HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) is a video compression standard that offers better compression efficiency than H.264/AVC. However, HEVC is not natively supported by all media players, including VLC. To play HEVC-encoded videos in VLC, you need to install the HEVC codec.

Find and set it to Automatic or Direct3D11 Video Acceleration . Click Save and restart VLC.

If you’ve ever tried to play a 4K video or a modern MKV file only to be met with a stuttering mess or a "Codec not supported" error, you’ve hit the HEVC wall. High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), also known as H.265, is the industry standard for high-quality, low-bandwidth video.

If your HEVC files are on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or USB 2.0: