HP and Dell disable HEVC support built into their laptops’ CPUs

HP and Dell have disabled HEVC/H.265 hardware decoding on certain business laptops despite the CPUs supporting it, with HP explicitly flagging the limitation in datasheets for models including the ProBook 460 G11, ProBook 465 G11 and EliteBook 665 G11 while Dell is less transparent (the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1, for example, omits mention on its product page). The restriction prevents native HEVC playback in browsers—forcing administrators and users to remove codecs or disable hardware acceleration as workarounds, which in turn degrades features such as background blur in conferencing apps and overall system performance. For enterprise buyers and IT teams this raises potential support and user-experience complications around streaming and collaboration workflows, and Dell’s limited disclosure could increase troubleshooting and warranty friction.

Analysis

Dell and HP have disabled HEVC/H.265 hardware decoding on certain business notebooks despite sixth‑generation Intel Core processors and AMD laptop chips (since 2015) providing native support. HP expressly flags the limitation in datasheets for ProBook 460 G11, ProBook 465 G11 and EliteBook 665 G11, while Dell’s disclosure is fragmentary—the Dell 16 Plus 2‑in‑1 omits mention and the restriction is only visible on a general support page.

The restriction prevents native HEVC playback in web browsers and forces IT teams to either remove the Microsoft Store HEVC codec or disable browser hardware acceleration; reported consequences include loss of background blurring in conferencing apps and significantly degraded system performance. These workarounds create clear user‑experience and support burdens for enterprise deployments and could increase troubleshooting and operational costs.

Market signals show moderately negative sentiment (−0.4) with outsized negativity for Dell (−0.6) and HP (−0.4), while Intel and AMD show small positive sentiment (0.2) and Microsoft is slightly negative (−0.1). With a market impact score of 0.28, this is primarily a reputational/support‑cost issue for OEMs; investors should monitor disclosures, firmware/driver fixes, and enterprise procurement feedback as leading indicators.

Key Decisions for Investors

• It may be prudent to limit new long exposure to DELL until the company clarifies disclosure practices and issues firmware/driver remediation given the −0.6 sentiment and potential enterprise support risk
• Maintain cautious exposure to HPQ and wait for clear remediation timelines and customer feedback on affected ProBook and EliteBook models before increasing position size