diff --git a/movie_editor/backend/settings_card.py b/movie_editor/backend/settings_card.py
index bec58f37..70293c9b 100644
--- a/movie_editor/backend/settings_card.py
+++ b/movie_editor/backend/settings_card.py
@@ -148,6 +148,127 @@ def _pass_rows(cfg: dict) -> list:
     return rows
 
 
+# ── what is worth printing ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+#
+# The card answers "what produced this video". A setting left at its default produced
+# nothing, and a setting belonging to a switched-off feature produced nothing either — a
+# region-sharpening prompt printed under a disabled sharpener reads as if it ran. Both are
+# noise, and enough of it buries the handful of values that DID decide the render.
+#
+# Two rules, both the user's: skip a value that equals the widget's own default, and skip a
+# value whose feature is off.
+
+#: knob -> (the toggle that owns it, the value of that toggle which switches it on).
+#: None means "any truthy value". Mirrored from the Editor's own dependsOn wiring, and a
+#: test regenerates this from engine_settings.js so the two cannot drift apart.
+_OWNED_BY = {
+    "absolute_strength": ("steer_mode", None),
+    "alg_anchor_sigma_threshold": ("alg_anchor", None),
+    "alg_anchor_strength": ("alg_anchor", None),
+    "alg_guide_blur_sigma_threshold": ("alg_blur_guides", None),
+    "alg_guide_blur_strength": ("alg_blur_guides", None),
+    "arcface_mode": ("identity_transfer_enabled", None),
+    "context_window_freenoise": ("context_windows", None),
+    "context_window_fuse": ("context_windows", None),
+    "context_window_length": ("context_windows", None),
+    "context_window_overlap": ("context_windows", None),
+    "context_window_retain_first": ("context_windows", None),
+    "context_window_schedule": ("context_windows", None),
+    "debug_log": ("identity_transfer_enabled", None),
+    "detail_max_area": ("segmented_detailing", None),
+    "detail_mode": ("segmented_detailing", None),
+    "detail_strength": ("segmented_detailing", None),
+    "detail_targets": ("segmented_detailing", None),
+    "detail_threshold": ("segmented_detailing", None),
+    "dynashift_strength": ("dynashift", None),
+    "dynashift_threshold": ("dynashift", None),
+    "embed_guidance_source": ("embed_guidance", None),
+    "embed_guidance_strength": ("embed_guidance", None),
+    "h3_gain_audio": ("h3_gain_mode", "manual"),
+    "h3_gain_prompt": ("h3_gain_mode", "manual"),
+    "h3_gain_video": ("h3_gain_mode", "manual"),
+    "h3_prompt_scale": ("h3_gain_mode", "manual"),
+    "h3_taste_bias": ("h3_gain_mode", "manual"),
+    "h3_video_detail": ("h3_gain_mode", "manual"),
+    "id_strength": ("identity_transfer_enabled", None),
+    "joyai_audio_memory": ("joyai_memory", None),
+    "joyai_fix_frames": ("joyai_memory", None),
+    "joyai_frame_select": ("joyai_memory", None),
+    "joyai_memory_size": ("joyai_memory", None),
+    "joyai_memory_strength": ("joyai_memory", None),
+    "mid_scene_guide_strength": ("mid_scene_guide", None),
+    "negative_erase_mode": ("negative_erase", None),
+    "negative_erase_renorm": ("negative_erase", None),
+    "negative_erase_strength": ("negative_erase", None),
+    "output_guidance_strength": ("output_guidance", None),
+    "phase_scale": ("identity_transfer_enabled", None),
+    "plateau_cache_threshold": ("plateau_cache", None),
+    "prompt_enhance_max_length": ("prompt_enhance", None),
+    "prompt_enhance_system": ("prompt_enhance", None),
+    "prompt_enhance_temperature": ("prompt_enhance", None),
+    "prompt_enhance_thinking": ("prompt_enhance", None),
+    "prompt_enhance_top_p": ("prompt_enhance", None),
+    "score_slider_strength": ("score_slider", None),
+    "source_id": ("identity_transfer_enabled", None),
+    "v2a_grad_scale": ("joyai_audio_memory", None),
+}
+
+
+def _node_defaults(node_class: str) -> dict:
+    """Declared defaults for one node's widgets, read off the node itself.
+
+    Off the NODE rather than a table here: the node is the thing whose value is being
+    printed, so a default copied to this file would be one more thing to keep in step.
