diff --git a/app/analyze/[videoId]/page.tsx b/app/analyze/[videoId]/page.tsx
index 8ba3af1c..31e8d727 100644
--- a/app/analyze/[videoId]/page.tsx
+++ b/app/analyze/[videoId]/page.tsx
@@ -1909,6 +1909,42 @@ export default function AnalyzePage() {
         </section>
       )}
 
+      {videoId && topics.length === 0 && pageState === 'IDLE' && !error && (
+        <section className="flex min-h-[calc(100vh-11rem)] flex-col items-center justify-center px-5 text-center">
+          <Card className="w-full max-w-2xl border border-slate-200 bg-white/90 p-9 backdrop-blur-sm">
+            <div className="space-y-4">
+              <div>
+                <h2 className="text-xl font-semibold text-slate-900">
+                  No highlights found
+                </h2>
+                <p className="mt-1.5 text-sm leading-relaxed text-slate-600">
+                  We processed the transcript but couldn't find any standout highlights matching your criteria. This sometimes happens if the video is very short, has no dialogue, or if the AI filters were too strict.
+                </p>
+              </div>
+              <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-center gap-3 pt-2">
+                <Link
+                  href="/"
+                  className="inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-full border border-slate-200 px-4 py-2 text-xs font-medium text-slate-700 transition hover:bg-[#f8fafc]"
+                >
+                  Go to home
+                </Link>
+                <button
+                  type="button"
+                  onClick={() => {
+                    // Force regenerate logic
+                    processVideo(normalizedUrl, mode);
+                  }}
+                  className="inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-slate-900 px-4 py-2 text-xs font-medium text-white transition hover:bg-slate-800 disabled:pointer-events-none disabled:opacity-50"
+                  disabled={isModeLoading}
+                >
+                  Try again
+                </button>
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          </Card>
+        </section>
+      )}
+
       {videoId && topics.length > 0 && pageState === 'IDLE' && (
         <div className="mx-auto w-full max-w-7xl px-5 pb-5 pt-0">
           {error && (
diff --git a/lib/ai-processing.ts b/lib/ai-processing.ts
index 7974cd96..dce60e9e 100644
--- a/lib/ai-processing.ts
+++ b/lib/ai-processing.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
 import { generateAIResponse } from '@/lib/ai-client';
 import { getProviderKey } from '@/lib/ai-providers';
 import { topicGenerationSchema } from '@/lib/schemas';
-import { parseTimestampRange } from '@/lib/timestamp-utils';
+import { parseTimestampRange, formatTimestamp } from '@/lib/timestamp-utils';
 import { getLanguageName } from '@/lib/language-utils';
 import { repairJson } from '@/lib/json-utils';
 import { z } from 'zod';
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ function buildChunkPrompt(
   language?: string
 ): string {
   const transcript = formatTranscriptWithTimestamps(chunk.segments);
-  const chunkWindow = `[${formatTime(chunk.start)}-${formatTime(chunk.end)}]`;
+  const chunkWindow = `[${formatTimestamp(chunk.start)}-${formatTimestamp(chunk.end)}]`;
   const videoInfoBlock = formatVideoInfoForPrompt(videoInfo);
   const themeInstruction = theme
     ? `  <item>Focus exclusively on material that clearly expresses the theme "${theme}". Skip anything unrelated.</item>\n`
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ function buildReducePrompt(
     .map((candidate, idx) => {
       const timestamp = candidate.quote?.timestamp ?? '[??:??-??:??]';
       const quoteText = candidate.quote?.text ?? '';
-      const chunkWindow = `[${formatTime(candidate.chunkStart)}-${formatTime(
+      const chunkWindow = `[${formatTimestamp(candidate.chunkStart)}-${formatTimestamp(
         candidate.chunkEnd
       )}]`;
       return `Candidate ${idx + 1}
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ function buildFallbackTopics(
     fallbackTopics.push({
       title: theme ? `${theme} — part ${i + 1}` : `Part ${i + 1}`,
       quote: {
-        timestamp: `[${formatTime(startTime)}-${formatTime(endTime)}]`,
+        timestamp: `[${formatTimestamp(startTime)}-${formatTimestamp(endTime)}]`,
         text:
           chunkSegments
             .map((s) => s.text)
@@ -602,7 +602,7 @@ ${transcriptWithTimestamps}
           {
             title: fallbackLabel,
             quote: {
-              timestamp: `[00:00-${formatTime(fallbackEnd)}]`,
+              timestamp: `[00:00-${formatTimestamp(fallbackEnd)}]`,
               text: fullText.substring(0, 200)
             }
           }
@@ -629,21 +629,13 @@ function combineTranscript(segments: TranscriptSegment[]): string {
 function formatTranscriptWithTimestamps(segments: TranscriptSegment[]): string {
   return segments
     .map((s) => {
-      const startTime = formatTime(s.start);
-      const endTime = formatTime(s.start + s.duration);
+      const startTime = formatTimestamp(s.start);
+      const endTime = formatTimestamp(s.start + s.duration);
       return `[${startTime}-${endTime}] ${s.text}`;
     })
     .join('\n');
 }
 
-function formatTime(seconds: number): string {
-  const mins = Math.floor(seconds / 60);
-  const secs = Math.floor(seconds % 60);
-  return `${mins.toString().padStart(2, '0')}:${secs
-    .toString()
-    .padStart(2, '0')}`;
-}
-
 async function findExactQuotes(
   transcript: TranscriptSegment[],
   quotes: Array<{ timestamp: string; text: string }>,
diff --git a/lib/timestamp-utils.ts b/lib/timestamp-utils.ts
index 75e1233c..9fea845a 100644
--- a/lib/timestamp-utils.ts
+++ b/lib/timestamp-utils.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@ export function parseTimestamp(timestamp: string): number | null {
   
   // Validate time values
   if (hours < 0 || hours >= 24) return null;
-  if (minutes < 0 || minutes >= 60) return null;
+  if (minutes < 0) return null;
+  // Relax minute check to allow MM:SS where MM >= 60 (fallback scenarios)
+  // unless hours are present, in which case strict 0-59 applies
+  if (hours > 0 && minutes >= 60) return null;
   if (seconds < 0 || seconds >= 60) return null;
   
   return hours * 3600 + minutes * 60 + seconds;