Sonarr Prefer X265 -

Let’s look at actual savings. A standard 1080p x264 episode of Game of Thrones runs approximately 4GB. The same episode in x265 (1080p) runs 1.5GB.

"name": "✅ x265 / HEVC (Prefer)", "includeCustomFormatWhenRenaming": false, "specifications": [

Anime encoders love 10-bit x265. TV scene groups love x264. Use this regex in with a high negative score:

In the same Profile menu, look at the section. Set the Upgrade Until Score to 100 . sonarr prefer x265

"name": "x265 or HEVC", "implementation": "ReleaseTitleSpecification", "negate": false, "required": false, "fields": "value": "(?i)\\b(x ,

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.

Before diving into the settings, it is important to understand the trade-offs of shifting your library to HEVC. The Benefits Let’s look at actual savings

: Not all x265 files are created equal. A 2GB x264 file will often look better than a heavily compressed 300MB x265 file.

Click the icon (the person silhouette) next to an episode. Review the search results list.

Sonarr does not re-download existing files just because a better codec exists. You must use the "Interactive Search" tab and manually select an x265 release, or change your profile to lower the score of your existing x264 files. Set the Upgrade Until Score to 100

One of the most common pitfalls is misunderstanding that a 1080p x264 release will always be preferred over a 720p x265 release. If you want to truly prioritize x265 regardless of quality, you need to group qualities together so they are considered equal.

Go to Settings > Custom Formats . Create a Format for x265: Add a new format and name it "x265/HEVC".

Set the "Upgrade Until Custom Format Score" to your x265 score if you want Sonarr to replace existing x264 files with x265 versions. Click Save . Important: How Scoring Works

Locate the section. This is where we tell Sonarr what terms we like. Click Add and enter x265 , giving it a score of 100 . Click Add again and enter HEVC , giving it a score of 100 . Click Add again and enter h265 , giving it a score of 100 .

Go to Series > [Show Name] > Edit > Monitoring . Select "Only monitor future episodes" or manually delete the x264 file and use the "Re-scan" broom icon.