diff --git a/av/codec/codec.py b/av/codec/codec.py
index 806190d13..82f5a4bda 100644
--- a/av/codec/codec.py
+++ b/av/codec/codec.py
@@ -245,9 +245,8 @@ def hardware_configs(self):
                 break
             ret.append(wrap_hwconfig(ptr))
             i += 1
-        ret = tuple(ret)
-        self._hardware_configs = ret
-        return ret
+        self._hardware_configs = tuple(ret)
+        return self._hardware_configs
 
     @property
     def properties(self):