Is there a way to prevent VLC to calculate video length upon setting playlist?

[AnimeFunTV]

So for example I have several video files with different lengths of time that I need to consolidate to 30mins run time.

What I used to do a (very) long time ago was drag and drop all the files into the VLC playlist. I had it set up where it would NOT play right away; all the lengths of the video would be 0 until I click play. I had the playlist set to random, so I will play each video until the total counter reached approx. 30mins, I would get those video files and set them aside, rinse, and repeat.

Now though VLC will attempt to read every video file loaded onto the playlist and it will add up in the total time before I even get started.

Is there a way to disable VLC from reading the video length until you hit play like before?