Dell and HP disable hardware H.265 decoding on select PCs due to rising royalty costs — companies could save big on HEVC royalties, but at the expense of users

Dell and HP have begun to ship some of their PCs with disabled HEVC/H.265 hardware decoding, potentially in a bid to avoid paying royalties to patent holders, reports Ars Technica. The majority of PCs that come with disabled HEVC/H.265 hardware decoding capability are business-oriented entry-level or mainstream machines, whereas premium offerings with high-quality displays come with all the features activated.

Dell and HP confirmed to Ars Technica that a number of their laptops, including Dell’s…