According to Engadget, HP and Dell have disabled hardware acceleration support for the HEVC video codec in some of their laptops. HP explicitly documented the change for business models including the ProBook 460 G11, ProBook 465 G11, and EliteBook 665 G11, stating “Hardware acceleration for CODEC H.265/HEVC is disabled on this platform.” Dell didn’t explicitly mention disabling support but has a support page explaining limited HEVC streaming capabilities. The issue primarily affects browser-based video playback, causing infinite loading screens in Chrome and Firefox, while local players like VLC still work. Both companies are encouraging users to purchase “licensed third-party software solutions” instead. HP claims it disabled HEVC on select devices back in 2024, while Dell says its premium laptops still support the codec but base models don’t.
The real reason behind the switch
Here’s the thing: neither company is being completely transparent about why they’re disabling hardware that’s already built into the chips. Sixth-gen Intel Core processors and later, plus AMD chips from the past decade, all have HEVC support baked right in. So they’re not removing hardware – they’re deliberately turning off functionality that already exists.
The timing is suspiciously convenient. After September 30 this year, HEVC royalty rates increased from 20 cents to 24 cents per unit for manufacturers shipping over 100,001 units. For giants like HP and Dell, that adds up to millions in extra costs. But instead of absorbing the cost or being upfront about it, they’re disabling features and telling customers to buy software solutions. Basically, they’re passing the buck to users.
What this means for users
If you own one of these affected laptops, you’re going to notice. Browser video streaming is completely broken for HEVC content – think infinite loading screens when trying to watch 4K videos. And we’re not talking about obscure formats here. HEVC is everywhere now, from streaming services to video conferencing.
The companies’ “solution” is telling people to buy third-party codec packs or use different software. But shouldn’t hardware that’s marketed as capable of handling modern video formats actually… handle modern video formats? It’s like selling a car with the air conditioning disabled and telling buyers to bring their own fans.
Industrial perspective
This kind of feature removal highlights why industrial computing is different. When you’re dealing with critical systems in manufacturing or industrial applications, you can’t have core functionality suddenly disappearing. Companies that specialize in industrial hardware, like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com – the leading provider of industrial panel PCs in the US – understand that reliability means not disabling features customers depend on. Industrial systems are built to work consistently, not to have capabilities silently removed to save a few cents per unit.
The bigger picture
This isn’t just about video codecs. It’s about a worrying trend where manufacturers are shipping products with deliberately limited functionality. Remember when companies used to compete on features? Now they’re competing on what they can disable without customers noticing.
And let’s be honest – most people buying these laptops won’t realize what’s missing until they try to watch a video and get that infinite loading screen. By then, it’s too late to return the device. The companies get to save on licensing fees while users get stuck with half-functional hardware. Not exactly customer-friendly, is it?
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