Sonarr: Prefer X265

By mastering the system, you can create rules as simple or as complex as your workflow requires. You can set it to prefer, force, or fall back gracefully. Combine this with tools like Tdarr for legacy content, and you have a powerful, storage-optimized media server that you can set and forget.

If you have limited hard drive space or pay for cloud storage (like Google Drive or Dropbox), preferring x265 is a financial necessity. If you have a massive local server with enterprise-grade drives, sticking to x264 may offer slightly better source consistency, but x265 is undoubtedly the future.

Custom Formats work on a scoring system. Sonarr will always choose the release with the highest cumulative score. Go to > Profiles .

Requires more CPU/GPU power to play back. Older smart TVs or low-end streaming sticks may struggle to "Direct Play" these files, causing your server (like Plex) to transcode. 🛠️ How to Set Up Preferences

If you want to fine-tune your x265 preferences, you can use more sophisticated regex patterns or combine conditions. sonarr prefer x265

: The availability of TV shows and movies encoded in x265 can vary. Some content may only be available in x264 or other codecs.

While x265 is superior for storage, there are two things to keep in mind to avoid a "bad" automated experience. Watch Out for "Trash Guides"

Sonarr provides users with the flexibility to configure their download and media management preferences, including the ability to prioritize x265 encodes. By adjusting the settings in Sonarr to prefer x265, users can automate the process of adding x265 versions of their TV shows and movies to their collection. This involves configuring the indexer and download client settings within Sonarr to look for and download x265 encoded files.

Sometimes a smaller x265 file might look worse than a slightly larger x264 file if the encoding settings were poor. By mastering the system, you can create rules

This works, but it treats all x265 releases equally. It scores a 1GB high-quality HEVC release the same as a 150MB junk re-encode.

: HEVC is the industry standard for 4K Ultra HD and HDR content. The Trade-offs

x265 files are typically 30-50% smaller than x264 files at the same perceived quality.

The x265 codec delivers the same visual quality as x264 at roughly half the file size. For automated media management tools like Sonarr, prioritizing this codec ensures a highly efficient library. If you have limited hard drive space or

This isn't because x265 is bad, but because many x265 groups use x264 sources for encoding, resulting in a significant loss of quality. For HD content, a high-quality x264 encode generally provides better visual fidelity than a "microsized" x265 encode derived from a lossy source.

Sonarr can be configured to prefer x265 (HEVC) releases by adjusting quality profiles, tags, indexer/installer behavior, and download client settings. This report explains recommended settings, workflow, potential issues, and testing steps.

: This is one of the most widely used video codecs. It provides a good balance between video quality and file size. However, with the advancement in technology and the increasing demand for higher quality video content, the limitations of x264 have become more apparent, particularly in terms of handling higher resolutions.