diff --git a/libmpcodecs/ve_lavc.c b/libmpcodecs/ve_lavc.c
index d50776e697..b9f661a1e7 100644
--- a/libmpcodecs/ve_lavc.c
+++ b/libmpcodecs/ve_lavc.c
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ static int lavc_param_vbitrate = -1;
 static int lavc_param_vrate_tolerance = 1024*8;
 static int lavc_param_vhq = 0; /* default is realtime encoding */
 static int lavc_param_v4mv = 0;
-static int lavc_param_vme = 3;
+static int lavc_param_vme = 4;
 static int lavc_param_vqscale = 0;
 static int lavc_param_vqmin = 3;
 static int lavc_param_vqmax = 15;