchestrators/README-Orchestrators.md b/Orchestrators/README-Orchestrators.md
index 8e6b993..cb84afb 100644
--- a/Orchestrators/README-Orchestrators.md
+++ b/Orchestrators/README-Orchestrators.md
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ array_started.sh
 # Cron — managed via Varaverk Scheduler:
 */7   * * * *    transcode_management.sh
 */15  * * * *    watchdog_orchestrator.sh          ← resource → docker → system → stability
-*/30  * * * *    critical_sync_maintenance.sh      ← auth + Emby dirty sync + partnership
+*/30  * * * *    critical_sync_maintenance.sh      ← auth + play_state_sync + partnership
 0  */4 * * *     intermediate_sync_maintenance.sh  ← arr sync + failed recovery + optional rsync
 0   1 * * *      daily_sync_maintenance.sh
 0   7 * * 0      sunday_morning_coffee_report.sh
@@ -735,11 +735,11 @@ maintenance block before the 7am coffee report.
 
 ```bash
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-# Two Emby syncs run in parallel — dirty and clean:
+# Two Emby sync mechanisms keep the mirror current:
 #
-# emby-fallback dirty sync (every 30 minutes via critical_sync_maintenance.sh, Emby running):
-#   watch states, library deltas, user activity — continuous coverage
-#   WAL files excluded — safe to copy while Emby writes
+# play_state_sync (every 30 minutes via critical_sync_maintenance.sh):
+#   API-based — syncs watched state and resume points directly via Emby API
+#   No rsync of live files — no WAL risk, no partial-write corruption
 #   HOST2 always within 30 minutes of HOST1 on playback state
 #
 # weekly clean sync (Sunday 2:30am, Emby stopped):
@@ -908,7 +908,7 @@ array_started.sh
 */15 * * * *    watchdog_orchestrator.sh
 
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-# Every 30 minutes — auth stack + Emby dirty sync + partnership check:
+# Every 30 minutes — auth stack + play_state_sync + partnership check:
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 */30 * * * *    critical_sync_maintenance.sh
 
diff --git a/Orchestrators/critical_sync_maintenance.sh b/Orchestrators/critical_sync_maintenance.sh
index 25185cb..101d7ab 100755
--- a/Orchestrators/critical_sync_maintenance.sh
+++ b/Orchestrators/critical_sync_maintenance.sh
@@ -7,10 +7,9 @@
 # Schedule: */30 * * * * (every 30 minutes via User Scripts plugin)
 #
 # ── EXECUTION ORDER ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-#   1. Critical-Data rsync    — auth stack, NPM config, certs (containers stopped both sides)
-#   2. emby-fallback rsync    — dirty Emby sync (watch states, library — Emby stays running)
-#   3. CRITICAL_MAINTENANCE_SCRIPTS — any scripts configured for critical window
-#   4. partnership --check    — read both state files, detect changes, act accordingly
+#   1. Critical-Data rsync         — auth stack, NPM config, certs (containers stopped both sides)
+#   2. CRITICAL_MAINTENANCE_SCRIPTS — play_state_sync + any other per-window scripts
+#   3. partnership --check         — read both state files, detect changes, act accordingly
 #
 # ── WHY EVERY 30 MINUTES ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #   Auth stack changes (new users, proxy rules, certs) propagate within 30min ✅
diff --git a/Orchestrators/weekly_sync_maintenance.sh b/Orchestrators/weekly_sync_maintenance.sh
index 6c18f3c..4c7dff8 100755
--- a/Orchestrators/weekly_sync_maintenance.sh
+++ b/Orchestrators/weekly_sync_maintenance.sh
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 # Emby builds a warm image cache on HOST2 throughout the week.
 # Syncing nightly resets cache — cold loads every morning for users.
 # Weekly sync: cache stays warm 6 days, resets Sunday night while users sleep.
-# emby-fallback dirty sync covers watch states + library every 30min between weekly syncs.
+# play_state_sync covers watch/resume state every 30 min between weekly syncs.
 #
 # ── CONTAINER UPDATES ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Containers already stopped for sync — updates pull at zero extra downtime.