HEVC hardware support being removed from Dell, HP, Lenovo and more
About a month ago I began to see various posts on sites like Reddit (examples here, here and here) with people having issues playing back HEVC or H265 encoded media content. Reports were stating that even though their CPU or iGPU supported hardware decoding of this content, it would not play correctly or be met with a ‘white screen’ while attempting to play inside a browser window.
After seeing more and more reporting, I decided to dig in to see what could be causing this. And speaking to a few experts in the field and doing some of my own testing, unfortunately it appears like device manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Lenovo are actively starting to block HEVC/H265 support at the firmware level.
What is HEVC?
HEVC or H265 is a proprietary video codec that is a successor to AVC or H264, which is also a proprietary codec. And by proprietary, I mean that these codecs are covered by several hundred patents and require complex licensing to use and distribute, depending on how it is being used.
In simple terms, a codec allows compression of video to reduce file size and keep as close to ‘source’ quality as possible, using specific algorithms to do this. You can read more about the HEVC codec here.
Because HEVC is a direct successor of AVC/H264, it is widely used by the patent holders (including DVD/Bluray players and other embedded devices) which means it can be in websites, video players, etc, which is where this problem starts to come to light.
Why disable it?
As previously mentioned, the H265 codec is proprietary and covered by hundreds of patents. These patents are controlled by license ‘pools’ which have different licensing terms. And in this case, one of the major licensors (Via-La - and others) had adjusted some rates starting October 1 of this year, with another price increase starting on January 1, 2026. This increase will see the cost raise per device from $0.20 to $0.24 (or a $0.04 increase) for more than 100,001 devices sold.
While this increase does not seem like much, if you are an OEM like Dell or HP, this can mean a few million dollars extra per year, per model. However, on the flip side, when a manufacturer like Dell brings in $95 billion per year (Y2025 figures), this seems like an anti-consumer move.
Licensing mess
And this is where things get messy. Licensing these codecs can be per device, per software, or many other combinations of who is viewing the content or who is selling the content. In this case, the OEM (like Dell) is purchasing the license which allows the OS to use the hardware features of the CPU/iGPU. If they do not purchase a license, it falls on whichever software is running on the device to purchase that particular license.
In Microsoft’s case, it does not purchase a license for HEVC in Windows either, which is why if your hardware manufacturer did not include the license for the physical model, you can purchase your own consumer license on the Microsoft Store for $0.99 so you can play HEVC encoded files. And while this will allow you to play media in software like Windows Media Player, there are still limitations in things like browsers or streaming applications like Netflix, which can leave consumers frustrated.
Why block it?
We’ve reached out to both Dell and HP asking the question of why they block it instead of just relying on the OS and received no response from them, so we can only make assumptions here. It could be that part of the licensing terms have changed and possibly opened them up to potential lawsuits if they didn’t outright block the use. Or it could just be them pushing back against the cost increase by outright disabling it. We don’t know for sure. (Ed note: If someone reading this does have this information, please reach out to me.)
Also keep in mind this is not a simple software block - it appears that the codecs are being blocked in ACPI tables embedded in the device’s firmware (UEFI/BIOS). ACPI tells the OS what hardware features are available, and if they remove or block HEVC from being reported, the software (in this case, the OS) doesn’t know the hardware even has the capability to decode it, even if the actual hardware in the system does support it.
We determined this by installing Linux and seeing that hardware decode for H256 was still available, even on a system where Windows had it blocked. Since Linux doesn’t use every entry in ACPI tables, the logical conclusion is this is where device OEMs have it removed or blocked. This also makes sense since installing a non-OEM Windows image sees HEVC continue not to report hardware acceleration.
End result for consumers
Ultimately this will lead to a poorer user experience for consumers. In our tests, systems with these codecs disabled can only use software decode/encode, which means browsers serving H265 content will show a ‘white’ or ‘blank’ screen. Opening a standalone file such as an MP4 that has been encoded with H265 will also throw an error message saying the codec is not available and the file won’t play. Understandably, users will become frustrated as to why their content cannot be played and try to find answers.
What can you do?
Below is a non-exhaustive list of how you can still play HEVC content even if it has been blocked on your system in firmware:
HEVC Video Extensions on the Microsoft Store is available to purchase which grants your device a license. However, according to Dell, it still won’t permit playing certain content that may require hardware security support (like streaming services or browser playback).
Use a 3rd party video player like VLC or Screenbox which embed popular codecs within the player, allowing you to use either software or hardware decoding.
Download a codec pack like K-Lite which includes many popular and legacy media codecs.
Disable hardware acceleration in your browser, which will force software decoding if attempting to play a HEVC file (note that this may not work if there are any DRM tied to the video, which some streaming services use).
Install Linux. Since Linux does not use all available ACPI tables that Windows might, our tests show that Linux will still allow hardware acceleration for HEVC as long as the hardware supports it.
Purchase a different PC model. Before purchasing a PC, check with the device manufacturer for clarification if they disable HEVC. If you have access to a device before purchasing, run a tool like DXVA Checker, which will show all available hardware encode/decode options available to Windows.
If you are encoding videos, use an open-source alternative like AV1 or VP9.
Technical notes:
For a full list of supported codecs in Windows: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/codecs-in-media-player-d5c2cdcd-83a2-4805-abb0-c6888138e456
It appears as though the ‘block’ only applies to systems that do not have discrete graphics card (think Intel processors with integrated ARC graphics, or iGPU).