How to setup Quality Profiles
aka How to setup Custom Formats
So what's the best way to setup the Custom Formats and which ones to use with which scores to setup your quality profiles?
There isn't a best setup, it depends on your setup (hardware devices) and your own personal preferences.
Some prefer high quality audio (HD Audio), others high quality video. Many prefer both.
Here I will try to explain how to make the most use of Custom Formats to help you to setup your quality profiles for your personal needs.
I created a flowchart to make your decision/choices easier.
Basics
After you've added the Custom Formats, as explained in How to import Custom Formats. You will need to set it up in the quality Profile you want to use/prefer to make use of the Custom Formats.
Settings => Profiles
Sonarr Custom Formats can be set per profile and isn't global
Select the profile that you want to use/prefer.
- Profile name.
- Allow upgrades. Sonarr will stop upgrading quality once (3) is met.
- Upgrade until the selected quality.
- The
Minimum Custom Format Scoreallowed to download. More Info - Keep upgrading Custom Format until this score is reached. (setting this to
0means no upgrades will happen based on Custom Formats)
At the bottom in your chosen profile you will see the added Custom Formats where you can start setting up the scores.
Screenshot example - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Warning
These screenshots are just examples to show you how it should look and where you need to place the data that you need to add, they aren't always a 100% reflection of the actual data and not always 100% up to date with the actual data you need to add.
- Always follow the data described in the guide.
- If you got any questions or aren't sure just click the chat badge to join the Discord Channel where you can ask your questions directly.
Keep in mind Custom Formats are made to fine tune your Quality Profile.
Generally, quality trumps all
Custom formats are controlled by Quality Profiles.
- The Upgrade Until score prevents upgrading once a release with this desired score has been downloaded.
- A score of 0 results in the custom format being informational only.
- The Minimum score requires releases to reach this threshold otherwise they will be rejected.
- Custom formats that match with undesirable attributes should be given a negative score to lower their appeal.
- Outright rejections should be given a negative score low enough that even if all of the other formats with positive scores were added, the score would still fall below the minimum.
Sonarr v4 current logic
Sonarr v4 current logic - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
As of v4 release the logic is as follows:
The Current logic on how downloads are compared is Quality Trumps All 
- Quality
- Custom Formats
- Protocol
- Episode Count
- Episode Number
- Indexer Priority
- Seeds/Peers (If Torrent)
- Age (If Usenet)
- Size
REPACKS and PROPERs are v2 of Qualities and thus rank above a non-repack of the same quality.
Settings => Media Management => File Management => Proper & Repacks Change to Do Not Prefer and use a preferred word regex of /\b(repack|proper)\b/i
Which Quality Profile should you choose
Which Quality Profile should you choose - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
If you're unsure or have questions do not hesitate to ask for help on Discord
TRaSH Quality Profiles
WEB-1080p
If you prefer 720p/1080p WEBDL (WEB-1080p)
I suggest to follow the following Guides first.
For this Quality Profile we're going to make use of the following Custom Formats with the scores given in the table.
Attention
All the used scores and combination of Custom Formats in this Guide are tested to get the desired results and prevent download loops as much as possible.
From experience most of the time when people change scores or leave out certain CF that work together they end up with undesired results.
If you're unsure or have questions do not hesitate to ask for help on Discord
Unwanted - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| BR-DISK | -10000 | 85c61753df5da1fb2aab6f2a47426b09 |
| LQ | -10000 | 9c11cd3f07101cdba90a2d81cf0e56b4 |
x265 (HD)  |
-10000 | 47435ece6b99a0b477caf360e79ba0bb |
Breakdown and Why
- BR-DISK : This is a custom format to help Sonarr recognize & ignore BR-DISK (ISO's and Blu-ray folder structure) in addition to the standard BR-DISK quality.
- LQ: A collection of known Low Quality groups that are often banned from the the top trackers because the lack of quality or other reasons.
-
x265 (HD): This blocks 720/1080p (HD) releases that are encoded in x265. - More info HERE.
