would you say that in terms of safety regarding being caught by people like the RIAA and NBC/universal, newsgroups are safer than P2P progs like limewire or using torrents? this is an intellectual question, largely because i've never really used newsgroups and (literally) just found out that you can download files from them...i figured that since i hadn't really heard much about them, and given the plethora of media available, it must be one of those things that a lot of people do, but no one ever talks about

then, what are your favorite clients? grabit and nzb leecher seem to be pretty popular ones

1/31/2008 11:30:42 PM

safety: 100%.

I use newsbin pro, I hear good things about newsleecher. Really the question isnt the client though, its the service. Usenetserver.com and Giganews are the best from what I've seen

1/31/2008 11:33:45 PM

?topic=499863

I've used both newzbin and newsleecher. both are great, but lately i tend to use newzbin more.

1/31/2008 11:43:25 PM

I second Newsbin on the PC. If you need Mac love, I vote for Unison. (which, imho, is the better than the PC solutions)

2/1/2008 12:13:36 AM

chances are much better by posting this all on a public web board j/k

2/1/2008 12:33:29 AM

lawl

i'm a fan of newsbin.

usenetserver.com is the best/cheapest server

2/1/2008 12:44:05 AM

you all suck

newzleecher + giganews ftw.

2/1/2008 1:07:46 AM

newsleecher+usenetserver.

Newsleecher has a built in supersearch feature, and using smart select the program will automatically download all the .rars, determine if any need to be fixed, and download the .par2s to do so. Once it's done it extracts the contents into a folder and deletes the .rars and .par2s.

Makes everything so simple. Use to have to deal with downloading headers, and searching through groups.

2/1/2008 4:00:32 AM

Usenetserver has its own web search that is super fast, dunno how this compares to newsleechers built in thing, but it sure makes newsbin a breeze (it can do the same thing btw-> load nzb, gets pars, recovers, extracts, cleans up)

2/1/2008 5:49:28 AM

The simple fact of the matter is that if you can get access to file to download, the agents of the RIAA and get access to catch you downloading files. Is this likely to happen, no. Is it possible, yes.

2/1/2008 10:52:47 AM

well, yes...again, i wasn't REALLY looking to do that, but i really didn't think much of newsgroups for this purpose...only recently did my roommate mention it and i felt dumb for not even thinking about it

2/1/2008 10:58:16 AM

Quote :

"newsleecher+usenetserver."

FTMFW

Quote :

"Usenetserver has its own web search that is super fast, dunno how this compares to newsleechers built in thing"

After using them both, they aren't even in the same league. Hey Noen, I was curious why you never answered my question in that other thread.

Quote :

"Also two thumbs up for Newzbin. Been a paying user of that for almost two years as well, it's lightyears better than newsleecher or any other binary newsgroup reader."

Quote :

"Just curious why you say that. I've tried most all the programs out there. I don't see any features that newsleecher doesn't have, but newsleecher has two things that no other program that I know of has. Firstly it has a built in newsgroup indexer called Supersearch. You said the Usenetserver's web search is AMAZING, well I would agree with you if I had never used Supersearch. Instead of taking 30 seconds to create an nzb file that you have to download and import into your program, you do your search from within newsleecher itself, click on the results and it starts downloading. It saves about 29 of the 30 seconds that the web search takes. Newsleecher also has a relatively new feature called Repair and Extract. I see where newsbin Pro has a rar manager which keeps track of the rar sets you download for you, well newsleecher takes it one step further. It uses the par files as well. When set up properly, you can have it queue up the rars, queue up the pars in a paused state, download the rars and analyze them to see if they need repairing. If par files are needed, the program automatically unpauses only the needed pars, downloads them, repairs the set, deletes the unneeded pars from the queue, extracts the rar set to your hard drive, and then deletes all the rars and pars from your HDD, leaving you with only the files you want. So with the combination of the two features, if I want to download a show all I do is click on supersearch, type the name of the show, click on one of the rars I want to download, do a Ctrl+S and Space bar (Smart select and download) and newsleecher does the rest. 10 minutes later the show is on my Hard Drive ready to watch. So I really am curious why you say that newsbin (and I assume that's what you meant instead of newzbin since they're not really comparable) is better than newsleecher. When I tried them both I didn't think there were too many differences. The supersearch is what swayed me towards newsleecher, then they went and added the Repair and Extract feature, so now it's not even a contest as to which one is better, IMO."

2/1/2008 12:16:58 PM

I love newsleecher and it's the first piece of software I have paid for avidly in almost two years. Hell diablo II and wow are probably the only others.

As for UNS vs GN, I recenly suspended my GN account after almost two years as well while I try to sort out my useless expenses. 24.99 is steep, but show me the amount of support/completion/retention somewhere else, I guess that's what you pay for. -100days, a few unsupported groups, less completion, added SSL and -10 bucks might be a decent tradeoff who knows.

