diff --git a/components/casting/CastingMiniPlayer.tsx b/components/casting/CastingMiniPlayer.tsx
index f5be0f13c..0f01bead5 100644
--- a/components/casting/CastingMiniPlayer.tsx
+++ b/components/casting/CastingMiniPlayer.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
  */
 
 import { Ionicons } from "@expo/vector-icons";
-import type { BaseItemDto } from "@jellyfin/sdk/lib/generated-client";
 import { Image } from "expo-image";
 import { router } from "expo-router";
 import { useAtomValue } from "jotai";
@@ -25,22 +24,22 @@ import Animated, {
 import { useSafeAreaInsets } from "react-native-safe-area-context";
 import { CastTrickplayBubble } from "@/components/casting/player/CastTrickplayBubble";
 import { Text } from "@/components/common/Text";
+import { useCastPlayerItem } from "@/hooks/useCastPlayerItem";
 import { useTrickplay } from "@/hooks/useTrickplay";
-import { apiAtom } from "@/providers/JellyfinProvider";
+import { apiAtom, userAtom } from "@/providers/JellyfinProvider";
 import { formatTime, getPosterUrl } from "@/utils/casting/helpers";
 import { CASTING_CONSTANTS } from "@/utils/casting/types";
 import { msToTicks, ticksToSeconds } from "@/utils/time";
 
 export const CastingMiniPlayer: React.FC = () => {
   const api = useAtomValue(apiAtom);
+  const user = useAtomValue(userAtom);
   const insets = useSafeAreaInsets();
   const castDevice = useCastDevice();
   const mediaStatus = useMediaStatus();
   const remoteMediaClient = useRemoteMediaClient();
 
-  const currentItem = useMemo(() => {
-    return mediaStatus?.mediaInfo?.customData as BaseItemDto | undefined;
-  }, [mediaStatus?.mediaInfo?.customData]);
+  const { currentItem } = useCastPlayerItem({ api, user, mediaStatus });
 
   // Trickplay support - pass currentItem as BaseItemDto or null
   const { trickPlayUrl, calculateTrickplayUrl, trickplayInfo } = useTrickplay(
@@ -237,12 +236,14 @@ export const CastingMiniPlayer: React.FC = () => {
               trickPlayUrl={trickPlayUrl}
               trickplayInfo={trickplayInfo}
               trickplayTime={trickplayTime}
-              tileWidth={140}
+              tileWidth={190}
             />
           )}
-          bubbleWidth={trickPlayUrl && trickplayInfo ? 140 : 60}
+          bubbleMaxWidth={190}
+          bubbleWidth={190}
+          bubbleTranslateY={-20}
           sliderHeight={3}
-          thumbWidth={10}
+          thumbWidth={14}
           panHitSlop={{ top: 20, bottom: 20, left: 5, right: 5 }}
         />
       </View>
diff --git a/components/casting/player/CastPlayerProgressBar.tsx b/components/casting/player/CastPlayerProgressBar.tsx
index f98a89d97..c389a0772 100644
--- a/components/casting/player/CastPlayerProgressBar.tsx
+++ b/components/casting/player/CastPlayerProgressBar.tsx
@@ -119,7 +119,9 @@ export function CastPlayerProgressBar({
               tileWidth={220}
             />
           )}
-          bubbleWidth={trickPlayUrl && trickplayInfo ? 220 : 64}
+          bubbleMaxWidth={220}
+          bubbleWidth={220}
+          bubbleTranslateY={-20}
           sliderHeight={6}
           thumbWidth={16}
           panHitSlop={{ top: 12, bottom: 12, left: 10, right: 10 }}
diff --git a/components/casting/player/CastTrickplayBubble.tsx b/components/casting/player/CastTrickplayBubble.tsx
index 17acf3edd..9400b0d01 100644
--- a/components/casting/player/CastTrickplayBubble.tsx
+++ b/components/casting/player/CastTrickplayBubble.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 /**
  * Shared scrub-preview bubble for the casting progress bars.
  *
- * Renders the trickplay tile (when trickplay data is available) with the scrub
- * time as plain text above it, or just the scrub time as plain text. It does NO
- * positioning of its own — the slider places it via its `bubbleWidth` prop.
+ * The slider (`react-native-awesome-slider`) sizes, centres and clamps this
+ * bubble on the thumb via its `bubbleMaxWidth` / `bubbleWidth` props. This
+ * component therefore does NO horizontal positioning — it only anchors itself
+ * vertically (`bottom: 0`, growing upward) so it sits above the progress bar.
  */
 
 import { Image } from "expo-image";
@@ -47,16 +48,39 @@ export function CastTrickplayBubble({
     </Text>
   );
 
-  // No trickplay: just the plain time text.
+  // Anchored to the bottom of the slider-positioned container, growing upward,
+  // and filling the container width (left/right: 0) so it stays centred on the
+  // thumb. No horizontal maths here — the slider owns horizontal placement.
   if (!trickPlayUrl || !trickplayInfo) {
-    return timeText;
+    return (
+      <View
+        style={{
+          position: "absolute",
+          bottom: 0,
+          left: 0,
+          right: 0,
+          alignItems: "center",
+        }}
+      >
+        {timeText}
+      </View>
+    );
   }
 
   const { x, y, url } = trickPlayUrl;
   const tileHeight = tileWidth / (trickplayInfo.aspectRatio ?? 1.78);
 
   return (
-    <View style={{ width: tileWidth, alignItems: "center", gap: 4 }}>
+    <View
+      style={{
+        position: "absolute",
+        bottom: 0,
+        left: 0,
+        right: 0,
+        alignItems: "center",
+        gap: 4,
+      }}
+    >
       {timeText}
       <View
         style={{