Don't use this together with x265 (no HDR/DV), Only ever include one of them
Misc - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| Repack/Proper | 11 | ec8fa7296b64e8cd390a1600981f3923 |
| Repack v2 | 12 | eb3d5cc0a2be0db205fb823640db6a3c |
| Repack v3 | 13 | 44e7c4de10ae50265753082e5dc76047 |
Proper and Repacks - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
I also suggest to change the Propers and Repacks settings in Sonarr
Media Management => File Management to Do Not Prefer and use the Repack/Proper Custom Format.
This way you make sure the Custom Formats preferences will be used and not ignored.
Streaming Services - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| AMZN | 100 | d660701077794679fd59e8bdf4ce3a29 |
| ATVP | 100 | f67c9ca88f463a48346062e8ad07713f |
| DCU | 75 | 36b72f59f4ea20aad9316f475f2d9fbb |
| DSNP | 90 | 89358767a60cc28783cdc3d0be9388a4 |
| HBO | 75 | 7a235133c87f7da4c8cccceca7e3c7a6 |
| HMAX | 90 | a880d6abc21e7c16884f3ae393f84179 |
| HULU | 85 | f6cce30f1733d5c8194222a7507909bb |
| iT | 75 | 0ac24a2a68a9700bcb7eeca8e5cd644c |
| NF | 90 | d34870697c9db575f17700212167be23 |
| NLZ | 75 | b2b980877494b560443631eb1f473867 |
| PCOK | 85 | 1656adc6d7bb2c8cca6acfb6592db421 |
| PMTP | 75 | c67a75ae4a1715f2bb4d492755ba4195 |
| QIBI | 90 | 3ac5d84fce98bab1b531393e9c82f467 |
| RED | 75 | c30d2958827d1867c73318a5a2957eb1 |
| SHO | 95 | ae58039e1319178e6be73caab5c42166 |
| STAN | 75 | 1efe8da11bfd74fbbcd4d8117ddb9213 |
| VDL | 75 | 5d2317d99af813b6529c7ebf01c83533 |
HQ Source Groups - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| WEB Tier 01 | 1700 | e6258996055b9fbab7e9cb2f75819294 |
| WEB Tier 02 | 1650 | 58790d4e2fdcd9733aa7ae68ba2bb503 |
| WEB Tier 03 | 1600 | d84935abd3f8556dcd51d4f27e22d0a6 |
WEB Scene  |
1800 | d0c516558625b04b363fa6c5c2c7cfd4 |
Info
= The reason why this Custom Format get's such a high score is because it's the only quality scene group that exist (till now) and scene groups don't add the Release Sources (Streaming Services) to their release name so they don't get the extra point of the Streaming Services.
I decided not to add Audio Advanced Custom Formats to the WEB profile, You will hardly find HD audio with WEB-DL (Most newer WEBDL will have Atmos). If you also want HD audio formats I would suggest to go for the Remuxes.
Use the following main settings in your profile.
For some older shows you might want to enable the WEB 720p or even the HDTV 1080p.
Tip
The order listed in the profile matters even if a quality is not checked, for example if you have a 1080p version but wanted the SD version, Radarr will reject all SD results because 1080p is listed higher than SD even though 1080p was not checked.
Qualities at the top of the list will appear first in manual searches.
- Qualities higher in the list are more preferred even if not checked.
- Qualities within the same group are equal.
- Only checked qualities are wanted.
This is why it's recommended to move the selected quality to the top of the list.
Workflow Logic - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
- It will download WEB-DL 1080p. (If you also enabled
WEB 720pand/orHDTV 1080pit will upgrade tillUpgrade Until) - The downloaded media will be upgraded to any of the added Custom Formats until a score of 10000.
So why such a ridiculously high Upgrade Until Custom and not a score of 100?
Because I'm too lazy to calculate the maximum for every Quality Profile I use, and I want it to upgrade to the highest possible score anyway.
WEB-2160p
If you prefer 2160p WEBDL (WEB-2160p)
The only deal breaker with 2160p is when you get them with DV/HDR, 2160p without DV/HDR is a minimal profit.
