Sonarr Prefer X265 ~upd~

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.

Scroll down to the section at the bottom of the profile window. Locate your newly created x265 / HEVC format. In the Score column, enter a positive value, such as 100 .

Prevent Sonarr from grabbing files that are too small to maintain acceptable visual quality: Go to > Media Management . Enable Advanced Settings at the top of the page. Scroll down to the File Size Limits section.

Click the "+" button to add a new custom format. Give it a meaningful name, such as "x265 Preferred." Then add a condition by clicking "Add Condition" and selecting as the condition type. sonarr prefer x265

Setting up a fully automated media server is a rite of passage for cord-cutters. However, as your library grows from dozens of shows to hundreds, you will inevitably hit a wall: storage capacity. High-definition x264 releases are beautiful, but they eat up gigabytes of data at an alarming rate.

Go to → Indexers → Size Limits :

: TRaSH generally recommends against x265, arguing that many release groups produce low-quality x265 encodes that sacrifice too much visual fidelity for file size reduction. A 1080p x264 encode with proper bitrate is often superior to a poorly done x265 mini-encode. Let’s look at actual savings

Configuring Sonarr to prefer x265 represents the "smart" way to manage a growing media empire. It balances the desire for high-definition 1080p or 4K content with the reality of finite storage resources. By mastering Custom Formats and ensuring hardware compatibility, a Sonarr user can build a lean, high-performance library that looks spectacular without breaking the bank on storage.

Sonarr adds up all the scores. A release tagged x265 gets +100. A release tagged x264 gets 0. An x265 release with DTS-HD (which you might score at +50) gets 150.

x265 (HEVC) offers ~50% better compression than x264 at the same quality, saving significant storage space. However, it’s more computationally demanding to play back – fine on modern devices, but problematic on older hardware or Plex/Jellyfin without GPU transcoding. Scroll down to the section at the bottom

. Here is how to set it up so Sonarr always hunts for those space-saving encodes. Why Prefer x265? Massive Storage Savings

While x265 is highly efficient, its popularity has led to an influx of low-quality automated encodes on public and private trackers. Some release groups heavily compress files to absurdly small sizes (e.g., a 150MB 1080p episode), resulting in severe visual artifacts, color banding, and muddy dark scenes.

Not all x265 encodes are created equal. "Mini-encodes" (very small files) can sometimes have lower visual fidelity than a high-bitrate x264 file. 💡 Pro-Tip: Use Trash Guides