diff --git a/brightsign/README.md b/brightsign/README.md
index 67d150c..2e49099 100644
--- a/brightsign/README.md
+++ b/brightsign/README.md
@@ -160,9 +160,29 @@ and the platform APIs:
 | `set_volume` | — | applied to current and future media |
 | `refresh` | `location.reload()` | widget rebuilt by the host (reload is unreliable here) |
 
-`displayPower()` is best effort and returns false when CEC is unavailable, so the overlay is
-applied either way and something visible always happens — some displays ignore broadcast CEC and
-need direct addressing. Volume is re-applied on every `play` event in the capture phase, because
+### ⚠️ Nothing in the DOM can cover video
+
+With `hwz_default: "on"` the widget decodes video onto a **hardware plane**, and the graphics plane
+— everything in the DOM — sits behind it. Blanking the screen took three attempts on real hardware,
+and each failure taught the same lesson from a different angle:
+
+1. **Black overlay** → the video played straight *through* it. A `z-index: 9999` div cannot cover a
+   hardware plane.
+2. **Pause + hide the element** → playback stopped, but the **last decoded frame stayed on screen**.
+   Hiding a DOM element does nothing to the plane; the plane is not part of the DOM.
+3. **Pause + `removeAttribute('src')` + `load()`** → releases the plane. Black at last.
+
+Coming back out re-mounts through `nextItem()`, because a torn-down element cannot be resurrected.
+The playlist keeps advancing while the screen is off, so each newly started item is torn down too,
+caught on the `play` event in the capture phase — otherwise the next video lights the panel back up.
+
+Any feature that assumes an overlay can hide video needs rethinking here: screen blanking, masking,
+fades over video.
+
+`displayPower()` (CEC) is best effort and deliberately **not** load-bearing — it returns false when
+CEC is unavailable and the media teardown does the real work. Our XT245 reports
+`failed to get cec clock` in the kernel log and does not respond to CEC at all, which is exactly why
+blanking must not depend on it. Plenty of displays ignore broadcast CEC or need direct addressing. Volume is re-applied on every `play` event in the capture phase, because
 media elements are created per item across several code paths and setting it once would otherwise
 last only until the playlist advanced.
 
diff --git a/server/player/index.html b/server/player/index.html
index 18d2939..35d01d8 100644
--- a/server/player/index.html
+++ b/server/player/index.html
@@ -1463,9 +1463,9 @@
       socket.on('device:command', (data) => {
         console.log('Command:', data.type);
         if (data.type === 'refresh') restartPlayer('operator refresh');
-        if (data.type === 'launch') { document.getElementById('screenOffOverlay')?.remove(); setDisplayPower(true); }
+        if (data.type === 'launch') { document.getElementById('screenOffOverlay')?.remove(); screenIsOff = false; suppressMedia(false); setDisplayPower(true); }
         if (data.type === 'screen_off') toggleScreenOff();
-        if (data.type === 'screen_on') { document.getElementById('screenOffOverlay')?.remove(); setDisplayPower(true); }
+        if (data.type === 'screen_on') { document.getElementById('screenOffOverlay')?.remove(); screenIsOff = false; suppressMedia(false); setDisplayPower(true); }
         // A browser tab cannot reboot its host, so the web player has always ignored this and the
         // dashboard button did nothing on it. A BrightSign can, through the host script.
         if (data.type === 'reboot') {
@@ -3506,16 +3506,55 @@
     // in the CAPTURE phase applies it to every element that ever starts, from one place. Media
     // events do not bubble, which is why capture is required rather than a plain listener.
     document.addEventListener('play', (e) => {
-      if (mediaVolume == null) return;
       const el = e.target;
       if (!el || (el.tagName !== 'VIDEO' && el.tagName !== 'AUDIO')) return;
+      // The playlist advances while the screen is off; hold each new item down as it starts,
+      // or the next video appears on the hardware plane and the screen lights back up.
+      if (screenIsOff) {
+        try { el.pause(); el.removeAttribute('src'); el.load(); el.style.visibility = 'hidden'; } catch (err) {}
+        return;
+      }
+      if (mediaVolume == null) return;
       try { if (typeof isWallFollower === 'function' && isWallFollower()) return; } catch (err) { /* not a wall */ }
       try { el.volume = mediaVolume; el.muted = mediaVolume === 0; } catch (err) { /* gone */ }
     }, true);
 
+    // Screen-off state, tracked because the playlist keeps advancing while the screen is "off"
+    // and every newly mounted item has to be held down too.
+    let screenIsOff = false;
+
+    // Stop media rather than cover it. On BrightSign the widget runs with hardware z-order
+    // (hwz), so video decodes onto a HARDWARE PLANE and a DOM overlay — which lives in the
+    // graphics plane — cannot hide it. The overlay goes up and the video plays straight through
+    // it. Pausing and hiding the element is what actually blanks the screen there, and it is
+    // harmless everywhere else.
+    function suppressMedia(off) {
+      if (!off) {
+        // Coming back: re-mount current content rather than trying to resurrect a torn-down
+        // element. nextItem() rebuilds from scratch, which is the same path a normal advance uses.
+        document.querySelectorAll('video, audio').forEach((el) => { try { el.style.visibility = ''; } catch (e) {} });
+        try { if (typeof nextItem === 'function') nextItem(); } catch (e) { /* fall back to whatever is on screen */ }
+        return;
+      }
+      document.querySelectorAll('video, audio').forEach((el) => {
+        try {
+          el.pause();
+          // Pausing is not enough on a hardware plane: the last decoded frame STAYS on screen,
+          // which is why the panel showed a frozen image rather than going black. Tearing the
+          // source down releases the plane. Hiding the element does nothing to it either — the
+          // plane is not part of the DOM.
+          el.removeAttribute('src');
+          el.load();
+          el.style.visibility = 'hidden';
+        } catch (e) { /* element torn down mid-call */ }
+      });
+    }
+
     function toggleScreenOff() {
       let overlay = document.getElementById('screenOffOverlay');
-      if (overlay) { overlay.remove(); setDisplayPower(true); return; }
+      if (overlay) { overlay.remove(); screenIsOff = false; suppressMedia(false); setDisplayPower(true); return; }
+      screenIsOff = true;
+      suppressMedia(true);
       setDisplayPower(false);
       overlay = document.createElement('div');
       overlay.id = 'screenOffOverlay';