I suggest to follow the following Guides first.
For this Quality Profile we're going to make use of the following Custom Formats with the scores given in the table.
Attention
All the used scores and combination of Custom Formats in this Guide are tested to get the desired results and prevent download loops as much as possible.
From experience most of the time when people change scores or leave out certain CF that work together they end up with undesired results.
If you're unsure or have questions do not hesitate to ask for help on Discord
HDR Formats - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Dolby Vision is available in several profiles
- Profile 5 (1) - This is what comes with WEB-DL Dolby Vision release without HDR10 fallback.
(Incompatible devices will playback with blown out pinks and greens) - Profile 7 (2) - This is what comes with UHD Bluray Remuxes and UHD BluRay releases.
These files will play on an Nvidia Shield Pro (2019), but on most other players will revert to the HDR10 fallback. - Profile 8 (3) - This is what comes with (Hybrid) WEB-DL releases (HULU), Hybrid UHD Remux and UHD BluRay releases all of which have HDR10 fallback.
This works with several mainstream media players.
- (1) On an AppleTV, these do not reliably play with the Plex app but will work better with the third-party Infuse app. MP4 files tend to work better than MKV files, obviously MKV is preferable because of its support for lossless audio.
It has been confirmed that with the latest beta build of Plex, Profile 5 MKV files now play correctly ! on an AppleTV 4K 1st gen, files are direct streamed (not transcoded) to an MP4 container and play using the native AVPlayer instead of Plex’s MPV. - (2) Neither Infuse nor PLEX for AppleTV will deliver real Dolby Vision with Profile 7/8.
- (3) Neither Infuse nor PLEX for AppleTV will deliver real Dolby Vision with Profile 7/8, And will only play the HDR10 fallback. (although your TV will incorrectly say that it is playing DV)
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| DV HDR10 | 1500 | 7878c33f1963fefb3d6c8657d46c2f0a |
| DV | 1500 | 6d0d8de7b57e35518ac0308b0ddf404e |
| DV HLG | 1500 | 1f733af03141f068a540eec352589a89 |
| DV SDR | 1500 | 27954b0a80aab882522a88a4d9eae1cd |
| HDR10+ | 600 | a3d82cbef5039f8d295478d28a887159 |
| HDR10 | 500 | 3497799d29a085e2ac2df9d468413c94 |
| HDR | 500 | 3e2c4e748b64a1a1118e0ea3f4cf6875 |
| HDR (undefined) | 500 | bb019e1cd00f304f80971c965de064dc |
| PQ | 500 | 2a7e3be05d3861d6df7171ec74cad727 |
| HLG | 500 | 17e889ce13117940092308f48b48b45b |
Tip
If you (or family members you share your collection with) have a setup that doesn't support Dolby Vision then it's best to add ALL the HDR Formats listed above (including ALL the DV ones (with and without HDR in it), It is important to also add the DV (WEBDL) Custom Format with a score of -10000
Unwanted UHD - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| BR-DISK | -10000 | 85c61753df5da1fb2aab6f2a47426b09 |
| LQ | -10000 | 9c11cd3f07101cdba90a2d81cf0e56b4 |
Breakdown and Why
- BR-DISK : This is a custom format to help Sonarr recognize & ignore BR-DISK (ISO's and Blu-ray folder structure) in addition to the standard BR-DISK quality.
- LQ: A collection of known Low Quality groups that are often banned from the the top trackers because the lack of quality or other reasons.
Optional UHD - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
The SDR is a MUST for this Quality Profile
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| SDR | -10000 | 2016d1676f5ee13a5b7257ff86ac9a93 |
Breakdown and Why
- SDR: This will help to prevent to grab UHD/4k releases without HDR Formats.
Misc - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| Repack/Proper | 11 | ec8fa7296b64e8cd390a1600981f3923 |
| Repack v2 | 12 | eb3d5cc0a2be0db205fb823640db6a3c |
| Repack v3 | 13 | 44e7c4de10ae50265753082e5dc76047 |
Proper and Repacks - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
I also suggest to change the Propers and Repacks settings in Sonarr
Media Management => File Management to Do Not Prefer and use the Repack/Proper Custom Format.
