P: LrC 15.5 Video Files Issues (Windows)

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
August 5, 2026
91 replies
2002 views

I updated to LrC 15.5 a few hours ago. Since then LrC has problems with video files. The first problem I noticed was that when I tried to synchronize a folder that had two new video files. After a couple of minutes I got the error message “An unknown error occurred while reading the video file. (2)”. I had just completed those files with DaVinci Resolve so I went back and produced the same files again to check if DR had made an error. When I tried again with the new files but got the same errors. I was able to play both videos without any issue using VLC Media Player, so they seem to be OK. I then shutdown LrC and did a backup including optimizing the catalog, and then restarted it to see if that made any difference, but same error. Then I started looking at other videos that were already in LrC and found that when browsing them in the Library module, most of them pop up a message “There was an error working with the video”. They will not play in LrC but work fine with VLC Media Player.

Prior to upgrading to 15.5 I did not experience any of these errors. Is anyone else seeing these problems?

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J

james23140270kk2n

Participant

Windows 11 25H2, LrC 15.5 (build 202607291506), RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, iPhone HEVC .mov (Main 10, HLG) fails to import/preview, identical files import and play correctly after downgrading to 15.4.1 with the same catalog — and that the files play fine in Windows Media Player, ruling out the OS codec layer.

bon22073626

Participant

Oh yes, I have the same problem. Lightroom Classic 15.5 cannot import iPhone 14 HEVC videos on Windows 10, while H.264 videos import correctly. Together with Copilot I have dug out some more documentation about the problem. Here is the thing:

System

- Windows 10

- Lightroom Classic 15.5

- Intel HD Graphics 630

- Microsoft HEVC Video Extensions installed

- GPU acceleration tested both ON and OFF

Troubleshooting already performed:

- Created a brand-new Lightroom catalog, did not help.

- Reinstalled Lightroom Classic completely

- Installed Microsoft HEVC Video Extensions

- Disabled GPU acceleration

- Tested importing directly from iPhone 14

- Tested importing the same files after copying them to local disk

- Tested VLC and Windows Media Player playback

Results:

1. Canon G7X videos import and play correctly in Lightroom.

2. iPhone 14 videos recorded with:

Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible

import correctly.

3. iPhone 14 videos recorded with:

Settings > Camera > Formats > High Efficiency

fail to import with:

"An unknown error occurred while reading the video file."

4. VLC plays all problematic files without any issues.

5. Windows Media Player also plays all problematic files correctly.

6. When GPU acceleration is set to OFF, Lightroom can display a poster frame/thumbnail from some of the problematic videos, but the videos still cannot be imported or played.

MediaInfo comparison

Working file (IMG_4307)

- AVC / H.264

- 1920x1080

- 30 fps

Imports correctly into Lightroom.

Failing file (IMG_4309)

- HEVC / H.265 Main

- 1920x1080

- 30 fps

Fails to import.

Failing file (IMG_4310)

- HEVC / H.265 Main 10

- HLG

- 1920x1080

- 30 fps

Fails to import.

Additional observation

Historically, iPhone video imports have often been unreliable on this system. Imports were sometimes slow, occasionally required multiple attempts, and some videos ended up with incorrect capture dates in Lightroom even though the file timestamps themselves were correct.

Question

Adobe support documentation states that Lightroom Classic 15.5 on Windows requires "compatible hardware" for HEVC decoding.

Can anyone clarify:

1. Whether Intel HD Graphics 630 should be considered supported hardware for HEVC video import in Lightroom Classic 15.5?

2. Whether this is a known Lightroom issue affecting iPhone-generated HEVC files?

3. Whether anyone has successfully resolved a similar problem without replacing hardware?

I provide MediaInfo screenshots of the three files in question, go back to LRG 15.4.1 and hope that this will be fixed soon.

bon22073626

Participant

Yes!, LrC 15.4.1 imports my problem-causing videos like a breeze. I will switch off automatic installation of updates until Adobe has solved the issue. Thanks for sharing!

E

eddified_work

Participating Frequently

“Adobe support documentation states that Lightroom Classic 15.5 on Windows requires "compatible hardware" for HEVC decoding.”

Interesting, this page: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000037112/graphics.html

… indicates that your Intel HD Graphics 630 does support HEVC decoding.

I have an NVidia 4070 (which is a decent GPU) -- you would totally think it would be enough for HEVC. My known working video was imported correctly in the past, but with 15.5, the known working video will no longer import. This is a regression. All this to say: I’m pretty sure we have a software regression on our hands.

E

eddified_work

Participating Frequently

I’m also having this issue after upgrading to 15.5. Also, I used a brand new empty catalog. I tried importing a known good video that I had imported into Lightroom Classic in the past, from local disk, and it failed to import into the brand new empty catalog. Error: an unknown error occurred while reading the video file

E

eddified_work

Participating Frequently

Details: video from iPhone. HEVC/AAC LC

S

shayb68441784

Inspiring

Just an additional note here.

I manually imported files into my computer and put them into a folder, which was fine. Once they were on my computer and working perfectly, I tried at that point to import them into Lightroom, and it still failed to do so. So that eliminates the chance that any issue having to do with a card reader, a memory card, or a cable. It's not simply just an import problem. It's more like a problem of Lightroom just failing to recognize the files.

I

Icarusjj

Participating Frequently

Problem is with latest 15.5 update, back off to the previous version 15.4.1 and wait for them to fix it. Open the Creative Cloud Desktop, select “Your Apps”, then click on the 3 dots (...) for LIghtroom Classic, other versions, then 15.4.1 and it should work again.

alanw22773867

Participant

Merging as requested. In the Library, I’m trying to play video in Lightroom Classic with the latest updates. I receive an error saying, “There was an error working with the video”. It does this to all videos. I’ve restarted my computer and closed the program and restarted more than once. If I remove the file from Lightroom then try to import it back it says, “Preview unavailable for this file.” When I click import it says “An unknown error occurred while reading the video file (1).” Some videos in other folders work. In more than one folder they do not play. This problem began after I updated the last Lightroom Classic to 15.5 release.

ONE MORE THING I FOUND. The problem seems to be affected by videos produced by using only my Nikon Z8 camera with the .MOV extension, not my other cameras.

alanw22773867

Participant

ONE MORE THING I FOUND. The problem seems to be affected by videos produced by using only my Nikon Z8 camera with the .MOV extension, not my other cameras.

S

shayb68441784

Inspiring

It’s not just MOV files or Nikon. It’s others as well. I can say that mine are both DJI and Sony files which are .mp4 I can also say that my files are h.265 files if that helps anyone. Thea re fine to use and play anywhere in my PC except that LRc won’t import.

johnrellis

Legend

Adobe has acknowledged this problem with videos in LR 15.5 on Windows:

So far, the only known workaround is to roll back to LR 15.4.

johnrellis

Legend

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr_Photography, please merge with this bug report:

https://community.adobe.com/bug-reports-674/p-lrc-15-5-video-files-issues-windows-1635342/index3.html?sort=oldestFirst#comments

alanw22773867

Participant

In the Library, I’m trying to play video in Lightroom Classic with the latest updates. I receive an error saying, “There was an error working with the video”. It does this to all videos. I’ve restarted my computer and closed the program and restarted more than once. If I remove the file from Lightroom then try to import it back it says, “Preview unavailable for this file.” When I click import it says “An unknown error occurred while reading the video file (1).” Some videos in other folders work. In more than one folder they do not play. This problem began after I updated the last Lightroom Classic to 15.5 release.