Sonarr Prefer X265 Access

The standard in the scene is shifting. While x264 has been the gold standard for years, x265 (HEVC) is the future of media compression.

However, Sonarr does not have a simple checkbox for "Prefer x265." Instead, it uses a sophisticated scoring system based on Custom Formats. This guide will teach you how to set that up properly.

A common mistake users make is creating a restriction that simply looks for the word "x265" in the release title. sonarr prefer x265

The Problem: Scene groups know users look for "x265." Because x265 is highly compressible, bad actors often take a low-quality 700MB x264 file, re-encode it to x265, and shrink it to 200MB. They label it "Bluray x265," but it looks like a pixelated mess.

The Solution: You must prefer x265 from reputable sources and at reasonable bitrates. You want encoder transparency, not just file size reduction. We will achieve this using Release Profiles and Custom Formats. The standard in the scene is shifting

| Quality | x264 size (typical) | x265 size | Saving | |-----------------|--------------------|-----------|--------| | 1080p Web-DL | ~2–4 GB/ep | ~1–2 GB | 40–50% | | 1080p BluRay | ~6–10 GB/ep | ~3–5 GB | 40–50% | | 4K HDR | ~12–20 GB/ep | ~6–10 GB | 45–55% |

Result: You can store almost twice as many episodes for the same disk space. However, Sonarr does not have a simple checkbox

If you want to be precise and avoid bad quality x265 releases, the community standard is to use the TRaSH Guides custom formats. They offer a pre-made JSON collection that is superior to manual creation.

HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) is roughly 50% more efficient than H.264. A 45-minute TV episode in high-bitrate 1080p x264 might be 2.5GB. The same quality in x265? 1.2GB.

For a 10-season series, that is the difference between 300GB and 140GB. If you are running a Plex or Jellyfin server for remote friends, x265 is the only way to scale without buying a 12-bay NAS.

x265 requires significantly more processing power to decode.