This way you make sure the Custom Formats preferences will be used and not ignored.
Streaming Services - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| AMZN | 100 | d660701077794679fd59e8bdf4ce3a29 |
| ATVP | 100 | f67c9ca88f463a48346062e8ad07713f |
| DCU | 75 | 36b72f59f4ea20aad9316f475f2d9fbb |
| DSNP | 90 | 89358767a60cc28783cdc3d0be9388a4 |
| HBO | 75 | 7a235133c87f7da4c8cccceca7e3c7a6 |
| HMAX | 90 | a880d6abc21e7c16884f3ae393f84179 |
| HULU | 85 | f6cce30f1733d5c8194222a7507909bb |
| iT | 75 | 0ac24a2a68a9700bcb7eeca8e5cd644c |
| NF | 90 | d34870697c9db575f17700212167be23 |
| NLZ | 75 | b2b980877494b560443631eb1f473867 |
| PCOK | 85 | 1656adc6d7bb2c8cca6acfb6592db421 |
| PMTP | 75 | c67a75ae4a1715f2bb4d492755ba4195 |
| QIBI | 90 | 3ac5d84fce98bab1b531393e9c82f467 |
| RED | 75 | c30d2958827d1867c73318a5a2957eb1 |
| SHO | 95 | ae58039e1319178e6be73caab5c42166 |
| STAN | 75 | 1efe8da11bfd74fbbcd4d8117ddb9213 |
| VDL | 75 | 5d2317d99af813b6529c7ebf01c83533 |
HQ Source Groups - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| WEB Tier 01 | 1700 | e6258996055b9fbab7e9cb2f75819294 |
| WEB Tier 02 | 1650 | 58790d4e2fdcd9733aa7ae68ba2bb503 |
| WEB Tier 03 | 1600 | d84935abd3f8556dcd51d4f27e22d0a6 |
| WEB Scene |
1800 | d0c516558625b04b363fa6c5c2c7cfd4 |
Info
= The reason why this Custom Format get's such a high score is because it's the only quality scene group that exist (till now) and scene groups don't add the Release Sources (Streaming Services) to their release name so they don't get the extra point of the Streaming Services.
I decided not to add Audio Advanced Custom Formats to the WEB profile, You will hardly find HD audio with WEB-DL (Most newer WEBDL will have Atmos). If you also want HD audio formats I would suggest to go for the Remuxes.
Use the following main settings in your profile.
Tip
The order listed in the profile matters even if a quality is not checked, for example if you have a 1080p version but wanted the SD version, Radarr will reject all SD results because 1080p is listed higher than SD even though 1080p was not checked.
Qualities at the top of the list will appear first in manual searches.
- Qualities higher in the list are more preferred even if not checked.
- Qualities within the same group are equal.
- Only checked qualities are wanted.
This is why it's recommended to move the selected quality to the top of the list.
Workflow Logic - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
- It will download WEB-2160p with HDR/DV.
- The downloaded media will be upgraded to any of the added Custom Formats until a score of 10000.
So why such a ridiculously high Upgrade Until Custom and not a score of 100?
Because I'm too lazy to calculate the maximum for every Quality Profile I use, and I want it to upgrade to the highest possible score anyway.
HDR Formats
- You have a setup that supports Dolby Vision.
- You share your media library with other family members that also have have Dolby Vision compatible devices.
I suggest to follow the following Guides first.
For this Quality Profile we're going to make use of the following Custom Formats with the scores given in the table.
Attention
All the used scores and combination of Custom Formats in this Guide are tested to get the desired results and prevent download loops as much as possible.
From experience most of the time when people change scores or leave out certain CF that work together they end up with undesired results.
If you're unsure or have questions do not hesitate to ask for help on Discord
All HDR Formats - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Dolby Vision is available in several profiles
- Profile 5 (1) - This is what comes with WEB-DL Dolby Vision release without HDR10 fallback.
