Sonarr Prefer X265 Page

x265 (HEVC)

In Sonarr (v3 and v4), you can prefer by using Custom Formats or Release Profiles to assign higher "scores" to those releases . Because Sonarr treats x264 and x265 as the same "Quality" (e.g., both are 1080p), you must use these scoring systems to act as a tiebreaker. 1. Configure Custom Formats (Sonarr v4)

This method uses simple "Must Contain" or "Preferred" logic. sonarr prefer x265

8) Handling Existing Library (Mass-upgrade to x265)

• The Cost: x265 is CPU-intensive to decode. A weak CPU server might struggle to transcode multiple streams simultaneously.

HDR Issues: Many x265 releases contain HDR (High Dynamic Range). If you play HDR content on a non-HDR screen, colors look washed out (grey/purple). You need a player that supports tone-mapping (like Plex with an Nvidia GPU) to fix this automatically.

• Release A (x264): Score = 0
• Release B (x265): Score = 10
• Result: Sonarr picks Release B because 10 > 0.

This review covers the "Why," the "How," and the potential pitfalls of setting up an x265 preference in Sonarr. x265 (HEVC) In Sonarr (v3 and v4), you

Part 5: Hardware Compatibility Warning