+    """
+    try:
+        from . import bridge
+        spec = bridge._funpack_attr("samplers" if "Sampler" in node_class else "conditioning",
+                                    node_class).INPUT_TYPES()
+    except Exception:
+        return {}
+    out = {}
+    for group in ("required", "optional"):
+        for name, decl in (spec.get(group) or {}).items():
+            if not isinstance(decl, (list, tuple)) or not decl:
+                continue
+            if len(decl) >= 2 and isinstance(decl[1], dict) and "default" in decl[1]:
+                out[name] = decl[1]["default"]
+            elif isinstance(decl[0], (list, tuple)) and decl[0]:
+                out[name] = decl[0][0]          # a combo's first entry is its default
+    return out
+
+
+def _switched_on(name: str, values: dict, defaults: dict, _seen=None) -> bool:
+    """Is the feature this knob belongs to actually running?
+
+    Walks the chain: v2a_grad_scale belongs to joyai_audio_memory, which belongs to
+    joyai_memory. An owner that is itself off takes everything under it with it.
+    """
+    owner, wanted = _OWNED_BY.get(name, (None, None))
+    if owner is None:
+        return True
+    seen = _seen or set()
+    if owner in seen:                            # a cycle in the table is a bug, not a hang
+        return True
+    seen.add(owner)
+    current = values.get(owner, defaults.get(owner))
+    live = bool(current) if wanted is None else str(current) == str(wanted)
+    return live and _switched_on(owner, values, defaults, seen)
+
+
+def _live_rows(values: dict, node_class: str) -> list:
+    """`values` filtered down to what actually decided this render."""
+    defaults = _node_defaults(node_class)
+    rows = []
+    for name, value in (values or {}).items():
+        if name in defaults and value == defaults[name]:
+            continue
+        if not _switched_on(name, values, defaults):
+            continue
+        rows.append((name, _short(value)))
+    return rows
+
+
 def _sampling_sections(studio_inputs: dict, sampler_inputs: dict) -> list:
     """Everything that decided HOW it was sampled, as card sections.
 
@@ -184,13 +305,13 @@ def _sampling_sections(studio_inputs: dict, sampler_inputs: dict) -> list:
         out.append({"title": "Studio", "node_class": "",
                     "rows": [(k, _short(v)) for k, v in refiner.items()]})
 
-    extras = {k: v for k, v in studio_inputs.items() if k not in _SKIP_STUDIO_KEYS}
+    extras = _live_rows({k: v for k, v in studio_inputs.items()
+                         if k not in _SKIP_STUDIO_KEYS}, "FunPackStudio")
     if extras:
-        out.append({"title": "Studio inputs", "node_class": "",
-                    "rows": [(k, _short(v)) for k, v in extras.items()]})
-    if sampler_inputs:
-        out.append({"title": "Chain Sampler", "node_class": "",
-                    "rows": [(k, _short(v)) for k, v in sampler_inputs.items()]})
+        out.append({"title": "Studio inputs", "node_class": "", "rows": extras})
+    chain = _live_rows(sampler_inputs, "FunPackLTXAVSceneChainSampler")
+    if chain:
+        out.append({"title": "Chain Sampler", "node_class": "", "rows": chain})
     return out
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_settings_card_noise.py b/tests/test_settings_card_noise.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a4842b5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_settings_card_noise.py
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+"""The settings card prints what produced the video, not every widget that exists.
+
+Reported from a rental: too much on the card to read, including a region-sharpening prompt
+printed under a sharpener that was switched off. A value left at its default produced
+nothing, and a value belonging to a disabled feature produced nothing either — but printed
+side by side with the handful that DID decide the render, they read as if they had.
+
+Two rules: skip a value equal to the widget's own default, and skip a value whose feature
+is off.
+"""
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]))
+
+from movie_editor.backend import settings_card as sc
+
+FRONTEND = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "movie_editor" / "frontend"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def defaults(monkeypatch):
+    """Stand in for the node's declared defaults, so these tests describe the RULE."""
