RAR files opening slowly
VLC for Windows version vlc-3.0.11-win64 opens RAR files very slowly. It seems the archive content is temporarily unpacked before playback starts. The larger the archive, the longer it takes to open, i.e. dependent on system performance (CPU, SSD). The behavior is the same for single RAR file archives and archives spanning several files.
Tested a fresh vlc-3.0.11-win64.7z download, but the problem is the same, so not a settings issue. Also tested vlc-4.0.0-dev-win64-dea199a2, which also has the problem.
Older versions vlc-3.0.9.2-win64 and vlc-3.0.10-win64 do NOT have this problem. Playback starts immediately as these versions seem to read the data directly from the archive.
(Not sure if related or not, but VLC for Mobile iOS version 3.2.11 is not able to open any RAR file from a connected SMB share. Don't know how much of the code is shared here.)