(Incompatible devices will playback with blown out pinks and greens) - Profile 7 (2) - This is what comes with UHD Bluray Remuxes and UHD BluRay releases.
These files will play on an Nvidia Shield Pro (2019), but on most other players will revert to the HDR10 fallback. - Profile 8 (3) - This is what comes with (Hybrid) WEB-DL releases (HULU), Hybrid UHD Remux and UHD BluRay releases all of which have HDR10 fallback.
This works with several mainstream media players.
- (1) On an AppleTV, these do not reliably play with the Plex app but will work better with the third-party Infuse app. MP4 files tend to work better than MKV files, obviously MKV is preferable because of its support for lossless audio.
It has been confirmed that with the latest beta build of Plex, Profile 5 MKV files now play correctly ! on an AppleTV 4K 1st gen, files are direct streamed (not transcoded) to an MP4 container and play using the native AVPlayer instead of Plex’s MPV. - (2) Neither Infuse nor PLEX for AppleTV will deliver real Dolby Vision with Profile 7/8.
- (3) Neither Infuse nor PLEX for AppleTV will deliver real Dolby Vision with Profile 7/8, And will only play the HDR10 fallback. (although your TV will incorrectly say that it is playing DV)
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| DV HDR10 | 1500 | 7878c33f1963fefb3d6c8657d46c2f0a |
| DV | 1500 | 6d0d8de7b57e35518ac0308b0ddf404e |
| DV HLG | 1500 | 1f733af03141f068a540eec352589a89 |
| DV SDR | 1500 | 27954b0a80aab882522a88a4d9eae1cd |
| HDR10+ | 600 | a3d82cbef5039f8d295478d28a887159 |
| HDR10 | 500 | 3497799d29a085e2ac2df9d468413c94 |
| HDR | 500 | 3e2c4e748b64a1a1118e0ea3f4cf6875 |
| HDR (undefined) | 500 | bb019e1cd00f304f80971c965de064dc |
| PQ | 500 | 2a7e3be05d3861d6df7171ec74cad727 |
| HLG | 500 | 17e889ce13117940092308f48b48b45b |
Tip
If you (or family members you share your collection with) have a setup that doesn't support Dolby Vision then it's best to add ALL the HDR Formats listed above (including ALL the DV ones (with and without HDR in it), It is important to also add the DV (WEBDL) Custom Format with a score of -10000
HDR Formats + DV (WEBDL)
- Not all devices in your chain support Dolby Vision.
- You share your media library with other family members that don't have Dolby Vision compatible devices.
I suggest to follow the following Guides first.
For this Quality Profile we're going to make use of the following Custom Formats with the scores given in the table.
Attention
All the used scores and combination of Custom Formats in this Guide are tested to get the desired results and prevent download loops as much as possible.
From experience most of the time when people change scores or leave out certain CF that work together they end up with undesired results.
If you're unsure or have questions do not hesitate to ask for help on Discord
All HDR Formats + DV (WEBDL) - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| DV HDR10 | 1500 | 7878c33f1963fefb3d6c8657d46c2f0a |
| DV | 1500 | 6d0d8de7b57e35518ac0308b0ddf404e |
| DV HLG | 1500 | 1f733af03141f068a540eec352589a89 |
| DV SDR | 1500 | 27954b0a80aab882522a88a4d9eae1cd |
| HDR10+ | 600 | a3d82cbef5039f8d295478d28a887159 |
| HDR10 | 500 | 3497799d29a085e2ac2df9d468413c94 |
| HDR | 500 | 3e2c4e748b64a1a1118e0ea3f4cf6875 |
| HDR (undefined) | 500 | bb019e1cd00f304f80971c965de064dc |
| PQ | 500 | 2a7e3be05d3861d6df7171ec74cad727 |
| HLG | 500 | 17e889ce13117940092308f48b48b45b |
| DV (WEBDL) | -10000 | 9b27ab6498ec0f31a3353992e19434ca |
Tip
If you (or family members you share your collection with) have a setup that doesn't support Dolby Vision then it's best to add ALL the HDR Formats listed above (including ALL the DV ones (with and without HDR in it), It is important to also add the DV (WEBDL) Custom Format with a score of -10000
HDR Formats + DV (WEBDL) + HDR10+ Boost
- Not all devices in your chain support Dolby Vision.