2/1/2008 8:20:59 PM

Quote :

"-100days, a few unsupported groups, less completion, added SSL and -10 bucks might be a decent tradeoff who knows."

The 100 days thing is big, I guess. The unsupported groups thing isn't a big deal at all, If you know of a group that UNS doesn't carry, just email support and they will add it within an hour. I've done that twice now. I don't know how much better the completion is on GN, but it couldn't be that much better, I've never once had a single problem with not being able to download something I wanted from UNS. 95% of the time I don't even need the pars.

2/2/2008 1:19:23 PM

^Couldnt agree more

As for newsbin vs newsleecher, it sounds like supersearch really does put it over the top. I havent used it with supersearch, so there's the difference.

Newsbin does do the autorepair, extract, download pars blah blah thing too when needed

2/2/2008 3:38:49 PM

I bought newsleecher for supersearch but i always find myself using v3.newzbin.com

Maybe i'll try UNS when I come back, but I do get wild hairs up my ass and want a random DVD to watch sometimes so the 100 days retention would probably be the first thing to piss me off. Though I've read a few stories on simple 10 day old downloads completed on GN but not UNS. We'll see.

2/2/2008 4:24:55 PM

suspended my GN account, testing out UNS this month.

stuck processing my billing submission, that's always a good sign o_O

[Edited on February 12, 2008 at 9:18 PM. Reason : .]


I can't tell if it's a peak time for my cable company or if it's slower. I can max out 8mbit with 5 threads on GN, i've bumped it up to 9 so far to pull 600KB/s with UNS.

more snobby biased comments to come.

[Edited on February 12, 2008 at 9:40 PM. Reason : .]

2/12/2008 9:17:02 PM

^with UNS, things I've noticed:

1. Use the secure servers, they seem much faster than the open servers

2. If you are getting slow speeds, logon to the site and use the IPRouting tool, I got a 5x increase in my speeds by doing a manual route from a much faster trunk.

2/12/2008 10:01:50 PM

With UNS i get the same speed with 3, as with 10. Just maxes out at about 960kB/s. Guess that's good cause i can share my connections.

2/12/2008 10:08:18 PM

I sometimes have connection issues w/ UNS when using either their secure or standard servers, even when varying the ports. With their tech support, we've pretty much narrowed it down to being a Comcrap issue.

Either way, when I actually do connect, the speeds fly, often getting 800 - 1000 KB/s. And for $15/mo, it's worth it.

I use NewsLeecher, and have the SuperSearch service. However, since I got a subscription to Newzbin, I find myself using that almost 100% now.

2/12/2008 10:33:07 PM

Same, I never use supersearch because i love the layout of Newzbin. And now that they rolled out v3lite beta i'll probably pay those suckers that pound and a half every month from now on.

I'll try this manual route stuff. It will take a weeks worth of downloading to decide whether or not the 10 dollar savings is worth it. And sorry, I would have given someone a referral (if i can do it post signup i will) but i wanted to immediately resume downloading after i realized I suspended GN 1/12 and realized my account had just been autolocked.

^^^Rerouting to sprint seemed to work, thx.

\/ Grr, I know I totally forgot to reup during the holiday special. I usually only top off my credit on a small scale because I always think I can go without it eventually, like i'll be able to ween myself and just use supersearch. I never do though.

[Edited on February 12, 2008 at 10:59 PM. Reason : ,]

2/12/2008 10:46:26 PM

NB is definitely worth the money. I actually topped up w/ a whole year of service for their 1/2 off holiday special, which came in before their price increase. Their new price isn't unreasonable at all though.

I'm good to go for a long time

2/12/2008 10:48:17 PM

wtf usenetserver?! Didn't get d/c'd and it's been more than enough time for my ghosts to d/c if that were the case. I think I'll stick with giganews after this month.

502 Max Num of Connections Exceeded.

2/26/2008 11:11:39 PM

Yeah i'm getting "502 Authentication Failed" errors. This sucks.

2/27/2008 2:14:01 AM

i dont know what you tards are doin wrong, I've used UNS for the better part of three years and have never had a problem for more than 3-5 minutes.

BTW, newsbin now has an equivalent to newsleecher's super search deal. still dont use it, but good to know its there

2/27/2008 3:19:42 AM

I've been having trouble with UNS also. Aside from the problems everyone else has had I've been having an issue where I start a .nzb and I get the first few files without a problem and then start getting incomplete files. Then I come back and start the .nzb over and I'll get more complete files than the last time but not all of them and I have to do that a few times (depending on how many files there are).

Completion rate I've experienced with UNS is about 60%. I've tried using a different program but it's the same. Sometimes I switch to the TWC servers to complete something, which is pretty lame.

2/27/2008 3:36:42 AM

No idea what in the world you guys are doing. Just downloaded something just to check and it was good as ever. There's absolutely no need to be running more than 2-3 connections at a time, it's major diminishing returns unless you are on a full 10mbit/100mbit line. Even on resnet back in the day, 4 connections maxed out the line.

