Download Movies and TV Shows Using Usenet
Quickstart
- Sign up for a usenet service provider like Giganews.
- Search for NZB files on nzbmatrix.com.
- Download and install a NZB client.
- Import into NZB client, and start downloading.
Detailed Instructions
I. Sign up for a usenet server
The qualities you care about are:
- Monthly download limit. Figure each movie to be around 1Gb; CDs around 400Mb. Unlimited is best for serious users.
- Retention. How long do they keep the files available? At least 90 days, but really, you want 240+ days.
- Connections. More connections, the faster you can download stuff.
Recommended usenet providers:
- Giganews - One of the biggest usenet providers. Tiered pricing based on download limit. $24.99 / month for unlimited.
- Easynews - One of the oldest usenet providers (since 1994). Tiered pricing based on download limit. No unlimited plan. $24.94 / month for 150 Gb.
- Altopia - Tiered pricing based on number of connections per IP. (More connections means faster download.) All plans are unlimited. $6 / month for 2 connections; $18 / month for 18 connections.
II. Search for NZB files
There are many websites that index / list nzb files. Here are the best free, no registration ones:
- nzbmatrix.com - Movies, TV, games, apps. Free registration required for nzb download. Premium access required for NZBs older than 20 days.
- tvnzb.com - TV shows only. No registration required for NZB download.
- newzleech.com - Search engine for all kinds of NZBs.
III. Download and install a NZB client
A nzb client parses the information in a *.nzb file and downloads the video off usenet.
Most uploaders to usenet package files in RAR format. That means they will need to be decoded and reassembled into a viewable video file (probably a .avi). The best nzb clients does it all for you.
Windows nzb clients
- SuperNZB - freeware (highly recommended).
- GrabIt - freeware, but severely throttles you unless you register.
- Newsleecher - $19.99 / year.
- Android - $29.95 / year.
- hellanzb - Windows port of the open source, command-line based, Python program.
Mac nzb clients
- hellazb - OSX port of open source, command-line based, Python program.
Linux nzb clients
- hellanzb - open source. Python, command-line based.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What's so good about usenet?
Usenet downloads can be much faster than using bittorrent.
You don't have to seed in order to download. This does result in a lot of leeching (downloading without sharing the upload bandwidth burden), but that's why you have to pay for high-bandwidth usenet service.
2. What's an NZB file?
*.nzb files are the pointers to the full video files or image packs. On their own, they don't contain much data, only where to find that data. They're the usenet equivalent of *.torrent files. You need to get the *.nzb files in order to download the full videos.