Sonarr Prefer X265 -

Unlike "Must Contain" restrictions, which will ignore any release without the keyword, scoring allows Sonarr to grab an x264 file if it's the only one available and then upgrade to x265 later when it's uploaded.

HEVC is the industry standard for 4K and HDR content.

To make Sonarr prefer (HEVC) releases while still allowing it to fall back to other formats, you should use Custom Formats with a positive scoring system. This allows Sonarr to rank releases and automatically upgrade an existing file if a better-scored x265 version appears. Core Implementation Steps sonarr prefer x265

for more advanced filtering, like avoiding low-quality "re-encodes"?

While x264 is excellent for 1080p, it is highly inefficient for 4K UHD content. The x265 codec was built from the ground up to handle high resolutions, 10-bit color depth, and High Dynamic Range (HDR) metadata seamlessly. The Catch: Hardware Compatibility and Transcoding Unlike "Must Contain" restrictions, which will ignore any

To protect yourself, you must combine x265 preference with limits.

existing x264 files to x265 when a matching release becomes available. This allows Sonarr to rank releases and automatically

: High-definition 1080p files that might take up 2GB in x264 can often be compressed to under 800MB in x265.

Now, when Sonarr compares two releases of the same quality (e.g., two 1080p Web-DLs), it will choose the one with the x265 tag because it has a higher custom format score. Method 2: Using Release Profiles (Sonarr v3)