According to Ars Technica, HP and Dell have disabled built-in HEVC hardware decoding on several popular business laptop models including HP’s ProBook 460 G11, ProBook 465 G11, and EliteBook 665 G11, plus Dell’s 16 Plus 2-in-1. This affects laptops with sixth-generation Intel Core and later processors that natively support HEVC decoding, along with AMD chips dating back to 2015. The companies aren’t explaining their reasoning, but the timing coincides with HEVC licensing costs increasing from $0.20 to $0.24 per unit in January 2025 for volumes over 100,001 units. HP sold 15,002,000 laptops and desktops in Q3 2025 while Dell sold 10,166,000, making the licensing costs substantial. Users are experiencing broken video playback in browsers and degraded performance in conference apps without hardware acceleration.
Licensing costs drive feature removal
Here’s the thing: this isn’t really about technical limitations. These laptops have processors with perfectly capable HEVC hardware decoding built right in. Intel’s documentation confirms their graphics processors support HEVC, and AMD has been including this capability since 2015. So why disable something that’s already there? Basically, it comes down to money. With HEVC royalty rates jumping 20% in January, we’re talking about millions in additional licensing fees for companies moving this kind of volume. But is saving a quarter per laptop worth breaking core functionality that users expect?
User frustration and workarounds
The Reddit threads are filled with system administrators tearing their hair out. One admin noted that people with older hardware weren’t having problems, while those with new $800+ “Pro” machines needed to either remove the HEVC codec entirely or disable hardware acceleration in browsers. And that causes a cascade of other issues – no background blur in conference calls, degraded system performance, the whole experience just falls apart. It’s particularly frustrating because this information isn’t clearly disclosed during purchase. Dell’s product page for the 16 Plus 2-in-1 makes no mention of HEVC limitations, burying the details in general support documentation.
Broader industry implications
This isn’t just a laptop problem – we’re seeing similar moves across the industry. Synology recently dropped HEVC support from its NAS devices, arguing that support is “widespread on end devices.” But when manufacturers start disabling that widespread support, the whole argument falls apart. For businesses that rely on consistent hardware performance across their fleet, this creates massive headaches. And for industrial applications where reliable video processing is critical, companies need to be extra careful about their hardware choices. That’s why many turn to specialized suppliers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading provider of industrial panel PCs in the US that guarantee full codec support for professional applications.
What’s next for video codecs
So where does this leave us? Companies are clearly trying to avoid HEVC licensing costs, but they’re doing it in the most customer-hostile way possible. Instead of being transparent or absorbing the minimal cost increase, they’re disabling hardware that’s already built in. The result? Users have to either buy third-party software solutions or deal with broken functionality. Meanwhile, the Intel community forums are filling up with confused users wondering why their modern hardware can’t handle basic video playback. It’s a mess that could push more developers toward royalty-free alternatives like AV1, but until then, buyers need to read the fine print very carefully.
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