diff --git a/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Controllers/StreamProxyController.cs b/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Controllers/StreamProxyController.cs
index 4dba2cc..2033143 100644
--- a/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Controllers/StreamProxyController.cs
+++ b/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Controllers/StreamProxyController.cs
@@ -58,16 +58,28 @@ public class StreamProxyController : ControllerBase
     /// Livestreams need frequent manifest refresh, VOD can be cached longer.
     /// </summary>
     /// <param name="itemId">The item ID to check.</param>
-    private void AddManifestCacheHeaders(string itemId)
+    /// <param name="isVariantManifest">Whether this is a variant (sub) manifest with segment lists.</param>
+    private void AddManifestCacheHeaders(string itemId, bool isVariantManifest = false)
     {
         var metadata = _proxyService.GetStreamMetadata(itemId);
         var isLiveStream = metadata?.IsLiveStream ?? false;
 
         if (isLiveStream)
         {
-            // Livestreams need frequent manifest refresh (segments rotate every ~6-10s)
-            Response.Headers["Cache-Control"] = "max-age=2, must-revalidate";
-            _logger.LogDebug("Setting livestream cache headers for {ItemId}", itemId);
+            if (isVariantManifest)
+            {
+                // Variant manifests contain the segment list which changes every target duration.
+                // Use no-cache to ensure the player always gets the freshest segment list,
+                // preventing requests for segments that have been rotated out of the sliding window.
+                Response.Headers["Cache-Control"] = "no-cache, no-store";
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                // Master manifest is relatively stable (just lists quality variants)
+                Response.Headers["Cache-Control"] = "max-age=2, must-revalidate";
+            }
+
+            _logger.LogDebug("Setting livestream cache headers for {ItemId} (variant={IsVariant})", itemId, isVariantManifest);
         }
         else
         {
@@ -215,7 +227,8 @@ public class StreamProxyController : ControllerBase
             var rewrittenContent = _proxyService.RewriteVariantManifestUrls(manifestContent, baseProxyUrl, queryParams);
 
             // Set cache headers based on stream type (live vs VOD)
-            AddManifestCacheHeaders(actualItemId);
+            // Variant manifests use stricter no-cache for live streams
+            AddManifestCacheHeaders(actualItemId, isVariantManifest: true);
 
             _logger.LogDebug("Returning variant manifest for item {ItemId} ({Length} bytes)", itemId, rewrittenContent.Length);
             return Content(rewrittenContent, "application/vnd.apple.mpegurl; charset=utf-8");
@@ -253,9 +266,12 @@ public class StreamProxyController : ControllerBase
         {
             // Pass the original query string to preserve segment-specific parameters (e.g., ?m=timestamp)
             var queryString = Request.QueryString.HasValue ? Request.QueryString.Value : null;
-            var segmentData = await _proxyService.GetSegmentAsync(actualItemId, segmentPath, queryString, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
 
-            if (segmentData == null)
+            // Use streaming proxy: starts forwarding data to the client before the full segment
+            // is downloaded from the CDN, reducing time-to-first-byte for live streams
+            using var upstreamResponse = await _proxyService.GetSegmentStreamAsync(actualItemId, segmentPath, queryString, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+            if (upstreamResponse == null)
             {
                 _logger.LogWarning("Segment not found - ItemId: {ItemId}, Path: {SegmentPath}", itemId, segmentPath);
                 return NotFound();
@@ -263,9 +279,18 @@ public class StreamProxyController : ControllerBase
 
             // Determine content type based on file extension
             var contentType = MimeTypeHelper.GetSegmentContentType(segmentPath);
+            Response.ContentType = contentType;
 
