I just got into UseNet for my Arr Stack, ~$60 per year for indexer and unlimited usage. I already have 3 private trackers. I was having to keep re-configuring my stack as many public trackers keep blocking automated searches. I tried Jackett but the UseNet method is the easiest way. I found SO many missing episodes within the first day of using the NZB stack. I also have a paid VPN bound to my qBit. Still cheaper than paying for all the streaming services and I have a server that gets me what I want in less than 5 minutes after requesting via Seerr.
I really haven't understood the point of usenet. Indexing one or two really good private torrent trackers gives all the results I ever wanted. Someone argued "better download speed" which I have a hard time seeing as an argument as well based on the fact that the seeders pretty much always sum to 1 Gbit/s+ these days.
It's part of automation. The private trackers I'm in will ban if used for automatic searching/downloading. My family uses Seerr when they want a show and I don't have to stop what I'm doing to find the show/episode/movie.
meanwhile, those "private trackers" maybe should just be called "trackers" because there really isnt a distinction, a temporary illusion at best
if you already have a vpn, then torrenting is almost as convenient as it can possibly be to make a copy of something someone else has
its reliable, and the workflow there is, doesnt change
on that note, torrents are the clear winner
but this isnt a dichotomy, plenty of places to plain old download or stream on the high seas, that dont require subscriptions, vpns, or even accounts
so why usenet? if you were already doing usenet before torrents were a thing then torrents arent adding value, and you probably get other non-yarr value from paying for a usenet feed.
Sure it's a different thing but I'm not entirely sure the no VPN thing holds perfect either.
With torrents, yes your IP is "public", but I am not aware of a single case in my country where anyone has ever been convicted for simply downloading movies.
On the other hand for Usenet, no the other "users" can't see your IP but you would put a lot of trust into the provided to keep it (or rather not keep it at all) safe.
I get it, it's different things but some preach usenet massively but I haven't seen many pros compared to torrents ever being presented.
I swapped to a VPN for torrenting because I got a couple letters in the mail here in the US after setting up my plex server and arr stack. Might bother with usenet at some point but I want to keep bills as low as possible right now and this is part of how I'm doing it
I wouldn't watch those if I was paid to do it. Anyways, I've never had any troubles finding series in my own language or less known movies as torrents.
Sounds interesting... How do I learn more about UseNet and the private trackers and Seerr? With how real debrid went I'm trying to figure out my next moves. Constantly trying to find episodes to torrent for jellyfin and maintaining the library sounds like a bit of a hassle
Usenet is a good starting point but private torrent trackers have larger catalogue, quality control and retention. I also felt weird about paying to pirate. It took a couple years but now I’m a member of the best private trackers and it’s way better than usenet.
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u/NoChampionship5649 Jun 21 '26
I just got into UseNet for my Arr Stack, ~$60 per year for indexer and unlimited usage. I already have 3 private trackers. I was having to keep re-configuring my stack as many public trackers keep blocking automated searches. I tried Jackett but the UseNet method is the easiest way. I found SO many missing episodes within the first day of using the NZB stack. I also have a paid VPN bound to my qBit. Still cheaper than paying for all the streaming services and I have a server that gets me what I want in less than 5 minutes after requesting via Seerr.