diff --git a/Media/play_state_sync.sh b/Media/play_state_sync.sh
index 158d0d6..d8e2b58 100755
--- a/Media/play_state_sync.sh
+++ b/Media/play_state_sync.sh
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ for lname in "${!USER_MAP[@]}"; do
 
                 if [[ -n "$_search_field" ]]; then
                     _iid=$(_api_get "${SRV_URL[$_si]}" "${SRV_KEY[$_si]}" \
-                        "Items?AnyProviderIdEquals=${_search_field}&Recursive=true&Fields=ProviderIds&Limit=1" 2>/dev/null \
+                        "Items?AnyProviderIdEquals=${_search_field}&Recursive=true&Fields=ProviderIds&ExcludeLocationTypes=Virtual&Limit=1" 2>/dev/null \
                         | jq -r '.Items[0].Id // empty' 2>/dev/null)
                 fi
                 [[ -z "$_iid" ]] && log "  SKIP  $_pkey → ${SRV_NAME[$_si]} item not found on server" && continue
@@ -469,15 +469,10 @@ for lname in "${!USER_MAP[@]}"; do
                 # Mark as played with date
                 _date_param=""
                 if [[ "$_auth_lplayed" != "null" && -n "$_auth_lplayed" ]]; then
-                    # Emby's PlayedItems endpoint rejects 7-digit fractional seconds (.0000000)
-                    # with HTTP 500; strip to whole seconds before encoding
-                    if [[ "$_auth_lplayed" == *.* ]]; then
-                        _lp="${_auth_lplayed%.*}"
-                        [[ "$_auth_lplayed" == *Z ]] && _lp+="Z"
-                    else
-                        _lp="$_auth_lplayed"
-                    fi
-                    _date_param="?DatePlayed=${_lp//[: ]/%3A}"
+                    # PlayedItems expects DatePlayed in yyyyMMddHHmmss (no separators, no timezone)
+                    _lp="${_auth_lplayed%.*}"
+                    _lp="${_lp%Z}"
+                    _date_param="?DatePlayed=${_lp//[-T:]/}"
                 fi
                 _http=$(_api_post "${SRV_URL[$_si]}" "${SRV_KEY[$_si]}" \
                     "Users/${_uid}/PlayedItems/${_iid}${_date_param}")