Agreed. Automation is optional. You can easily get started with many popular Windows apps that are readily available (my advice is to always go open-source).

Setting up automation was a laborious task for me. I set it all up on TrueNAS - so it was a bit harder that just using Windows apps and file systems. But, well worth the time!

My indexer has been darn rock solid for all the things I have ever looked for. Do you have any insight as to any other indexer that might benefit me? Got an invite to give out?

I appreciate everyone's love of torrents and also appreciate the technology. Whether or not we are driving a screw into the wall with a hammer, gosh darn it, it works. I don't know or understand "what happens in the background" but I would challenge you to duel! Feel free to list a commonly available show/movie/book/pr0n/whatever and I will race you to find and download it! :)

I remember when I was a teen, I used USENET to d/l pictures with a 26.4kbps modem - this was some time ago (let's call it 20 years and not discuss it further)! I don't think USENET is "plodding" at all. My setup is so automated that I spend less than 5 minutes a week verifying/whatever downloads and the like. No need to u/l anything. It. Just. Works. No risk of being hit by authorities for seeding a torrent (I have received a few ISP letters in the past that I was identified - granted I was not using a VPN or proxy at the time.)

https://usenetreviewz.com/nzbgeek-review/

This is the indexer I use. I do not know if the information on the site linked is accurate or not, as I have paid for a lifetime subscription years ago.

I do not know of any USENET servers that offer lifetime subscriptions.

New lemmy user. New to the forum. Please excuse any errors in posting.

I (may) have for quite a long time (10+ years) ran a NAS system that automatically downloads TV shows, Movies, Music, and the like.

Usenet is the way to go. Hands down. I (may) have also torrented a lot in the past...

As many others have mentioned retention times (the time each USENET server "keeps" the file available) is huge these days. Around 5+ years. Was the file uploaded 5 years ago? Chances are you still get it from your server with no problems. Lots of "old" stuff is frequently re-uploaded to servers. General availability of stuff that is "new" or "popular" is very high.

As some others have mentioned USENET is usually ONE server that you pay for. A file is uploaded to server X, and is mirrored by (your) server Y (and all/most other servers). You are not actually downloading (in most cases, as is mine) from multiple servers simultaneously. Many servers do allow multiple connections to download the entire files parts at the same time, however. Bonus: Most/all reputable USENET servers also have SSL as an option (even with custom ports). Your ISP has no clue what your traffic is since it is encrypted with SSL (and perhaps even on a custom [non-standard] port). My USENET server peaks out at the ISP provided bandwidth on all downloads.

Someone else also mentioned indexers and equated them to the "google of USENET." I agree. Indexers are absolutely required for a full USENET ease-of-use experience (and for all automation apps). Automation apps use this indexer to search for the applicable files (.nzb: .nzbs are kind of like a .zip file full of the references of the files on USENET to download an entire (big) file.)

I have had the same USENET provider for over a decade. I think it costs me <$100/year (and comes with a VPN and proxy). I purchased a lifetime membership with an indexer that has never left me wanting for like $100 years ago. Still works like a charm.

I saw someone mention some automation apps such as: sabNZBd, sonarr, raddar, and lidarr. These apps will cover 90% of what you are looking for unless it is somewhat niche. There are also automation apps for books, comics, anime, manga, and other stuff out there. Pretty easy to find. My automation programs automatically look for new TV shows, movies, and etc. that aired/released, downloads them, categorize them, rename the files, transfer them to my storage, download subtitles, have criteria (as someone mentioned before) as to which file type/region/size/bitrate that I want. It just works, now that I have it all setup, in the background. I spend 5 minutes a week on ensuring things have been downloaded and are in there place.

Typically if a new show was released (aired) on Tuesday, my rig would have it downloaded by the next day (by automation apps) when I was ready to watch TV. I have had several folks ask for specific things, and was able to find them with my automation apps (more below) in very short course.

Regarding torrent automation: It seems a bit harder. Torrents are slower to download and a "bit" harder to process/automate. Some torrent downloaders don't natively support VPN or a proxy (I am speaking from the "I do it on Truenas perspective" as opposed to "I do it on Windows.") I assume that most, if not all, Window's torrent programs support both aforementioned methods of IP obfuscation.

I am not posting links or naming either my USENET provider or my indexer due to the fact that I don't understand the subs rules, nor do I want to look like an advertising shill.

Please message me if you want anymore information or if there is anything I can do to help out.

-- Have a fun time sailing the seas.

Edit: Small edit. Some misspellings and reorganizing paragraphs to better flow. Added another paragraph about torrent automation.