If you are getting connection issues, I can almost guarantee it's your router. Try it via non-SSL and see if the problems dont go away.

2/27/2008 5:46:10 AM

in case anyone didn't know...

roadrunner provides free 45 day retension for newsgroups

news-server.nc.rr.com (or .triad.rr.com or .ec.rr.com etc)

2/27/2008 9:21:04 AM

2/27/2008 9:24:03 AM

nvm. Back up now.

[Edited on February 27, 2008 at 12:42 PM. Reason : .]

2/27/2008 12:39:54 PM

Yeah, I'm with Noen on this one. I use UNS more than anyone I can imagine and I never have any problems at all. I have my software set to retry a failed connection after 5 seconds, and it never takes more than 2-3 attempts to log in if I get the 502 error (which, I'll admit is rather common) But after that, no worries. And that's on 3 different machines that I use on a regular basis.

2/27/2008 12:55:22 PM

I've never had a single problem ever on giganews. And if you say 502 is common, I'll just keep on trucking with them. I'll hit a loyalty bonus in a couple months anyway.

I'm not saying UNS isn't a stand-up company worth all of the 14.95 a month. But I think giganews is worth the difference and after having tried UNS for a month I think I've made my decision.



[Edited on February 27, 2008 at 7:09 PM. Reason : ,,]

2/27/2008 7:07:52 PM

christ, i've tried to download numerous different things since this last post and got rejected, 200 days retention is definitely for the win. Sorry I ever strayed from you GN

Guess I should change newzbin back to reflect UNS for the remainder of my month so that I no longer get disappointed.

3/4/2008 2:09:45 AM

what's the website that would post all the news uploads to each group? azaka told me about years ago

3/4/2008 7:02:26 AM

newzleech.com

3/4/2008 8:35:50 AM

Alright i know someone knows how to do this. I have like 160 .ts files and want to combine them. I tried hdtv2mpeg and it doesn't work. I tried just combining them, and that works, but whenever i seek the audio/video get waaaaay out of sync. If i just watch it from beginning to end will it stay in sync? What are my other options?

3/21/2008 4:41:01 PM

on my annual credit card charges summary

giganews shows up as a utility

i'd agree with them in that it's as essential as indoor plumbing and light

3/21/2008 4:50:05 PM

the search DBs on UNS and newzleech aren't updated nearly fast enough for things like the daily show and colbert report i want to watch them like instantly after they come on tv.

i wish it was easier than going to that group and hitting refresh a billion times.

[Edited on March 21, 2008 at 7:17 PM. Reason : .]

3/21/2008 7:16:38 PM

the groups have to capture, encode, package and upload the releases. Crappier Less popular shows get picked up by crappy groups and it takes longer. I think newzbin has an email search string feature.

[Edited on March 21, 2008 at 7:22 PM. Reason : .]

3/21/2008 7:20:27 PM

how dare you! those are the best shows evAr lol

the groups put them up pretty quickly - within 1-2 hours on newsgroups. but they're not indexed for a while by these search engines so i'm stuck downloading from the actual group rather than with an nzb. oh well. no big deal.

3/21/2008 8:52:06 PM

The indexing for Supersearch in Newsleecher happens in minutes.

Just sayin'.

3/21/2008 9:19:23 PM

you sir would be correct.

i am sold.

is an SSL connection worth the pain and suffering UNS's servers give me all the time? their regular servers are awesome but SSL for some reason is so fucked up - from saying i've maxed out my connections when i haven't to timing out to other reasons for why that connection failed even though the others worked at the same time.

3/22/2008 2:23:51 AM

what sites do you guys monitor regularly for NZBs?

i've added Merlins Portal, NZBMatrix, RLSLOG.net, and tvnzb.com to my Google feedreader

3/22/2008 4:02:11 AM

apparently im just an old man with too many other interests, but ive never had a problem finding anything, then again I'm never trying to download anything the same day or even the same week as it hit (life sucks eh?)

3/22/2008 6:42:28 AM

well if you don't monitor them at all and you just go by when you need it - who knows, it could have been released more than 100 days ago or whatever your retention is. then you'd have to go to efnet or one of these nzb sites and request it and blah blah blah

3/22/2008 10:59:05 AM

so who uses giganews? I might switch to them from usenetserver because giganews has a 200+ retention whereas usenet server is only 105+.

4/16/2008 10:53:56 PM

it's at about 193d now.

4/16/2008 10:55:06 PM

^still better than the 105 offered by usenetserver.

4/16/2008 11:07:32 PM

or the 70 from road runner

4/16/2008 11:37:51 PM

i find myself missing giganews' retention. I'm broke as a joke atm so i've switched to UNS, but as soon as I get real bills taken care of, it's back to GN4lyfe.

4/17/2008 1:50:26 AM