diff --git a/apps/studio/config/locales/en_US.json b/apps/studio/config/locales/en_US.json
index 5e57d2f..300bbab 100644
--- a/apps/studio/config/locales/en_US.json
+++ b/apps/studio/config/locales/en_US.json
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@
     "playback_tip": "Play this recording at 1× (space bar does the same); dragging the cursor pauses",
     "playback_pause_tip": "Pause playback (dragging the cursor, box zoom or the wheel also pauses)",
     "playback_disabled": "Open a recorded video first (“Choose a recorded video…” at the top left)",
+    "playback_needs_recording": "This video has no recording beside it (no forces.csv): replay needs a recording; to just watch the video use View ▸ Recompute forces from the video",
     "reset": "Reset",
     "units": "Units",
     "units_newton": "Newton",
@@ -205,6 +206,9 @@
     "video_filter": "Recorded video (*.mp4 *.avi *.mov *.mkv);;All files (*)",
     "no_video": "This recording has no usable video segment",
     "open_failed": "Could not open that recording: {error}",
+    "not_a_recording": "“{name}” is not a recording: its folder has no forces.csv (a recording is the video plus forces.csv and session.json). Replay needs a recording; to just watch this video, use “Recompute forces from the video”.",
+    "video_only_panel": "This is not a recording (no forces.csv beside it)\nTo watch this video, use\nView ▸ Recompute forces from the video",
+    "empty_recording": "This recording has no playable picture (no raw_*.mp4 segment), so it cannot be replayed",
     "none_found": "No recording found under outputs/recordings",
     "frame_dropped": "This frame never reached the video (the record queue overflowed)",
     "frame_unreadable": "This frame could not be decoded from the video",
diff --git a/apps/studio/config/locales/zh_CN.json b/apps/studio/config/locales/zh_CN.json
index 4244b05..0ba546e 100644
--- a/apps/studio/config/locales/zh_CN.json
+++ b/apps/studio/config/locales/zh_CN.json
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@
     "playback_tip": "按 1× 播放这段录制（空格键同效）；拖动游标即暂停",
     "playback_pause_tip": "暂停播放（拖动游标、框选或滚轮也会暂停）",
     "playback_disabled": "先打开一段录制视频（左上「选择录制视频…」）",
+    "playback_needs_recording": "这段视频旁边没有记录（缺 forces.csv）：回放需要一条记录；只想看视频请用 视图 ▸ 从视频重算力值",
     "reset": "重置",
     "units": "单位",
     "units_newton": "牛顿",
@@ -205,6 +206,9 @@
     "video_filter": "录制的视频 (*.mp4 *.avi *.mov *.mkv);;所有文件 (*)",
     "no_video": "这段录制没有可用的视频分段",
     "open_failed": "无法打开该录制: {error}",
+    "not_a_recording": "「{name}」不是一条记录：同目录没有 forces.csv（一条记录 = 录像 + forces.csv + session.json）。回放需要记录；只想看这段视频请用「从视频重算力值」。",
+    "video_only_panel": "这不是一条记录（同目录缺少 forces.csv）\n只想看这段视频请用\n视图 ▸ 从视频重算力值",
+    "empty_recording": "这条记录没有可播放的画面（没有 raw_*.mp4 视频分段），因此无法回放",
     "none_found": "outputs/recordings 下没有找到录制",
     "frame_dropped": "该帧未被写入视频（记录队列曾溢出）",
     "frame_unreadable": "该帧无法从视频中解码",
diff --git a/apps/studio/src/orisys_studio/app_window.py b/apps/studio/src/orisys_studio/app_window.py
index b783b62..e51b9b2 100644
--- a/apps/studio/src/orisys_studio/app_window.py
+++ b/apps/studio/src/orisys_studio/app_window.py
@@ -901,15 +901,46 @@ class StudioMainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._load_replay_video(Path(chosen))
 