-            _logger.LogDebug("Returning segment {SegmentPath} ({Length} bytes, {ContentType})", segmentPath, segmentData.Length, contentType);
-            return File(segmentData, contentType);
+            if (upstreamResponse.Content.Headers.ContentLength.HasValue)
+            {
+                Response.ContentLength = upstreamResponse.Content.Headers.ContentLength.Value;
+            }
+
+            // Stream directly from CDN to client without buffering the entire segment in memory
+            await upstreamResponse.Content.CopyToAsync(Response.Body, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+            _logger.LogDebug("Streamed segment {SegmentPath} ({ContentType})", segmentPath, contentType);
+            return new EmptyResult();
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
diff --git a/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/Interfaces/IStreamProxyService.cs b/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/Interfaces/IStreamProxyService.cs
index d669a96..47fb811 100644
--- a/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/Interfaces/IStreamProxyService.cs
+++ b/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/Interfaces/IStreamProxyService.cs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+using System.Net.Http;
 using System.Threading;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 
@@ -52,6 +53,18 @@ public interface IStreamProxyService
     /// <returns>The segment content as bytes.</returns>
     Task<byte[]?> GetSegmentAsync(string itemId, string segmentPath, string? queryString = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Fetches a segment from the original source as a streaming response.
+    /// Returns the HttpResponseMessage for streaming directly to the client, reducing TTFB.
+    /// The caller is responsible for disposing the response.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="itemId">The item ID.</param>
+    /// <param name="segmentPath">The segment path.</param>
+    /// <param name="queryString">The original query string from the request.</param>
+    /// <param name="cancellationToken">Cancellation token.</param>
+    /// <returns>The HTTP response for streaming, or null if not found.</returns>
+    Task<HttpResponseMessage?> GetSegmentStreamAsync(string itemId, string segmentPath, string? queryString = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Rewrites URLs in a variant (sub) manifest to point to the proxy.
     /// </summary>
diff --git a/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/StreamProxyService.cs b/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/StreamProxyService.cs
index a2b7544..b531089 100644
--- a/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/StreamProxyService.cs
+++ b/Jellyfin.Plugin.SRFPlay/Services/StreamProxyService.cs
@@ -647,6 +647,21 @@ public class StreamProxyService : IStreamProxyService
             // Rewrite the manifest to replace Akamai URLs with proxy URLs
             var rewrittenContent = RewriteManifestUrls(manifestContent, authenticatedUrl, baseProxyUrl);
 
+            // For live streams, inject #EXT-X-START to tell the player to start near the live edge
+            // Without this, players may start at the beginning of the sliding window and stutter
+            // as old segments get rotated out by the CDN
+            if (_streamMappings.TryGetValue(itemId, out var streamInfoForManifest) && streamInfoForManifest.IsLiveStream)
+            {
+                if (!rewrittenContent.Contains("#EXT-X-START", StringComparison.Ordinal))
+                {
+                    rewrittenContent = rewrittenContent.Replace(
+                        "#EXTM3U",
+                        "#EXTM3U\n#EXT-X-START:TIME-OFFSET=-6,PRECISE=NO",
+                        StringComparison.Ordinal);
+                    _logger.LogDebug("Injected #EXT-X-START tag for live stream {ItemId}", itemId);
+                }
+            }
+
             _logger.LogDebug("Rewritten manifest for item {ItemId} ({Length} bytes):\n{Content}", itemId, rewrittenContent.Length, rewrittenContent);
             return rewrittenContent;
         }
@@ -720,6 +735,67 @@ public class StreamProxyService : IStreamProxyService
         }
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Fetches a segment as a streaming response for direct forwarding to the client.
+    /// Uses HttpCompletionOption.ResponseHeadersRead to start streaming before the full
+    /// segment is downloaded, reducing time-to-first-byte for live streams.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="itemId">The item ID.</param>
+    /// <param name="segmentPath">The segment path.</param>
+    /// <param name="queryString">The original query string from the request.</param>
+    /// <param name="cancellationToken">Cancellation token.</param>
+    /// <returns>The HTTP response for streaming, or null if not found.</returns>
+    public async Task<HttpResponseMessage?> GetSegmentStreamAsync(
+        string itemId,
+        string segmentPath,
+        string? queryString = null,
+        CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+    {
+        var authenticatedUrl = await GetAuthenticatedUrlAsync(itemId, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+        if (authenticatedUrl == null)
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        try
+        {
+            var baseUri = new Uri(authenticatedUrl);
+            var baseUrl = $"{baseUri.Scheme}://{baseUri.Host}{string.Join('/', baseUri.AbsolutePath.Split('/')[..^1])}";
+
+            var queryParams = string.Empty;
+            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(queryString))
+            {
+                queryParams = queryString.StartsWith('?') ? queryString : $"?{queryString}";
+            }
+            else if (!segmentPath.Contains("hdntl=", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            {
+                queryParams = baseUri.Query;
+            }
+
+            var segmentUrl = $"{baseUrl}/{segmentPath}{queryParams}";
+
+            _logger.LogDebug("Streaming segment - SegmentPath: {SegmentPath}, FullUrl: {FullUrl}", segmentPath, segmentUrl);
+
+            var httpClient = _httpClientFactory.CreateClient(NamedClient.Default);
+            var request = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Get, segmentUrl);
+            var response = await httpClient.SendAsync(request, HttpCompletionOption.ResponseHeadersRead, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+            if (!response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
+            {
+                _logger.LogWarning("Segment stream request failed with {StatusCode} for {SegmentPath}", response.StatusCode, segmentPath);
+                response.Dispose();
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            return response;
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            _logger.LogError(ex, "Failed to stream segment {SegmentPath} for item {ItemId}", segmentPath, itemId);
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Rewrites URLs in HLS manifest to point to proxy.
     /// </summary>