This guide will show you exactly how to bend Sonarr to your will. We will cover advanced Custom Formats, scoring systems, and a "prefer/upgrade to x265" workflow that automates your library conversion. Before we dive into the code, a word of caution. If you set Sonarr to strictly require x265, you will miss downloads.
Many older or niche TV shows are only available in x264. New episodes often appear in x264 first (due to faster encoding speeds), with x265 releases following hours later.
Enter (HEVC). This video codec offers roughly double the compression efficiency of the aging x264 (H.264). Switching your downloads to x265 can save you terabytes of space without sacrificing visual quality. sonarr prefer x265
Therefore, the goal is —not outright exclusion. We want Sonarr to grab x264 to satisfy "Missing" episodes immediately, but constantly scan for an x265 upgrade to replace the bloated file. The Core Concept: Custom Formats To prioritize x265, you must ignore the "Quality" settings (Bluray, WebDL, HDTV) and focus on Custom Formats .
Go to → Profiles (or Quality Profiles ). Select the profile you use for TV shows (e.g., "HD - 1080p" or "4K"). This guide will show you exactly how to
Click . You now have a detector. Step 2: The Scoring Strategy (Crucial) To make Sonarr "prefer" x265, we need to assign it a positive score. However, we must also ensure that x265 doesn't break your quality standards.
In the world of home media servers, storage space is the ultimate luxury. As we curate 4K remuxes, complete TV series box sets, and high-bitrate Blu-ray rips, it’s alarmingly easy to fill a 20TB array. If you set Sonarr to strictly require x265,
"name": "✅ x265 / HEVC (Prefer)", "includeCustomFormatWhenRenaming": false, "specifications": [ "name": "x265 or HEVC", "implementation": "ReleaseTitleSpecification", "negate": false, "required": false, "fields": "value": "(?i)\\b(x , "name": "Not x264", "implementation": "ReleaseTitleSpecification", "negate": true, "required": false, "fields": "value": "\\b(x ]