     def _load_replay_video(self, video: Path) -> bool:
-        """Open the recording a recorded video belongs to."""
+        """Open the recording a recorded video belongs to.
+
+        A **recording** is a directory that holds ``forces.csv`` beside the video —
+        the same rule ``list_recordings`` uses, so the two cannot disagree about what
+        a recording is. A video on its own is not one: it has no force rows and no
+        timeline. Opening its folder anyway "succeeded" (the reader tolerates a
+        directory with nothing in it) and then left the transport button playing a
+        zero-length timeline, which is why choosing a video and pressing 回放 did
+        nothing at all. So a bare video is refused with what is missing, and the rail
+        keeps its path so 「从视频重算」 can still run the chain over it.
+        """
         video = Path(video)
         folder = video.parent if video.is_file() else video
+        if not (folder / "forces.csv").is_file():
+            if video.is_file():
+                self.toolbar.set_video_path(str(video))
+                self.prefs["video_path"] = str(video)
+                self._set_source_mode("video")
+            if not self.replay.is_loaded():
+                # Nothing else is on screen, so the reason belongs in the panel that
+                # would have shown the frames — not only in a status line that expires.
+                self.arrow_panel.clear_preview(t("playback.video_only_panel"))
+            self._refresh_replay_state()
+            self._notify(t("playback.not_a_recording", name=video.name))
+            return False
         if not self._load_recording(folder):
             return False
         self.toolbar.set_video_path(str(video))
         self._refresh_status_rail()
         return True
 
+    def _can_recompute(self) -> bool:
+        """Whether 「从视频重算」 has something to read: a recording, or a video file."""
+        if self._view_preset != "replay":
+            return False
+        if self.replay.is_loaded():
+            return True
+        named = self.toolbar.video_path()
+        return bool(named) and Path(named).is_file()
+
     def _load_recording(self, directory: Path) -> bool:
         if self._view_preset != "replay":
             self._apply_view_preset("replay")
@@ -951,10 +982,10 @@ class StudioMainWindow(QMainWindow):
             if segments:
                 self.toolbar.set_video_path(str(segments[0]))
         self.toolbar.set_run_checked(self._play_timer.isActive())
-        # Loading a recording is what makes a recompute pass possible at all.
-        self.act_recompute.setEnabled(
-            self._view_preset == "replay" and self.replay.is_loaded()
-        )
+        # Loading a recording is what makes a recompute pass possible at all — but a
+        # chosen video file is enough to recompute *from*, even when it is not a
+        # recording: that is the way to look at a video that has no forces.csv.
+        self.act_recompute.setEnabled(self._can_recompute())
         self._update_run_enabled()
         self._refresh_status_rail()
 
@@ -987,7 +1018,10 @@ class StudioMainWindow(QMainWindow):
     def _start_playback(self) -> None:
         duration = self.replay.duration_s()
         if duration <= 0:
+            # A zero-length timeline is not something to play, and silently un-checking
+            # the button is how "pressing 回放 does nothing" felt to the operator.
             self.toolbar.set_run_checked(False)
+            self._notify(t("playback.empty_recording"))
             return
         position = self.replay.position()
         if position >= duration - 0.02:
@@ -1045,7 +1079,7 @@ class StudioMainWindow(QMainWindow):
         run *forward*, because the chain is stateful, so it is a pass rather than
         a scrub.
         """
-        wanted = bool(checked) and self._view_preset == "replay" and self.replay.is_loaded()
+        wanted = bool(checked) and self._can_recompute()
         if self.act_recompute.isChecked() != wanted:
             self.act_recompute.blockSignals(True)
             self.act_recompute.setChecked(wanted)
@@ -1338,9 +1372,7 @@ class StudioMainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.act_finger_3d.blockSignals(True)
         self.act_finger_3d.setChecked(bool(self._show_finger_3d) if is_finger else False)
         self.act_finger_3d.blockSignals(False)
-        self.act_recompute.setEnabled(
-            self._view_preset == "replay" and self.replay.is_loaded()
-        )
+        self.act_recompute.setEnabled(self._can_recompute())
         self._apply_arrow_rotation_for_sensor()
 
