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.
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. sonarr prefer x265
Click → Release Title . Paste the following regex into the Regular Expression box: However, we must also ensure that x265 doesn't
But there is a catch: Sonarr (and its cousin Radarr) does not have a native "I only want x265" button. Without proper configuration, Sonarr will grab the first release that meets its quality profile—usually the more common, larger x264 file. Click → Release Title
Go to → Profiles (or Quality Profiles ). Select the profile you use for TV shows (e.g., "HD - 1080p" or "4K").
"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": \\bavc\\b" ]
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.