I'm a pretty heavy torrent user, running a media server complete with sonarr/radarr for automatic downloads. I download a lot, and have multiple TBs of upload on various private trackers. I've been torrenting forever, but I've always wondered about usenet. Over and over on this, and other, forums I see people saying that usenet is way better - but why?
I understand what it is overall, but what makes it better than traditional torrenting? In my mind, it's always just seemed like a different means to the same end. I pay for a VPN and torrent for "free", or I pay for usenet access and download directly from there. As someone who's "snobby" around the quality of the stuff I torrent, does usenet provide an advantage there?
Usenet fans, I'd love to hear what makes you love it! I'm always open to trying new things, and if It really is better I'd love to know why! (Plus, maybe what providers/tools etc you recommend).
I’ve been using Usenet for about 20 years. So many upsides.
Usenet traffic is essentially indistinguishable from normal internet traffic, so you don’t have to worry about hiding your activity with a VPN (though you still can of course). And since you don’t need to upload/seed anything, you’re safe in that regard.
Downloads are pretty much always available, no seeds. Once a file is uploaded and propagated across all the servers, everyone can just download it at whatever full speed their connection allows. I saturate my connection at around 110 Megabytes per second. There are retention times based on your Usenet provider, but they’re incredibly high these days so I doubt you’d come across many incomplete downloads, if any.
Quality is consistent. This is the biggest deal for me, as I’m incredibly snobby about quality. Want 4K SDR because the HDR on your TV sucks? You can find it for most new shows. Want a version with a super-high bitrate? It’s usually out there. Full untouched BluRay rips? Definitely. Nearly all media is available from SD up through 4K, from consistent uploaders/groups so you can rely on the overall quality. And since you don’t have to worry about seeding or download speeds, you can grab the highest quality you want as long as you have enough disk space.
Automation is a cinch with native arr integrations, and new shows and movies are usually available right after they air, often before it’s finished airing. If a show airs at 8pm you can usually grab it by 8:15, 9:15 at the latest.
Keep an eye out on Black Friday, providers usually have awesome deals.
Do you have any recommendations for usenet providers?
There are so many to choose from, I'd search around a bit on your own to find one that meets your needs. As much as I hate diverting traffic to the place that should not be named, r/usenet has an extensive wiki of providers and is a good place to start.
If you don't care about any of that and just want a single answer, I use Newsgroup Ninja. It's one of the cheapest options even when it's not on sale. But wait a couple weeks, they usually have a significant Black Friday sale.