Why that matters for this episode: S04E01 (“Patience”) introduces a with very pale, textured makeup and a dark, muddy costume. x264’s motion-compensated DCT blocks handle low-contrast gradients (like her face emerging from shadow) without the “oil painting” smoothing or contouring artifacts that often appear in x265 at the same file size.

The at a moderate bitrate (likely ~1–2 Mbps for 1080p) preserves film-like grain and high-frequency edge detail in the manor’s old stone walls, wood textures, and period costumes significantly better than a low-bitrate x265 or streaming compression would.

Here’s an interesting technical feature about (compared to a typical x265 or streaming version):

So in fan release circles, this specific x264 version is prized for retaining — which actually helps sell the supernatural mood — whereas streaming versions tend to crush blacks and erase subtle texture on the ghosts’ clothing.