diff --git a/packages/frontend/src/components/admin/VideoUpload.tsx b/packages/frontend/src/components/admin/VideoUpload.tsx
index cb6bacf..e3dca29 100644
--- a/packages/frontend/src/components/admin/VideoUpload.tsx
+++ b/packages/frontend/src/components/admin/VideoUpload.tsx
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export function VideoUpload({ term, onSuccess, onCancel }: VideoUploadProps) {
   const existingVideos = term.media?.filter(m => m.kind === MediaKind.VIDEO) || [];
 
   // Construct full video URL
-  const API_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || 'http://localhost:3000';
+  const API_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL !== undefined ? import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL : 'http://localhost:3000';
   const getVideoUrl = (url: string) => url.startsWith('http') ? url : `${API_URL}${url}`;
 
   const validateFile = (file: File): boolean => {
diff --git a/packages/frontend/src/lib/api.ts b/packages/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
index a81d59a..44152af 100644
--- a/packages/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/packages/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import axios from 'axios';
 
-const API_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || 'http://localhost:3000';
+const API_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL !== undefined ? import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL : 'http://localhost:3000';
 
 export const api = axios.create({
   baseURL: API_URL,
diff --git a/packages/frontend/src/lib/videoPlaylist.ts b/packages/frontend/src/lib/videoPlaylist.ts
index 2fe013a..8993758 100644
--- a/packages/frontend/src/lib/videoPlaylist.ts
+++ b/packages/frontend/src/lib/videoPlaylist.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export function getVideoUrl(relativeUrl: string | null): string | null {
   if (relativeUrl.startsWith('http')) return relativeUrl;
 
   // Construct full URL using backend base URL
-  const baseUrl = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || 'http://localhost:3000';
+  const baseUrl = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL !== undefined ? import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL : 'http://localhost:3000';
   return `${baseUrl}${relativeUrl}`;
 }