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Delay profiles

Delay Profiles prevent Cinephage from grabbing low-quality releases immediately after they appear. Instead, releases wait in a queue and are only grabbed if nothing better appears within the delay period.

Why Use Delays?​

The problem​

A new episode airs:

  • T+0 minutes: HDTV capture appears (low quality)
  • T+30 minutes: WEB-DL appears (better quality)
  • T+2 hours: BluRay appears (best quality)

Without delays, Cinephage grabs the HDTV immediately. With delays, it waits to see if something better appears.

The solution​

Delay profiles let you:

  • Wait for better quality - WEB-DL instead of HDTV
  • Prefer usenet - Wait for usenet releases instead of torrents
  • Avoid fakes - Let the community verify releases first
  • Get proper releases - PROPER/REPACK fixes often appear within hours

How Delay Profiles Work​

The pending queue​

When a monitored item is found:

  1. Release appears - Quality meets cutoff
  2. Added to pending - Not grabbed yet
  3. Timer starts - Delay period begins
  4. Better release? - If yes, replace in queue
  5. Timer expires - Grab best release in queue

Quality upgrades during delay​

If a better quality release appears during the delay:

  • Replaces the pending release
  • Timer resets (optional)
  • Only if score is higher - Not just different

Creating a Delay Profile​

Navigate to Settings > Quality > Delay Profiles:

Basic settings​

SettingDescriptionExample
NameProfile name"Wait for WEB-DL"
ProtocolUsenet, Torrent, or BothBoth
DelayHours to wait6 hours

Protocol-Specific delays​

Different delays for different protocols:

ProtocolDelayUse Case
Torrent12 hoursWait for scene releases
Usenet0 hoursGrab usenet immediately

This prefers usenet but falls back to torrents after 12 hours.

Bypass Conditions​

Sometimes you don't want to wait. Set conditions to bypass the delay:

Bypass if highest quality​

Bypass if: Release meets highest quality in profile
Example: 2160p BluRay appears (nothing better exists)

Bypass if score threshold​

Bypass if: Score >= 2000
Example: Trusted group + high quality = grab now

Bypass tags​

Apply bypass to specific content:

Tag: "no-delay"
Applies to: Movies/Series with this tag bypass delay

Example Profiles​

Name: Conservative
Torrent Delay: 24 hours
Usenet Delay: 0 hours
Bypass: Highest quality only

Result: Waits for scene releases, grabs usenet immediately

Aggressive​

Name: Aggressive
Torrent Delay: 2 hours
Usenet Delay: 0 hours
Bypass: Score >= 1500

Result: Quick grabs, but only if high quality

Usenet only​

Name: Usenet Preferred
Torrent Delay: 72 hours
Usenet Delay: 0 hours
Bypass: Never

Result: Only grabs torrents if usenet fails for 3 days

Assigning Delay Profiles​

Global default​

Set a default profile in Settings > Quality > Delay Profiles:

  • Applies to all new monitored items
  • Can be overridden per-item

Per-Movie/Series​

Override the default for specific content:

  1. Go to movie/series details
  2. Click Edit
  3. Select delay profile
  4. Save

Use cases for overrides​

  • Daytime TV - Use aggressive (low quality expected)
  • Premium Shows - Use conservative (wait for best)
  • Old Movies - No delay (quality won't improve)

The Pending Releases Queue​

View all delayed releases:

Settings > Tasks > Pending Releases

ColumnDescription
TitleMovie or episode
ReleaseRelease name
QualityQuality score
ProtocolUsenet or Torrent
Delay EndsWhen it will be grabbed
ActionsGrab now / Remove

Manual actions​

  • Grab Now - Bypass delay and download immediately
  • Remove - Remove from queue (won't grab)
  • View Details - See why it's pending

How Delays Interact with Other Features​

Quality profiles​

Delay + Quality work together:

  1. Quality profile determines "acceptable" releases
  2. Delay profile determines "when to grab"
  3. Only releases meeting quality cutoff enter pending queue

Custom formats​

Custom format scores affect delay bypass:

  • High score releases may bypass delay
  • Score is calculated before delay is applied

Monitoring​

Monitoring tasks respect delays:

  • Missing content search → Adds to pending
  • Upgrade monitoring → Replaces pending if better
  • Cutoff unmet → Ignores delay (grabs immediately)

Troubleshooting​

Releases not being grabbed​

  1. Check pending queue - May be waiting in delay
  2. Verify delay profile assigned - Default vs per-item
  3. Check bypass conditions - May not be met

Delay too long​

  1. Reduce delay hours - Start with 6-12 hours
  2. Add bypass conditions - Score threshold, highest quality
  3. Use tags - Bypass for specific content

Delay being ignored​

  1. Check cutoff unmet - Ignores delays
  2. Check manual search - Manual grabs bypass delay
  3. Check bypass tags - Item may have bypass tag

Conflicting profiles​

If multiple profiles apply:

  • Per-item overrides global
  • More specific wins (e.g., series vs global)
  • First match applies

Best Practices​

Start conservative​

Begin with longer delays, then reduce:

  • Week 1: 24 hour delay
  • Week 2: 12 hour delay
  • Week 3: 6 hour delay

Find the sweet spot for your indexers.

Match delay to content​

Content TypeSuggested Delay
New TV episodes6-12 hours
Movies (new)12-24 hours
Movies (old)0-2 hours
Anime2-6 hours

Monitor your indexers​

Different indexers have different release patterns:

  • Scene trackers - Releases appear at predictable times
  • Public indexers - More variable, shorter delays okay
  • Usenet - Usually faster, can use 0 delay

See Also​