The developers of the VideoLan project have issued a warning to users regarding a recent regression affecting the Windows platform 11. This regression presents itself as a 30-second freeze before playback begins for certain file types, such as MP3. The root cause of this issue has been identified as an error in the Microsoft Defender application, which emerged after the installation of the latest Windows 11 update. The error led to the quarantining of the directory containing the VLC plugin cache.
To address this problem and eliminate the freezes, users are advised to re-install VLC, as well as clear or regenerate the plugin cache using the command “vlc –reset-plugins-cache”. Another solution is to add vlc.exe to the list of exceptions in Microsoft Defender. By taking these steps, users can ensure a smoother playback experience on Windows 11.