We review results on the growth of metastable Ti1-xAlxN alloy films by hybrid high-power pulsed and dc magnetron co-sputtering (HIPIMS/DCMS) using the time domain to apply substrate bias either in synchronous with the entire HIPIMS pulse or just the metal-rich portion of the pulse in mixed Ar/N2 discharges. Depending upon which elemental target, Ti or Al, is powered by HIPIMS, distinctly different film-growth kinetic pathways are observed due to charge and mass differences in the metal-ion fluxes incident at the growth surface. Al + ion irradiation during Al-HIPIMS/Ti-DCMS at 500 C, with a negative substrate bias Vs = 60 V synchronized to the HIPIMS pulse (thus suppressing Ar + ion irradiation due to DCMS), leads to single-phase NaCl-structure Ti1-xAlxN films (x ≤ 0.60) with high hardness (> 30 GPa with x > 0.55) and low stress (0.2-0.8 GPa compressive). Ar + ion bombardment can be further suppressed in favor of predominantly Al + ion irradiation by synchronizing the substrate bias to only the metal-ion-rich portion of the Al-HIPIMS pulse. In distinct contrast, Ti-HIPIMS/Al-DCMS Ti1-xAlxN layers grown with Ti + /Ti 2+ metal ion irradiation and the same HIPIMS-synchronized Vs value, are two-phase mixtures, NaCl-structure Ti1-xAlxN plus wurtzite AlN, exhibiting low hardness (≃18 GPa) with high compressive stresses, up to -3.5 GPa. In both cases, film