- You share your media library with other family members that don't have Dolby Vision compatible devices.
- You have a (Samsung) TV that supports HDR10+.
I suggest to follow the following Guides first.
For this Quality Profile we're going to make use of the following Custom Formats with the scores given in the table.
Attention
All the used scores and combination of Custom Formats in this Guide are tested to get the desired results and prevent download loops as much as possible.
From experience most of the time when people change scores or leave out certain CF that work together they end up with undesired results.
If you're unsure or have questions do not hesitate to ask for help on Discord
All HDR Formats + DV (WEBDL) + HDR10+ Boost - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Dolby Vision is available in several profiles
- Profile 5 (1) - This is what comes with WEB-DL Dolby Vision release without HDR10 fallback.
(Incompatible devices will playback with blown out pinks and greens) - Profile 7 (2) - This is what comes with UHD Bluray Remuxes and UHD BluRay releases.
These files will play on an Nvidia Shield Pro (2019), but on most other players will revert to the HDR10 fallback. - Profile 8 (3) - This is what comes with (Hybrid) WEB-DL releases (HULU), Hybrid UHD Remux and UHD BluRay releases all of which have HDR10 fallback.
This works with several mainstream media players.
- (1) On an AppleTV, these do not reliably play with the Plex app but will work better with the third-party Infuse app. MP4 files tend to work better than MKV files, obviously MKV is preferable because of its support for lossless audio.
It has been confirmed that with the latest beta build of Plex, Profile 5 MKV files now play correctly ! on an AppleTV 4K 1st gen, files are direct streamed (not transcoded) to an MP4 container and play using the native AVPlayer instead of Plex’s MPV. - (2) Neither Infuse nor PLEX for AppleTV will deliver real Dolby Vision with Profile 7/8.
- (3) Neither Infuse nor PLEX for AppleTV will deliver real Dolby Vision with Profile 7/8, And will only play the HDR10 fallback. (although your TV will incorrectly say that it is playing DV)
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| DV HDR10 | 1500 | 7878c33f1963fefb3d6c8657d46c2f0a |
| DV | 1500 | 6d0d8de7b57e35518ac0308b0ddf404e |
| DV HLG | 1500 | 1f733af03141f068a540eec352589a89 |
| DV SDR | 1500 | 27954b0a80aab882522a88a4d9eae1cd |
| HDR10+ | 600 | a3d82cbef5039f8d295478d28a887159 |
| HDR10 | 500 | 3497799d29a085e2ac2df9d468413c94 |
| HDR | 500 | 3e2c4e748b64a1a1118e0ea3f4cf6875 |
| HDR (undefined) | 500 | bb019e1cd00f304f80971c965de064dc |
| PQ | 500 | 2a7e3be05d3861d6df7171ec74cad727 |
| HLG | 500 | 17e889ce13117940092308f48b48b45b |
| DV (WEBDL) | -10000 | 9b27ab6498ec0f31a3353992e19434ca |
| HDR10+ Boost | 901 | 0dad0a507451acddd754fe6dc3a7f5e7 |
Tip
If you (or family members you share your collection with) have a setup that doesn't support Dolby Vision then it's best to add ALL the HDR Formats listed above (including ALL the DV ones (with and without HDR in it), It is important to also add the DV (WEBDL) Custom Format with a score of -10000
FAQ & INFO
Why only WEB-DL
Why do you only have a release profile for WEB-DL - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
I only do WEB-DL my self for TV shows because in my opinion WEB-DL is the sweet spot between quality and size and you often don't see big differences anyway for TV shows. (Except for shows like GOT, Vikings, etc)
Why prefer P2P groups
Why do you prefer P2P groups over scene groups - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Scene groups always release in a rush to bring it out as fast as possible.