+    table = {
+        "segmented_detailing": False, "detail_targets": "hands, face",
+        "context_windows": False, "context_window_overlap": 40,
+        "joyai_memory": False, "joyai_audio_memory": False, "v2a_grad_scale": 1.0,
+        "h3_gain_mode": "learned", "h3_video_detail": 1.0,
+        "cfg": 1.0, "frame_overlap": 8,
+    }
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sc, "_node_defaults", lambda _cls: table)
+    return table
+
+
+def rows(values, defaults_unused=None):
+    return dict(sc._live_rows(values, "FunPackLTXAVSceneChainSampler"))
+
+
+# ── rule 1: a default decided nothing ───────────────────────────────────────
+
+def test_a_value_left_at_its_default_is_not_printed(defaults):
+    assert rows({"cfg": 1.0}) == {}
+
+
+def test_a_changed_value_is_printed(defaults):
+    assert "cfg" in rows({"cfg": 3.5})
+
+
+def test_a_value_the_node_does_not_declare_is_kept(defaults):
+    """Not every key on the card comes from a widget. Unknown means unjudgeable, and
+    dropping it would hide something the card was asked to show."""
+    assert "mystery" in rows({"mystery": 7})
+
+
+# ── rule 2: an off feature decided nothing ──────────────────────────────────
+
+def test_a_setting_under_a_disabled_toggle_is_not_printed(defaults):
+    """The one that was reported: a region-sharpening prompt under a disabled sharpener."""
+    assert rows({"detail_targets": "the hands, the face"}) == {}
+
+
+def test_the_same_setting_is_printed_once_its_feature_is_on(defaults):
+    got = rows({"segmented_detailing": True, "detail_targets": "the hands, the face"})
+    assert got["detail_targets"] == "the hands, the face"
+    assert "segmented_detailing" in got
+
+
+def test_a_default_value_under_an_enabled_toggle_is_still_dropped(defaults):
+    """The two rules are independent: on does not make a default worth printing."""
+    got = rows({"context_windows": True, "context_window_overlap": 40})
+    assert "context_window_overlap" not in got
+
+
+def test_a_chain_of_owners_is_walked_to_the_end(defaults):
+    """v2a_grad_scale belongs to joyai_audio_memory, which belongs to joyai_memory. An
+    owner that is itself off takes everything under it with it."""
+    assert rows({"joyai_audio_memory": True, "v2a_grad_scale": 0.5}) == {}
+    got = rows({"joyai_memory": True, "joyai_audio_memory": True, "v2a_grad_scale": 0.5})
+    assert "v2a_grad_scale" in got
+
+
+def test_an_owner_matched_by_value_not_by_truthiness(defaults):
+    """h3_gain_mode is a combo: 'manual' switches its dials on, 'learned' does not — and
+    'learned' is a perfectly truthy string."""
+    assert rows({"h3_video_detail": 1.4}) == {}
+    assert "h3_video_detail" in rows({"h3_gain_mode": "manual", "h3_video_detail": 1.4})
+
+
+def test_a_cycle_in_the_table_does_not_hang(monkeypatch, defaults):
+    monkeypatch.setitem(sc._OWNED_BY, "a", ("b", None))
+    monkeypatch.setitem(sc._OWNED_BY, "b", ("a", None))
+    assert sc._live_rows({"a": 1, "b": 1}, "X") is not None
+
+
+# ── the table matches the Editor it was copied from ─────────────────────────
+
+def test_the_ownership_table_is_the_editors_own():
+    """The Editor hides a knob whose feature is off; the card must hide the same ones. Two
+    copies of one rule in two languages, so the test regenerates this one from that one."""
+    src = (FRONTEND / "engine_settings.js").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    found = {}
+    for name, body in re.findall(r'\{\s*name:\s*"([a-z0-9_]+)"(.*?)\n\s*(?=\{ name:|\];)',
+                                 src, re.S):
+        m = re.search(r'dependsOn:\s*"([a-z0-9_]+)"(?:,\s*dependsValue:\s*"([^"]*)")?', body)
+        if m:
+            found[name] = (m.group(1), m.group(2))
+    assert found, "no dependsOn rows parsed — the parser, not the table, is what broke"
+    assert found == sc._OWNED_BY
+
+
+# ── the sections it feeds ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def test_an_empty_section_is_dropped_rather_than_printed_bare(defaults):
+    out = sc._sampling_sections({}, {"cfg": 1.0})
+    assert not [s for s in out if s["title"] == "Chain Sampler"]
+
+
+def test_a_section_with_something_to_say_survives(defaults):
+    out = sc._sampling_sections({}, {"cfg": 3.5})
+    chain = next(s for s in out if s["title"] == "Chain Sampler")
+    assert chain["rows"] == [("cfg", "3.5")]
+
+
+def test_defaults_are_read_off_the_node_not_copied_here():
+    """A default copied into this file is one more thing to keep in step with the node."""
+    import inspect
+    src = inspect.getsource(sc._node_defaults)
+    assert "INPUT_TYPES()" in src