Which Usenet provider do you use, and how happy are you with it?

Well, I'm new to Usenet and have signed up with Powerusenet after testing their services and having an excellent result. I get to max out my connection all the time.

Now, since I'm a newbie, I don't understand some of the things you guys talk about, as when you mention the completion rates.

I have been searching for NZB's on the NZBMatrix (excellent, I just became a VIP user) and I always seen to download the files correctly.

Now, since I'm using this "tracker", is there any difference on the news server I'm actually signed up to? Could I have different results using Giganews, Astraweb or Powerusenet when downloading from the same NZB?

Cheers!

Is it just me or is Giganews retention going backward?

I know they stated that the increase in uploads was more than their increased capacity could handle and that while they would further increase their capacity, there'd be a slight decrease in retention until those upgrades were in place. That was 2 months ago, when rentention of anything up to 220 days was near complete and there were few problems with anything at 230 days. Two weeks ago I found 210 days to be a little iffy, and now it's more like 190 days.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jdeiro

Well, I'm new to Usenet and have signed up with Powerusenet after testing their services and having an excellent result. I get to max out my connection all the time.

Now, since I'm a newbie, I don't understand some of the things you guys talk about, as when you mention the completion rates.

I have been searching for NZB's on the NZBMatrix (excellent, I just became a VIP user) and I always seen to download the files correctly.

Now, since I'm using this "tracker", is there any difference on the news server I'm actually signed up to? Could I have different results using Giganews, Astraweb or Powerusenet when downloading from the same NZB?

Cheers!

---

No, you should not get different results. I suppose it is theoretically possible if you are using a really bad usenet provider. But all the major usenet providers like Giganews, Astraweb or Powerusenet should give you the exact same articles. And depending on their retention and completion rates, you might get missing articles and then have to use par files.

Can you max 100 Mbps at Astraweb from Sweden? It's so cheap (compared to Giganews) that I might just switch from bittorent to usenet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Quasit

Can you max 100 Mbps at Astraweb from Sweden? It's so cheap (compared to Giganews) that I might just switch from bittorent to usenet.

---

You may be able to, it depends on the route it takes to the server. I know someone from sweden who is able to get 60Mbps constantly. You could try it for a month and see how it goes :)

Just joined astraweb. So far I'm very pleased. Getting maximum speed higher retention and ssl encryption all at a lower price than before! So very happy so far!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Quasit

Can you max 100 Mbps at Astraweb from Sweden? It's so cheap (compared to Giganews) that I might just switch from bittorent to usenet.

---

not sure about sweeden, but my dedicated box in france uploads & downloads from astraweb at about 9.5 megs a sec... that's roughly 75 megabits. sweeden probably has similar results.

I just very pleased with moving to astraweb! and now that they are upgrading retention to a whopping 365 days I see no reason to choose anyone else!

I have tried several including the following:

• Astraweb
• NewsgroupDirect
• NewsDemon
• Altbinaries
• Teranews
• Easynews

Here is my take on each:

I currently subscribe monthly to Easynews. Have been with them for about 2+yrs now and like their web interface (although, recently it has had major problems), but I am probably going to cancel with them soon cause better deals can be had elsewhere. The thing I have always liked about Easynews was their rollover option. Unused bandwidth rolls over to the next month & accumulates. I'm sure there are some others that have this option too.

I also currently have block accounts with NewsgroupDirect and Astraweb. Both have been great too & I have been happy with them. While most here probably use the $11/month unlimited plan with Astraweb, I also like how they have block account options. I don't really download a lot each month so a block account option fits my needs & budget better. And with their recent announcement of increasing retention to 365 days, it can't be beat. NewsgroupDirect is at 200 days too so not to shabby either.

I had a trial account with Newsdemon and have been taking note of their service as well. They were pretty good while I had them and would definitely consider them on a permanent basis. Especially since they have announced their retention levels being upgraded to 400 days. This is the largest I have seen in the usenet industry (except Newshosting=400 days too). I suspect others will probably follow suit though. Also, Newsdemon has a good cheap $2.99/month basic account too that would fit my needs. Its only about 7.5GB of bandwidth, but if you're a light user, that would be ideal. This light account level doesn't include SSL though.

Altbinaries has been good too. Their retention might not be as high as others (around 200 days), but the one unique thing that attracted me to them was that you can customize your own monthly package with them (2-150gb/month) and can be changed as needed. Free SSL too. I just signed up with them & am checking them out with 3gb/month for about $1.44/month. I think they have the rollover option as well, but not 100% sure yet. They also now have an option of having a one time charge for a specified amount of bandwidth over a designated period of time. This seems like a unique feature too and I consider it sort of a hybrid type account. Cross between a block account and monthly account. So far, their service has been good too.

Finally, I have been with Teranews for about 4 yrs now & probably the longest for me. I have been under their free account option & its only about 62mb/day for a free account. I know, not a lot, but I have no monthly fees so its something. Their service has been good for the most parts in terms of completion. They recently added SSL too. Their retention levels aren't great compared to the others & nowhere near the big boys, but like I said, its free & I have no monthly fees with them so I can't really complain. I think rentetion for them is around 110 days.

Altbinaries, NewsgroupDirect & Newsdemon all offer a free registered copy of NewRover too so that is some pluses to consider. Although, I use Newsleecher with all and am happy with this as well so I'll probably just stick with this instead.

If I had to pick just one to stay with today, I would probably say ASTRAWEB. It's the best bang for the buck & probably the best deal out there going now. Monthly and block account options to choose from, great speeds, free SSL, good completion levels and extremely high retention. Although, Newsdemon is one I am keeping an eye on & close watch with too.



*

...deleted.