Usenet
FAQ
What is usenet?
Usenet was created before the web and was originally used for (and still is) text based discussion like we are having now on this forum. It is a loose collection of servers that work together share any data that is uploaded to any one of the servers. This means, the servers (providers) will contain the same files as the others, however each one keeps the files for different amount of days before deleting them (the retention).
It isn’t designed for it, but it is now heavily used for the sharing of binary files, with around 4TB of files uploaded daily.
What does downloading from usenet give you?
-Speed – downloading from dedicated servers on fast pipes pretty much guarantees you will be maxing out your download speed
-Access to to over 1,000,000GB of files (with giganews’s 240 day retention)
-Privacy – Only your ISP and your usenet provider can see what you are downloading (Use SSL and even your ISP can’t see)
Wait, this sounds too good to be true? What is the catch?
Well things sadly aren’t free. Free servers do exist, but most of them suck. Your ISP may provide a server with a short retention so check this list.
However saying all that, getting a usenet provider is pretty cheap, and in my opinion an expense that is well worth it. Downloading is mostly fast and hastle free.
How does usenet differ from bittorrent?
It is hard to compete with free, but here it goes…
Bittorrent requires you to upload and download from other users, their upload speeds can vary and can often require a lot of connections which bog down a lot of household routers to make browsing the internet slow. While you can reach the full speed of your connection on private trackers downloads from usenet use dedicated servers with fast links to ensure full speeds.
Unlike bitorrent, Usenet does not require you to upload anything, making worrying about ratios or any privacy concerns a thing of the past
What is “retention”
Retention is the amount of time uploads are kept on a providers server, they vary from host to host. Each host has their own copy of the files and will delete them once they get past a set age, usually 100 days and up. Astraweb is currently the king, keeping uploads for 576 days.
What are .nzb files?
NZB files are usenet’s version of a .torrent file. They are simple xml files that contain what files to download and where on usenet they reside. Most usenet clients will support the opening of .nzb files.
What are .par2 files?
PAR2 files are repair files. They can be used to either repair damaged files or even re-create missing files. Usenet(NNTP) isn’t a perfect protocol, it wasn’t intended for the distribution of very large files and there can be errors or missing parts of files during a download. This less of an issue in recent years with hosts getting better and bugs getting fixed, however you will still likely have to use these files fairly often, especially in large downloads or when downloading at the edge of your retention. Modern newsreaders contain support for par2 files, handling the checking and repairing themselves. However if you need to repair yourself, QuickPar http://quickpar.org.uk/ is the standard client.
So what do you need?
1) A newsgroup provider
As mentioned, check if your isp offers you anything here although most won’t be half as good as a paid one.
What to look for?
A higher retention is good because it means you can still download files that were uploaded a longer time ago.
The amount of connections you need can vary; if you have a very fast connection you may need more than 8 to max out your download speed.
SSL is a personal choice, it provides an extra layer of security so your ISP cannot see what you are downloading, this can help if your ISP decides to limit usenet speeds.
Astraweb -
This astraweb special is currently the best value for money host out there. They offer an impressive 576 days retention (the time uploads are kept) which includes free SSL connections. They also have decent “block” accounts which allow you to buy blocks of 25GB or 120GB to use over however long you want. They also support PayPal.
2) A binary newsgroup program
SABnzbd+ (Free/Open Source)
Windows/Linux/OSX
Has a weird name and setting up may not be too friendly, however once up and running SABnzbd is a powerful automated downloader with a lot of features. It does not contain a GUI, but runs a webserver so can be accessed through your browser. This means, if you want, you can set it up on a spare pc/server or set it up to access from any pc in the world. If you use firefox, be sure to check out the extension nzbdstatus for one-click downloads, easy monitoring and control.
Requires nzb’s to download (no header support)
Will automatically repair and unpack your downloads.
3) Nzb site
(Nzb’s are usenet’s version for torrent files)
Your client may support downloading the headers, which is the raw list of what files are on offer to download. This is still the fastest way to get new files, however most regard it as the ‘old’ way of doing things, with nzb files from websites being faster and much easier.
Cataloging Sites
Newzbin (£0.30 a week to download nzb files, free to view reports) (Currently £0.15)
Although not free, newzbin is well regarded to be the best of the cataloging nzb sites, and in my opinion well worth the small amount of money for a great site with no adverts. Newzbin groups up reports for you giving them a nice nzb name. It also links to sites relavant such as imdb.com and tvrage.com as well as displaying what format the file is in, what the source format was, what languages and subtitles are included as well as user comments if something is out of sync. It is full of useful features and the only to be developer friendly with fully documented API’s.
NzbMatrix (Account required, basic acount free, vip account only $10 for a lifetime)
Does not have as many features as newzbin, but is a strong competitor. Most people will be very happy with the free basic account for just recent stuff.
TVNZB (Free, no account needed)
TV only nzb site, has very good RSS feeds for programs that support RSS downloading. No searching, but groups up nzb’s by show.
TVBinz (Free, no account needed)
TV only site, unlike tvnzb it is fully automated and can show old shows that are re-posted. Allows for searching and also has RSS feeds.
Search Engines
Binsearch.info (Free, no account needed)
Fast and simple site groups up downloads into collections and allows for custom nzb files. Very good, however nzb names could be improved (currently just a series of numbers)
Newzleech (Free, no account needed)
Similar to binsearch, and just as good. Nicer nzb naming, some collections are also re-named to a cleaner, friendlier name.
Others:
Nzbindex.nl (Free, no account needed)
bintube.com (Free, no account needed)
If anything is unclear or there is something you think should be included please post below.
If you are unsure which to pick, this is my current setup which I believe is the best combination:
1. Astraweb as your provider.
2. SABnzbd+ as your client (with nzbdstatus for 1-click downloads)
3. Binsearch as your nzb source.
