Start buffering before caption loading

.beads/interactions.jsonl

@@ -41,3 +41,4 @@
 {"id":"int-fc9ecdb1","kind":"field_change","created_at":"2026-05-27T01:50:32.02792Z","actor":"dirtydishes","issue_id":"dreamio-ee1","extra":{"field":"status","new_value":"closed","old_value":"in_progress","reason":"Completed baseline UX audit in docs/native-player-ux-audit.md"}}
 {"id":"int-c8a14c48","kind":"field_change","created_at":"2026-05-27T01:56:02.08139Z","actor":"dirtydishes","issue_id":"dreamio-060","extra":{"field":"status","new_value":"closed","old_value":"in_progress","reason":"Implemented native player Liquid Glass UX improvements and validated simulator build."}}
 {"id":"int-8c109835","kind":"field_change","created_at":"2026-05-27T03:47:00.090296Z","actor":"dirtydishes","issue_id":"dreamio-e3u","extra":{"field":"status","new_value":"closed","old_value":"in_progress","reason":"Implemented VLC playback state hardening, instrumentation, ready-once reporting, refresh throttling, tests, and turn documentation."}}
+{"id":"int-3533f9f7","kind":"field_change","created_at":"2026-05-27T04:09:20.72451Z","actor":"dirtydishes","issue_id":"dreamio-ccn","extra":{"field":"status","new_value":"closed","old_value":"in_progress","reason":"Implemented playback-first native startup and background parallel subtitle resolution."}}

.beads/issues.jsonl

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 {"_type":"issue","id":"dreamio-l68","title":"Add native playback for direct debrid streams","description":"Implement a WKWebView JavaScript bridge that detects direct-file debrid media URLs and routes unsupported containers to a native player backend, initially MobileVLCKit, while preserving normal Stremio Web playback for compatible streams.","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"feature","assignee":"dirtydishes","owner":"dishes@dpdrm.com","created_at":"2026-05-25T03:13:19Z","created_by":"dirtydishes","updated_at":"2026-05-25T03:20:17Z","started_at":"2026-05-25T03:13:28Z","closed_at":"2026-05-25T03:20:17Z","close_reason":"Implemented native direct-stream bridge, classification, MobileVLCKit backend wiring, CocoaPods workflow docs, and turn documentation. Full iOS build is blocked locally by missing CocoaPods and iPhoneOS SDK.","dependency_count":0,"dependent_count":0,"comment_count":0}
 {"_type":"issue","id":"dreamio-tnv","title":"Fix iOS bundle identifier install failure","description":"Xcode built Dreamio.app without a valid CFBundleIdentifier, causing device install to fail with CoreDeviceError 3000/3002. Investigate project bundle settings, fix the source configuration, validate the app bundle Info.plist, and document the change.","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"bug","assignee":"dirtydishes","owner":"dishes@dpdrm.com","created_at":"2026-05-25T01:23:00Z","created_by":"dirtydishes","updated_at":"2026-05-25T01:25:36Z","started_at":"2026-05-25T01:23:07Z","closed_at":"2026-05-25T01:25:36Z","close_reason":"Added bundle metadata to Info.plist and validated processed app bundle identifier.","dependency_count":0,"dependent_count":0,"comment_count":0}
 {"_type":"issue","id":"dreamio-4yn","title":"Build WKWebView MVP shell","description":"Create the first Dreamio MVP implementation: a minimal iOS WKWebView wrapper around hosted Stremio Web, with configuration, launch behavior, diagnostics, and documentation for real-device viability testing.","acceptance_criteria":"App project exists; WKWebView loads hosted Stremio Web; external/new-window navigation is handled; basic diagnostics and manual test documentation exist; quality gates are run or documented.","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"feature","owner":"dishes@dpdrm.com","created_at":"2026-05-24T14:55:12Z","created_by":"dirtydishes","updated_at":"2026-05-24T14:59:44Z","closed_at":"2026-05-24T14:59:44Z","close_reason":"Implemented the MVP WKWebView iOS shell, added run and validation documentation, and recorded current validation limits.","dependency_count":0,"dependent_count":0,"comment_count":0}
+{"_type":"issue","id":"dreamio-ccn","title":"Start media buffering before caption loading","description":"Ensure native media playback starts buffering immediately and subtitle resolution/attachment runs in the background so captions do not delay playback startup.","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","assignee":"dirtydishes","owner":"dishes@dpdrm.com","created_at":"2026-05-27T04:07:30Z","created_by":"dirtydishes","updated_at":"2026-05-27T04:09:21Z","started_at":"2026-05-27T04:07:31Z","closed_at":"2026-05-27T04:09:21Z","close_reason":"Implemented playback-first native startup and background parallel subtitle resolution.","dependency_count":0,"dependent_count":0,"comment_count":0}
 {"_type":"issue","id":"dreamio-e3u","title":"Harden VLC play pause synchronization","description":"Implement state-aware MobileVLCKit play/pause handling, instrumentation, readiness gating, conservative caching, and validation for pause/audio lag.","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"bug","assignee":"dirtydishes","owner":"dishes@dpdrm.com","created_at":"2026-05-27T03:43:10Z","created_by":"dirtydishes","updated_at":"2026-05-27T03:47:00Z","started_at":"2026-05-27T03:43:55Z","closed_at":"2026-05-27T03:47:00Z","close_reason":"Implemented VLC playback state hardening, instrumentation, ready-once reporting, refresh throttling, tests, and turn documentation.","dependency_count":0,"dependent_count":0,"comment_count":0}
 {"_type":"issue","id":"dreamio-060","title":"Improve native player controls experience","description":"Implement Liquid Glass-inspired native player UI improvements, touch target updates, scrubbing feedback, gestures, loading and failure states, menu polish, accessibility, and validation.","acceptance_criteria":"Native player controls are modernized; touch targets and scrubbing improve; gestures, loading/failure affordances, menu labels, visual polish, device adaptation, and accessibility are implemented; build validation is run.","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"feature","assignee":"dirtydishes","owner":"dishes@dpdrm.com","created_at":"2026-05-27T01:51:52Z","created_by":"dirtydishes","updated_at":"2026-05-27T01:56:02Z","started_at":"2026-05-27T01:51:57Z","closed_at":"2026-05-27T01:56:02Z","close_reason":"Implemented native player Liquid Glass UX improvements and validated simulator build.","dependency_count":0,"dependent_count":0,"comment_count":0}
 {"_type":"issue","id":"dreamio-ee1","title":"Audit native player UX baseline","description":"Audit the existing native player controls and document current user experience strengths, gaps, and implementation constraints before making UI changes.","acceptance_criteria":"Current NativePlayerViewController controls are reviewed; backend constraints are summarized; UX improvement opportunities are documented.","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","assignee":"dirtydishes","owner":"dishes@dpdrm.com","created_at":"2026-05-27T01:49:46Z","created_by":"dirtydishes","updated_at":"2026-05-27T01:50:32Z","started_at":"2026-05-27T01:49:48Z","closed_at":"2026-05-27T01:50:32Z","close_reason":"Completed baseline UX audit in docs/native-player-ux-audit.md","dependency_count":0,"dependent_count":0,"comment_count":0}