     def _current_source_kind(self) -> str:
@@ -1486,9 +1518,16 @@ class StudioMainWindow(QMainWindow):
             # not a runnable sensor. While it plays it stays enabled so it can be
             # paused.
             loaded = self.replay.is_loaded()
-            self.toolbar.set_run_tooltip_reason(
-                "" if loaded else t("toolbar.playback_disabled")
-            )
+            if loaded:
+                reason = ""
+            elif self._can_recompute():
+                # A video was chosen but it is not a recording: the transport cannot
+                # play it, and the tooltip says which button can show it instead of
+                # leaving the operator pressing a dead button.
+                reason = t("toolbar.playback_needs_recording")
+            else:
+                reason = t("toolbar.playback_disabled")
+            self.toolbar.set_run_tooltip_reason(reason)
             self.toolbar.set_run_enabled(loaded or self._play_timer.isActive())
             self.toolbar.set_record_enabled(
                 self._running or self.recorder.is_recording
diff --git a/apps/studio/tests/test_ui_smoke.py b/apps/studio/tests/test_ui_smoke.py
index 991a8f7..58186a1 100644
--- a/apps/studio/tests/test_ui_smoke.py
+++ b/apps/studio/tests/test_ui_smoke.py
@@ -1994,6 +1994,118 @@ def test_the_recompute_mode_reruns_the_pipeline_over_the_video(
     assert not window.toolbar.btn_run.isChecked(), "the transport stayed checked"
 
 
+def test_a_video_that_is_not_a_recording_is_refused_with_a_reason(
+    make_window, record_root
+):
+    """A bare video has no forces.csv, so it is not something this view can replay.
+
+    The reader tolerates a directory with nothing in it, so opening the video's own
+    folder as a recording used to *succeed* — and then the transport played a
+    zero-length timeline, which is what "pressing 回放 does nothing" was.
+    """
+    import cv2
+    import numpy as np
+    from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication
+
+    from orisys_app_shared.i18n import t
+
+    bare = Path(record_root) / "bare_video.mp4"
+    writer = cv2.VideoWriter(
+        str(bare), cv2.VideoWriter_fourcc(*"mp4v"), 30.0, (64, 48)
+    )
+    for index in range(30):
+        writer.write(np.full((48, 64, 3), index, dtype=np.uint8))
+    writer.release()
+    assert bare.is_file()
+
+    window = _show(make_window(), (1440, 880))
+    window.brand_bar.btn_playback.click()
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    assert not window.replay.is_loaded()
+
+    assert window._load_replay_video(bare) is False, (
+        "a video with no recording beside it was accepted as a recording"
+    )
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    assert not window.replay.is_loaded(), "an empty folder was opened as a recording"
+    assert not window.toolbar.btn_run.isEnabled(), (
+        "the transport is offered although there is nothing to play"
+    )
+    reason = window.toolbar.btn_run.toolTip()
+    assert "forces.csv" in reason or "recording" in reason.lower(), reason
+    # And what was missing, in the panel that would have shown the frames.
+    body = window.arrow_panel.image_label.text()
+    assert "forces.csv" in body or "recording" in body.lower(), body
+    # The way forward for a video that is not a recording: recompute from it.
+    assert window.act_recompute.isEnabled(), (
+        "a chosen video cannot be recomputed either, so the operator has no way to "
+        "look at it"
+    )
+    window.close()
+
+
+def test_a_video_inside_a_recording_opens_the_recording_and_plays(
+    make_window, replay_recording
+):
+    from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication
+
+    from orisys_app_shared.i18n import t
+
+    window = _show(make_window(), (1440, 880))
+    window.brand_bar.btn_playback.click()
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    segments = sorted(Path(replay_recording).glob("raw_*.mp4"))
+    assert segments, "the fixture wrote no video segment"
+    assert window._load_replay_video(segments[0]) is True
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    assert window.replay.is_loaded()
+    assert window.toolbar.btn_run.isEnabled(), "the transport is not offered"
+    assert t("toolbar.playback_needs_recording") not in window.toolbar.btn_run.toolTip(), (
+        "a loaded recording is still described as one that cannot be played"
+    )
+    window.toolbar.btn_run.setChecked(True)
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    assert window._play_timer.isActive(), "pressing 回放 did not start playback"
+    window._pause_playback()
+    window.close()
+
+
+def test_a_recording_without_a_video_says_it_cannot_be_played(make_window, record_root):
+    """The defensive case: a recording whose video segments are gone."""
+    import csv
+    import json
+
+    from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication
+
+    from orisys_app_shared.i18n import t
+
+    directory = Path(record_root) / "no_video_recording"
+    directory.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    (directory / "session.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps({"format_version": 1, "device": {"sensor_type": "finger"}}),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    with (directory / "forces.csv").open("w", encoding="utf-8", newline="") as handle:
+        writer = csv.writer(handle)
+        writer.writerow(["session_id", "frame_id", "t_rel_s", "FN_raw"])
+        writer.writerow([1, 1, 0.0, 1.0])
+
+    window = _show(make_window(), (1440, 880))
+    window.brand_bar.btn_playback.click()
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    if not window._load_recording(directory):
+        pytest.skip("this recording layout was refused before it could be played")
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    assert window.replay.duration_s() <= 0.0
+    window._start_playback()
+    QApplication.processEvents()
+    assert not window._play_timer.isActive()
+    assert t("playback.empty_recording")[:8] in window.statusBar().currentMessage(), (
+        window.statusBar().currentMessage()
+    )
+    window.close()
+
+
 # ------------------------------------------- selection readout and notices
 
