HEVC/H.265 video file in folder causes "Preview unavailable for this file" for all files

[Pacman0]

Issue: When attempting to import video files if there is a HEVC/H.265 encoded file in the folder being viewed, all video files (including H.264) will not be viewable or importable and just show the error "Preview unavailable for this file".

LrC version: 13.2

Mac OS version: Sonoma 14.3.1

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open LrC
2. Click on the Import... button
3. Navigate to the folder with the files

Expected result: LrC should show the video file previews and allow import of the files.

Actual result: If there are only H.264 files in the folder, all files preview and import correctly.  If there is a mix of both H.264 and H.265, or only H.265, all videos files show the error "Preview unavailable for this file".

Additional observation: If I try importing a folder with H.265 files in it, which will fail with the same error, then exit out of the import dialog and then try importing again and open a folder with only H.264 files, they will only show the error message.  If I then restart LrC and try importing on the folder with only H.264 files again, they preview and import properly.  So once the error is caused by attempting to preview a H.265 file, LrC must be restarted in order to view the previews for the H.264 files.

Files were captured with Fujifilm cameras.  Tested with models X-T3, X-H2S, and X100VI.  Files/folders are available here.

[Sameer K]

Hey, @Pacman0. I'll help you figure this out. I've tested this on two Windows 11 & 10 and two macOS machines (Intel & Apple Silicone) running macOS 14.3.1 with LrC 13.2, and I couldn't recreate this & Lightroom behaved as expected.

It could be a more significant number of videos that cause this behavior. Try these steps:

• Go to Lightroom Classic (CMD +,) > Preferences > Performance > Video Cache Settings > Remove or increase the limit on Video caches & purge existing caches. 
• Ensure Lightroom Classic has the required permissions on the macOS: https://adobe.ly/3IJGAez

Restart your computer, and let me know if that works.

Thanks!
Sameer K

[Pacman0]

Thanks for helping with this Sameer.

I found that the Video cache limit setting was on and set to 3.0Gb.  I purged that and then unchecked the option. I then verified that LrC has all the correct permissions and restarted.  Still have the same issue.  Let me know next steps.

[Pacman0]

Just a follow up on this.  It looks like this is no longer an issue with later versions of LR - I am on 14.1.1 right now and using the same test files with a mix of H.264 and H.265 no longer presents a problem in LR.  So I am guessing that either Adobe fixed the issue at some point or Apple did with one of their OS updates (currently on Sequoia 15.2).