So I noticed often that I got Repacks/Proper releases from them or from different groups and quality. P2P releases are a bit smarter and work sort of together by not doing the same release. Also, I noticed that with some scene releases the 5.1 audio was stripped out or converted to AAC audio.
In my opinion the P2P releases are of better quality. There's one scene group that does bring out quality releases -deflate/-inflate.
Why so many repacks/propers
Why do I see so many repacks/propers of Amazon WEB-DLs lately - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
A large portion of Amazon WEB-DLs in the last week have only had 192Kbps DD+5.1, because that's all Amazon made available initially. The proper 640Kbps DD+5.1 audio might appear a few hours later or a few months, but when they get updated, the episodes will be REPACKED.
Proper and Repacks
Proper and Repacks - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
I also suggest to change the Propers and Repacks settings in Sonarr
Media Management => File Management to Do Not Prefer and use the Repack/Proper Custom Format.
This way you make sure the Custom Format preferences will be used instead.
Custom Formats to avoid certain releases
How to use a Custom Format to avoid certain releases? - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
For Custom Formats you really want to avoid, set it to something really low like -10000 and not something like -10.
Being when you add a Custom Format what you prefer and you set it to something like +10 it could happen that for example the BR-DISK will be downloaded (-10)+(+10)=0 and if your Minimum Custom Format Score is set at 0.
Releases you should avoid
This is a must have for every Quality Profile you use in my opinion. All these Custom Formats make sure you don't get Low Quality Releases.
Unwanted - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
| Custom Format | Score | Trash ID |
|---|---|---|
| BR-DISK | -10000 | 85c61753df5da1fb2aab6f2a47426b09 |
| LQ | -10000 | 9c11cd3f07101cdba90a2d81cf0e56b4 |
| x265 (HD) |
-10000 | 47435ece6b99a0b477caf360e79ba0bb |
Breakdown and Why
- BR-DISK : This is a custom format to help Sonarr recognize & ignore BR-DISK (ISO's and Blu-ray folder structure) in addition to the standard BR-DISK quality.
- LQ: A collection of known Low Quality groups that are often banned from the the top trackers because the lack of quality or other reasons.
-
x265 (HD): This blocks 720/1080p (HD) releases that are encoded in x265. - More info HERE.
Don't use this together with x265 (no HDR/DV), Only ever include one of them
Custom Formats with a score of 0
What do Custom Formats with a score of 0 do? - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
All Custom Formats with a score of 0 are pure informational and don't do anything.
Minimum Custom Format Score
Minimum Custom Format Score - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Some people suggest not to use negative scores for your Custom Formats and set this option to a higher score then 0.
The reason why I don't prefer/use this is because you could limit yourself when some new groups or whatever will be released.
Also it makes it much more clear what you prefer and what you want to avoid.
Audio Channels
Audio Channels - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Elsewhere in the guide, you will find a separate group of custom formats called Audio Channels. These will match the number of audio channels in a release, for example 2.0 (stereo) or 5.1/7.1 (surround sound). Personally I wouldn't add the audio channels Custom Formats as you could limit yourself in the amount of releases you're able to get. Only use them if you have a specific need for them.
Using it with any kind of Remuxes Quality Profile is useless in my opinion being that 99% of all remuxes are multi audio anyway. You can get better scores just using the Audio Advanced Custom Formats.
Avoid using the x264/x265 Custom Format
Avoid using the x264/x265 Custom Format - [CLICK TO EXPAND]
Avoid using the x264/x265 Custom Format with a score if possible, it's smarter to use the x265 (HD) Custom Format.
Something like 95% of video files are x264 and have much better direct play support. If you have more than a of couple users, you will notice much more transcoding.
Use x265 only for 4k releases and the x265 (HD) makes sure you still get the x265 releases.
Thanks
Special thanks to everyone that helped testing and creating these Custom Formats.
Questions or Suggestions?
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