Once the format is created, you must assign a numeric value to it within your active Quality Profiles. Go to > Profiles .
The community gold standard for these settings is Trash Guides. They provide pre-made JSON snippets you can import to: Prefer specific high-quality encoders (like or Tigole ). Avoid "fake" or low-quality HEVC releases.
Drag WEBDL-1080p , WebRip-1080p , and Bluray-1080p into a single, combined group if you want codec efficiency to override source differences. Save the profile.
Scroll down to the section at the bottom of the profile window. Locate your newly created x265 / HEVC format. Set the score to 100 . sonarr prefer x265
When it comes to video encoding, codecs play a pivotal role. They determine the quality of the video, file size, and compatibility with different devices. The most commonly used codecs for video encoding are H.264 (also known as x264) and H.265 (known as x265).
Click on the profile you use for your television shows (e.g., HD-1080p or Any ).
However, configuring Sonarr to prefer x265 isn't as simple as flipping a switch. Understanding how Sonarr prioritizes quality and custom formats is essential to get the behavior you desire. This comprehensive guide will walk you through all the methods, pitfalls, and best practices for tuning Sonarr to prefer x265 releases. Once the format is created, you must assign
: Quality supercedes custom format scores. This means Sonarr will always prefer a higher quality release regardless of whether it's x265. A 1080p x264 release will always be chosen over a 720p x265 release, even if you've heavily weighted x265. Custom format scores only act as a tiebreaker when comparing releases of the same quality.
A more hacky but creative approach is to create a Quality Profile that contains only the "Unknown" quality, then use Custom Formats with positive scores to "build up" your desired quality based on resolution and codec. This gives you full control but is less intuitive and may require more trial and error.
: Sonarr first looks at the resolution and source (e.g., Bluray-1080p, WEBDL-1080p, HDTV-720p). A Bluray-1080p file will always replace a WEBDL-1080p file by default, regardless of the codec, because Bluray is ranked higher in the Quality Profile. They provide pre-made JSON snippets you can import
Goal: Ensure Sonarr only accepts the resolutions/bitrates you want, and that cutoff corresponds to the preferred x265 quality.
x265 can provide the same visual quality as x264 at roughly half the file size. This means storing twice as many episodes or movies on the same hard drive.
Some scene groups incorrectly tag non-x265 releases with the word "HEVC" in the description. To be safe, let's create another Custom Format called Not-x264 (we won't use it), but actually, we need an anti-av1 rule.