for users of vlc;
so vlc package now is split into multiple plugin packages. only the packages belonging to the vlc-plugins-base are installed by default. it mostly consists of audio codecs only. for video you need to add/install packages as necessary. the shortest route is to install vlc-plugins-all met-package which installs all vlc plugins. FYI it is not quite bad space consumption wise;
vlc-plugins-all
$ sudo pacman -Syu vlc-plugins-all
:: Synchronizing package databases…
core is up to date
extra is up to date
multilib is up to date
:: Starting full system upgrade…
resolving dependencies…
looking for conflicting packages…
Package (60) New Version Net Change Download Size
extra/aribb25 0.2.7-3 0.09 MiB 0.03 MiB
extra/confuse 3.3-4 0.14 MiB 0.04 MiB
extra/ftgl 2.4.0-3 2.28 MiB 0.31 MiB
extra/libcddb 1.3.2-7 0.15 MiB 0.04 MiB
extra/libftdi 1.5-7 0.51 MiB 0.12 MiB
extra/libusb-compat 0.1.8-2 0.04 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/lirc 1:0.10.2-5 3.69 MiB 1.15 MiB
extra/live-media 2025.05.24-1 2.51 MiB 0.53 MiB
extra/projectm 3.1.12-5 25.94 MiB 2.13 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-aalib 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-aom 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-archive 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-aribb24 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-aribb25 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-ass 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-avahi 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-bluray 3.0.21-26 0.07 MiB 0.03 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-caca 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-cddb 3.0.21-26 0.06 MiB 0.03 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-chromecast 3.0.21-26 0.15 MiB 0.07 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-dca 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-dvb 3.0.21-26 0.42 MiB 0.18 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-dvd 3.0.21-26 0.08 MiB 0.04 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-ffmpeg 3.0.21-26 0.27 MiB 0.09 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-firewire 3.0.21-26 0.04 MiB 0.02 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-fluidsynth 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-freetype 3.0.21-26 0.07 MiB 0.04 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-gme 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-gstreamer 3.0.21-26 0.04 MiB 0.02 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-jack 3.0.21-26 0.04 MiB 0.02 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-kate 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-kwallet 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-libsecret 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-lirc 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-live555 3.0.21-26 0.06 MiB 0.03 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-mad 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-matroska 3.0.21-26 0.44 MiB 0.18 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-mdns 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-modplug 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-mpeg2 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-mtp 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-musepack 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-nfs 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-notify 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-quicksync 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-samplerate 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-sdl 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-sftp 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-smb 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-soxr 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-srt 3.0.21-26 0.04 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-svg 3.0.21-26 0.03 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-udev 3.0.21-26 0.02 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-upnp 3.0.21-26 0.06 MiB 0.03 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-x264 3.0.21-26 0.09 MiB 0.02 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-x265 3.0.21-26 0.01 MiB 0.01 MiB
extra/vlc-plugin-zvbi 3.0.21-26 0.12 MiB 0.05 MiB
extra/vlc-plugins-extra 3.0.21-26 0.05 MiB 0.02 MiB
extra/vlc-plugins-visualization 3.0.21-26 0.11 MiB 0.04 MiB
extra/vlc-plugins-all 3.0.21-26 0.00 MiB 0.00 MiB
Total Download Size: 5.61 MiB
Total Installed Size: 38.15 MiB
but not so much bloatwise since now there is possbility to reduce bloat, if you dare. for those i found installing merely these plugins enough;
sudo pacman -S --asdeps vlc-plugin-ffmpeg vlc-plugin-aribb24 vlc-plugin-matroska vlc-plugin-srt vlc-plugin-svg
would like to know your input as to any plugins required i have missed.
addendum:
you can finally get rid of ffmpeg-4.4, switching to vlc-plugin-gstreamer. however not all codecs seems to work. have clapper also installed which exclusively uses Gstreamer, i have files that it can play but VLC cant play with Gstreamer, but for most things Gstreamer seems to work with OK.
addendum #2;
apart from the plugins i mentioned, you might also need;
vlc-plugin-freetype (a better OSD/subtitile text renderer),
vlc-plugin-archive (for VLSub to work)