Dreamio/NativePlayerViewController.swift

@@ -258,13 +258,24 @@ final class NativePlayerViewController: UIViewController {
     }
 
     private func resolveSubtitleCandidates(_ candidates: [SubtitleCandidate]) async -> [SubtitleCandidate] {
-        var resolved: [SubtitleCandidate] = []
-        for candidate in candidates {
-            if let playableCandidate = await subtitleResolver.resolve(candidate) {
-                resolved.append(playableCandidate)
+        await withTaskGroup(of: (Int, SubtitleCandidate?).self) { group in
+            for (index, candidate) in candidates.enumerated() {
+                group.addTask { [subtitleResolver] in
+                    (index, await subtitleResolver.resolve(candidate))
+                }
             }
+
+            var resolvedCandidates: [(index: Int, candidate: SubtitleCandidate)] = []
+            for await (index, candidate) in group {
+                if let candidate {
+                    resolvedCandidates.append((index, candidate))
+                }
+            }
+
+            return resolvedCandidates
+                .sorted { $0.index < $1.index }
+                .map(\.candidate)
         }
-        return resolved
     }
 
     private func configureBackend() {
@@ -309,10 +320,17 @@ final class NativePlayerViewController: UIViewController {
         failureContainer.isHidden = true
         startStartupTimer()
         backend.play(request: request)
-        addSubtitleCandidates(request.subtitleCandidates)
+        startCaptionLoadingInBackground()
         revealControls()
     }
 
+    private func startCaptionLoadingInBackground() {
+        let queuedCount = addSubtitleCandidates(request.subtitleCandidates)
+#if DEBUG
+        print("[DreamioNativePlayer] startup captions queued=\(queuedCount) total=\(request.subtitleCandidates.count) playbackAlreadyRequested=true")
+#endif
+    }
+
     private func startStartupTimer() {
         startupTimer?.invalidate()
         startupTimer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: 20, repeats: false) { [weak self] _ in