: Go to Tools > Preferences > Show settings: All (bottom left corner). Navigate to Input / Codecs > Video codecs > FFmpeg . Find "Skip the loop filter for H.264 decoding" and set it to All or Non-key to reduce CPU load at a slight cost to quality.
Are you experiencing a like "HVC1" when you try to play your files? How to Play HEVC Files in VLC Media Player (2026 Guide) install hevc codec for vlc exclusive
If updating didn't work, your specific version of VLC is likely missing the libx265 decoder file. This is the exclusive fix that forces VLC to handle the codec internally. : Go to Tools > Preferences > Show