HP and Dell cheap out on HEVC support
HP and Dell have disabled hardware acceleration for the HEVC/H.265 codec on a range of newer business laptops, even though the processors inside these systems support HEVC in hardware. Users started to notice that HEVC video would no longer play in web browsers, despite working in dedicated media players. In many cases the only workaround is to buy a software HEVC codec or rely on CPU-based decoding, which can hurt battery life and performance.
HP confirms that hardware HEVC support is disabled on devices such as the ProBook 600 G11, 400 G11 and 200 G9 lines.
In 2024, HP disabled the HEVC (H.265) codec hardware on select devices, including the 600 Series G11, 400 Series G11, and 200 Series G9 products. Customers requiring the ability to encode or decode HEVC content on one of the impacted models can utilize licensed third-party software solutions that include HEVC support. Check with your preferred video player for HEVC software support.
— HP spokesperson
Dell takes a similar approach, keeping HEVC hardware playback on premium systems or configurations with discrete GPUs, 4K panels, Dolby Vision or bundled playback software, while disabling it on standard and entry-level machines.
HEVC video playback is available on Dell’s premium systems and in select standard models equipped with hardware or software, such as integrated 4K displays, discrete graphics cards, Dolby Vision, or Cyberlink BluRay software. On other standard and base systems, HEVC playback is not included, but users can access HEVC content by purchasing an affordable third-party app from the Microsoft Store. For the best experience with high-resolution content, customers are encouraged to select systems designed for 4K or high-performance needs.
— Dell spokesperson
Arstechnica explains that the core problem is that HEVC is not a royalty-free format. Licensing administrator Access Advance will raise HEVC royalties in January 2026 from 20 to 24 cents per HEVC-enabled SoC once volumes pass 100,001 units. For vendors shipping tens of millions of PCs per quarter, that adds up to millions of dollars in extra fees. Similar cost and licensing pressure has already led other companies, such as Synology, to strip HEVC support from some products.
For users, this is a clear signal to favor royalty-free codecs such as AV1, and the upcoming AV2, whenever possible. Most recent Intel, AMD and NVIDIA GPUs already include AV1 hardware decode, and streaming platforms are rolling it out at scale. At the same time, PC makers pour marketing into AI features while quietly cutting back on media capabilities that people actually rely on every day. When shopping for a new laptop, buyers should check codec support, look for AV1 hardware decode in the specifications, and factor that into their purchase decisions.
Source: Arstechnica