Hi,
Sorry if this has been posted before but I’m looking at trying Usenet instead of torrents.
I’ve done some Googling and honestly, it’s a little overwhelming knowing what Usenet provider to use, where to get quality indexers and which download client would be the best.
If anyone has any resources or advice to help me sail the Usenet sees I would be eternally grateful!
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I’m not sure about anything, but the client, as I’ve been usenetting without thinking much about stuff for almost a decade now.
- eweka.nl (share your access with friends and family - I’ve shared mine with like 8 people some time in the past)
- nzbgeek (lifetime API access was like 30€ - well worth it), I also know about nzbplanet, but I don’t have a premium account there. You can try these out without paying to see if their offer suits what you’re looking for, but you won’t get API access of course and you’ll be limited in the downloads.
Last, but not least: sabnzbd is the gold standard for clients. Runs on everything: from a raspberry pi to your Desktop PC.
Do you tunnel your usage through a VPN?
Nope. Usenet is quite safe legally, afaik, since you’re not uploading/seeding anything. IANAL, though.
Most Usenet providers offer secure connections so I don’t know if it’s necessary, but I use a VPN.
I do. Just in case.
Ironically through my seedbox provider :p
I think it’s 80 for lifetime now, 12 for a year
You never know how long these sites are able to stay up in the future, but it’s still way less than what I’ve payed on patreon over time.
I mean, compared to streaming, 80 for even a year is a bargain lmao
Lol, true. Although that doesn’t include the provider fees, etc.
Thank you! I’ll give that stuff a look!
You may also want to look into NZBget (download client) and nzb360 for mobile management if you happen to be an Android user – or LunaSea either way.
Sabnzbd for downloading, Frugal usenet for provider, Nzbgeek and drunkenslug for indexer
How much does all that cost? Or rather, does all that cost? I currently torrent but could see getting into Usenet if I don’t have to provide payment info.
Sabnzbd is free, you can install anywhere basically. The rest is not free unfortunately, someone has to host the files, as there are no peers in usenet. I think some, if not all, providers and indexers can be paid with crypto or even mailing them the money by post.
Provider is €50 a year. Indexers are around €10 a year, but there are lifetime subscriptions for some.
In return, you don’t need a VPN, download speeds are stable and there is no seeding.
Out of 220 files downloaded, I only needed torrents 12 times, rest is usenet.
Read up on benefits of one over the other before switching :)
Also: SpotNet (with e.g. SpotWeb as a client)
Only get Usenet with a usenet deal. Usually on/around Black Friday.
Afaik deals are usually posted on r/UsenetDeals or similar called sub.Good to know, thank you!
What are the advantages of usenets?
In Germany they provide relief from the constant fear your vpn might leak and you’ll receive mail.
Expensive mail.
It’s great, although a little unfair, and perhaps illegal in some draconian jurisdictions, to use nets while fishing
Higher and better retention of old stuff.
You’re downloading from servers not other people, so you don’t have to worry about the number of peers
You can see the discussions that inspired the Comic Book Guy.
DM me if you want invites to private indexers. They are paid but cheap. I also recommend frugal Usenet because…well…I’m cheap.
I’ll bite. What is frugal Usenet?
A usenet provider
Cool, thanks. $5 -$6 / month is cheap.
Just a cheap Usenet provider. They’re cheap for what the provide but in my opinion on par with the more expensive “premium” providers. https://frugalusenet.com/
What’s the advantage of a private indexer vs a regular one? Why would I want one over another? I’m a complete Usenet newbie.
Main advantage is typically less DCMA take downs. The public ones are public access and therefore the bots crawl those and submit the takedowns faster than on a private indexer.
If you’re planning to download media, check out the Server Wiki. It has guides on setting up all the software to automate the process.
Thanks, but I am currently using Radarr and Sonarr, just looking at alternate potentially faster sources
Why replace torrents? Why not use both? It’s a bonus if your usenet provider includes a VPN.
I jumped into Usenet as an experiment and, once it was setup, it was ok. Although it is definitely not simple to get started and it seems you are constantly having to pay for stuff, even to access the trackers, which don’t even have all the content!
I decided I didn’t download enough and what I wanted was too hard to find, so I went back to Torrents. Way simpler for my occasional use.