 
diff --git a/apps/studio/tools/ui_check.py b/apps/studio/tools/ui_check.py
index 40fc91d..5c47896 100644
--- a/apps/studio/tools/ui_check.py
+++ b/apps/studio/tools/ui_check.py
@@ -2992,6 +2992,61 @@ def main() -> int:
         f"{replay_window.toolbar.source_summary.text()!r}",
     )
 
+    # A video that is not a recording must be refused *with a reason*, because the
+    # reader tolerates an empty folder: accepting it left the transport playing a
+    # zero-length timeline, which looked like "pressing 回放 does nothing".
+    import cv2 as _cv2
+    import numpy as _np
+
+    bare_video = replay_root / "bare_video.mp4"
+    bare_writer = _cv2.VideoWriter(
+        str(bare_video), _cv2.VideoWriter_fourcc(*"mp4v"), 30.0, (64, 48)
+    )
+    for _index in range(10):
+        bare_writer.write(_np.zeros((48, 64, 3), dtype=_np.uint8))
+    bare_writer.release()
+    other_window = StudioMainWindow(
+        prefs={"language": "zh_CN", "theme": "dark", "sensor_type": "box"}
+    )
+    other_window.resize(1280, 720)
+    other_window.show()
+    app.processEvents()
+    other_window.brand_bar.btn_playback.click()
+    app.processEvents()
+    check(
+        other_window._load_replay_video(bare_video) is False,
+        "a video with no forces.csv beside it was accepted as a recording",
+    )
+    app.processEvents()
+    check(
+        not other_window.replay.is_loaded(),
+        "an empty folder was opened as a recording",
+    )
+    check(
+        not other_window.toolbar.btn_run.isEnabled(),
+        "the transport is offered although there is nothing to play",
+    )
+    check(
+        "forces.csv" in other_window.toolbar.btn_run.toolTip()
+        or "记录" in other_window.toolbar.btn_run.toolTip(),
+        f"the transport does not say why it cannot play: "
+        f"{other_window.toolbar.btn_run.toolTip()!r}",
+    )
+    check(
+        other_window.act_recompute.isEnabled(),
+        "a chosen video cannot be recomputed either: the operator has no way to view it",
+    )
+    check(
+        "forces.csv" in other_window.arrow_panel.image_label.text()
+        or "记录" in other_window.arrow_panel.image_label.text(),
+        f"the panel does not say what is missing: "
+        f"{other_window.arrow_panel.image_label.text()!r}",
+    )
+    other_window.close()
+    app.processEvents()
+    replay_window.activateWindow()
+    app.processEvents()
+
     replay = replay_window.replay
     replay_plots = replay_window.force_plots
     check(