Sonarr Prefer X265 [better] < 10000+ AUTHENTIC >

Early adopters are already configuring Sonarr to prefer AV1 over x265. You can create custom formats for AV1 using the regex pattern AV1 or aom and assign them higher scores than your x265 format. However, AV1 adoption is still limited—releases are relatively rare, and decoding AV1 requires modern hardware or software decoding that can be demanding on older systems.

The main reasons users configure Sonarr to prefer x265 are:

To set up a Release Profile for x265 preference: sonarr prefer x265

After saving, manually search a popular season. Sonarr will sort x265 releases above x264 if scores are set.

If you want Sonarr to prioritize these space-saving releases automatically, you need to configure its custom formats or release profiles. This guide will walk you through exactly how to make Sonarr prefer x265, step-by-step. Why Prefer x265 in Sonarr? Early adopters are already configuring Sonarr to prefer

Configuring is a powerful way to radically reduce the storage footprint of your media library without sacrificing visual quality. While the process requires a fundamental understanding of how Sonarr's preference logic works—treating codec choices as tiebreakers within quality tiers—the payoff is immense for any home media enthusiast.

: 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. The main reasons users configure Sonarr to prefer

This handbook explains how to configure Sonarr to prefer x265 (HEVC) encodes, manage quality profiles and indexer/filtering rules, automate upgrades, and handle post-processing and storage considerations. It assumes Sonarr v3.x and general familiarity with torrent/nzb clients and indexers. Adjust specific settings to your environment.

Quality Profile: Prefer x265 1080p

To help fine-tune your media library automation, tell me: Are you running ? What streaming devices (like Apple TV, Roku, or Fire Stick) do you use to watch your content? Share public link

The primary driver for using x265 is efficiency. A 1080p TV episode encoded in x264 might take up 2.5 GB. The exact same episode encoded in x265 with identical visual quality might only take up 1.2 GB. Over an entire series, this saves hundreds of gigabytes. 🚀 Better Network Bandwidth