diff --git a/viewer-frontend/app/api/photos/[id]/image/route.ts b/viewer-frontend/app/api/photos/[id]/image/route.ts
index 28e7e3f..e73e78e 100644
--- a/viewer-frontend/app/api/photos/[id]/image/route.ts
+++ b/viewer-frontend/app/api/photos/[id]/image/route.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import { readFile } from 'fs/promises';
 import { createReadStream } from 'fs';
 import { existsSync, statSync } from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
-import { getVideoThumbnail } from '@/lib/video-thumbnail';
 
 // Conditionally import sharp - handle case where libvips is not installed
 let sharp: any = null;
@@ -168,98 +167,35 @@ export async function GET(
 
     // Handle video thumbnail request
     if (thumbnail && mediaType === 'video') {
-      // Check if video path is a URL (can't generate thumbnail for remote videos)
-      const isVideoUrl = filePath.startsWith('http://') || filePath.startsWith('https://');
-      
-      if (isVideoUrl) {
-        // For remote videos, we can't generate thumbnails locally
-        // Return a placeholder
-        console.warn(`Cannot generate thumbnail for remote video URL: ${filePath}`);
-        try {
-          if (!sharp) throw new Error('Sharp not available');
-          const placeholderSvg = `
-            <svg width="400" height="400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
-              <rect width="400" height="400" fill="#e5e7eb"/>
-              <circle cx="200" cy="200" r="40" fill="#6b7280" opacity="0.8"/>
-              <polygon points="190,185 190,215 215,200" fill="white"/>
-            </svg>
-          `.trim();
-          
-          const placeholderBuffer = await sharp(Buffer.from(placeholderSvg))
-            .png()
-            .toBuffer();
-          
-          return new NextResponse(placeholderBuffer as unknown as BodyInit, {
-            headers: {
-              'Content-Type': 'image/png',
-              'Cache-Control': 'public, max-age=60',
-            },
-          });
-        } catch (error) {
-          console.error('Error generating placeholder for remote video:', error);
-          const minimalPng = Buffer.from(
-            'iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAADUlEQVR42mNk+M9QDwADhgGAWjR9awAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==',
-            'base64'
-          );
-          return new NextResponse(minimalPng as unknown as BodyInit, {
-            headers: {
-              'Content-Type': 'image/png',
-              'Cache-Control': 'public, max-age=60',
-            },
-          });
-        }
-      }
-      
+      const backendBaseUrl = process.env.BACKEND_BASE_URL || 'http://127.0.0.1:8000';
+
       try {
-        const thumbnailBuffer = await getVideoThumbnail(filePath);
-        if (thumbnailBuffer && thumbnailBuffer.length > 0) {
-          return new NextResponse(thumbnailBuffer as unknown as BodyInit, {
-            headers: {
-              'Content-Type': 'image/jpeg',
-              'Cache-Control': 'public, max-age=31536000, immutable',
-            },
-          });
-        }
-        console.error(`Thumbnail generation returned empty buffer for video: ${filePath}`);
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error(`Error generating thumbnail for video ${filePath}:`, error);
-      }
-      
-      // Fallback: return a placeholder image (gray box with play icon)
-      // Generate a PNG placeholder using sharp for better compatibility
-      try {
-        if (!sharp) throw new Error('Sharp not available');
-        const placeholderSvg = `
-          <svg width="400" height="400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
-            <rect width="400" height="400" fill="#e5e7eb"/>
-            <circle cx="200" cy="200" r="40" fill="#6b7280" opacity="0.8"/>
-            <polygon points="190,185 190,215 215,200" fill="white"/>
-          </svg>
-        `.trim();
-        
-        const placeholderBuffer = await sharp(Buffer.from(placeholderSvg))
-          .png()
-          .toBuffer();
-        
-        return new NextResponse(placeholderBuffer as unknown as BodyInit, {
-          headers: {
-            'Content-Type': 'image/png',
-            'Cache-Control': 'public, max-age=60', // Short cache for placeholder
-          },
-        });
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error('Error generating placeholder:', error);
-        // Ultimate fallback: return a minimal 1x1 PNG
-        const minimalPng = Buffer.from(
-          'iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAADUlEQVR42mNk+M9QDwADhgGAWjR9awAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==',
-          'base64'
+        const backendResponse = await fetch(
+          `${backendBaseUrl}/api/v1/videos/${photoId}/thumbnail`,
+          { headers: { Accept: 'image/*' } }
         );
-        return new NextResponse(minimalPng as unknown as BodyInit, {
+
+        if (!backendResponse.ok) {
+          console.error(
+            `Backend thumbnail fetch failed for video ${photoId}: ` +
+              `${backendResponse.status} ${backendResponse.statusText}`
+          );
+          return new NextResponse('Failed to fetch video thumbnail', { status: 502 });
+        }
+
+        const arrayBuffer = await backendResponse.arrayBuffer();
+        const contentType = backendResponse.headers.get('content-type') || 'image/jpeg';
+
+        return new NextResponse(arrayBuffer as unknown as BodyInit, {
           headers: {
-            'Content-Type': 'image/png',
-            'Cache-Control': 'public, max-age=60',
+            'Content-Type': contentType,
+            // Keep caching modest: backend thumbnails can be regenerated/updated.
+            'Cache-Control': 'public, max-age=86400',
           },
         });
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error(`Error proxying backend thumbnail for video ${photoId}:`, error);
+        return new NextResponse('Failed to fetch video thumbnail', { status: 502 });
       }
     }