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I don't remember why or how I ever picked up uTorrent, but that's the client I've always used. Thinking about torrenting just now, I realize I used to download

I don't remember why or how I ever picked up uTorrent, but that's the client I've always used. Thinking about torrenting just now, I realize I used to download torrents much more often than I do these days. I guess that's due to greater availability of video content on the streaming platforms and music on Spotify, etc.? What else do people use torrents for from a consumer perspective? Is there a wider everyday use case that I'm unaware of? Genuinely curious.

2143 4y ago
Well, it can be used to transfer any large files amongst a bunch of people. I like the protocol in theory. If n people want the same resource, it seems better if they get that in a sort of distributed way rather than all of them connecting to a central server to get that resource. Can be useful if you're on a slow network. I wonder if existing routers along the way make this efficient regardless. Some Linux distros nudge you towards torrents to download its .iso file even if direct download methods are available. Xubuntu is one such distro [1]. Also, can anybody from Germany confirm if there's a ban on torrenting over there? I hear some governments/ISPs etc are starting to blanket-ban the entire protocol to prevent proliferation of pirated movies, which seems to be what the protocol is used for in practice. [1] https://xubuntu.org/download/ https://xubuntu.org/download/
- Gigachad 4y ago
  These days it’s much more practical to just upload it to cloud storage and share a link. Sure in theory it’s not the absolute fastest way but it’s massively more convenient and regular users aren’t sharing 1TB files.
  - jszymborski 4y ago
    The bandwidth isn't much fun to pay for though.
    - Gigachad 4y ago
      No consumer cloud storage charges you for transfers.
      - jszymborski 4y ago
        If I'm reading the AWS S3 pricing charts right[0], you get charged 0.09 USD per GB for the first 10 Tb of transfer out of US East. If 1000 people download my 1 GB file that I host on S3, that'll run me 90 USD. You can host on Wasabi which is the only object storage I know where out is free, but my understanding is that the storage is more expensive. [0] Which I might not be because I'm pretty sure you need an astrologer.
        derefr 4y ago
        By "consumer cloud storage" the GP commenter likely meant to refer to services like Dropbox, Mega, etc.; not to IaaS object storage (which would more appropriately be called "commercial cloud storage.")
        jszymborski 4y ago
        Ah that makes sense! I occasionally use Wasabi to sling files around so that's where my mind was when I made the original comment. I do feel like you do end up paying for storage if you're sharing anything significant in size, which is where torrents become more convenient imho if both parties know how to use a torrent client.
- Loranubi 4y ago
  Torrenting is not banned in Germany. You are just easily sued if you distribute copyrighted material. Not just isp warnings and the like
Gigachad 4y ago
Same situation as you. Used to be involved in the whole private tracker thing too. Was a mix of online services getting better, and me having more money. Hardly ever torrent stuff now.
wirthjason 4y ago
Linux distros. ;) https://ubuntu.com/download/alternative-downloads https://ubuntu.com/download/alternative-downloads
- Hasnep 4y ago
  For more FOSS torrents, see FossTorrents.com [1] :) [1] https://fosstorrents.com/ https://fosstorrents.com/
dmix 4y ago
I use torrents heavily despite subscribing to 4 different streaming services because I live in Canada and we don't yet have Hulu or HBO Max. Plus I also like watching some older movies via 2160p bluray rips and torrents are just the easiest option to do so. That plus it has everything. I use Transmission for torrents and then https://airflow.app/ https://airflow.app/ to cast movies from my Macbook to my Firestick/Chromecast, which I find just as easy as using a streaming service. When I a) can't find it on streaming and b) don't feel like waiting for torrent d/ls (even on fiber connection) I just use https://soap2day.id/ https://soap2day.id/ and mirror via Chromecast casting, which seems to have every movie/TV show ever. Quality is pretty good, usually 1080p or 720p.
- xwowsersx 4y ago
  Yeah, streaming has become such a mess. In the beginning, it felt liberating to cut the cord and the promise was, at least in theory, that you could get just what you wanted with a couple streaming services. But now you have to have 5 or 6 and when combined they are more than cable used to be! Even if those services are available where you live, you might not want to subscribe to yet another streaming service just to catch one episode or one show, especially since a many of the streaming services aren't exactly filled with tons of great content that justifies the permanent subscription. I hadn't heard of Airflow, thanks for the link. Out of curiosity, if my TV is already AirPlay-enabled, what does Airflow do for me that I can't get by just clicking on my Mac to watch on that screen (although I often just end up connecting my Mac via HDMI because that seems more reliable, at least on my TV)?
  - dmix 4y ago
    I'm not sure re: airplay. I personally use a Firestick 4k Max, which I replaced my more custom Android TV box (w/ Plex) because it has a fast CPU and Wifi 6 and was <$50 (vs $75+ for a decent custom android box and >$100 for Apple TV). Honestly I'm not even sure which protocol Airflow uses to connect with my Firestick + TV, I use an app (AirReceiver) which says "AirPlay, Chromecast, and DLNA" and it works every time so I don't really care :)
- leovander 4y ago
lelanthran 4y ago
> What else do people use torrents for from a consumer perspective? We have three streaming services: Netflix, Prime and Disney+.[1] Not everything I want to see is on those services. [1] And "youtube with ads", i.e. standard free youtube. Dunno if that counts though.
- xwowsersx 4y ago
  Oh for sure. I wasn't suggesting there's no need for torrents anymore. Like I said, I still torrent, just a lot less than I used to. And I was speculating that this is due, at least in part, to the increased availability of video content on streaming platforms. It used to be that the only way I could see a certain show or movie was by torrenting it.
Narushia 4y ago
I simply prefer watching stuff via a video player of my choice (mpv). That way I can do stuff like frame-by-frame playback, and take screenshots / video clips with conveniently named files. Niche, I know, but I watch a lot of animation, and like to study and discuss how different artists approach and implement their scenes. So these are all essential features for me. Also, some stuff I want to watch is not available legally anywhere in my territory.
kerpotgh 4y ago
I use torrents for full videos of porn, UFC, ebooks, professional tutorials, expensive software and for anything that isn’t available on Netflix since that’s the only subscription service I have. Also subscription services don’t let you select the bitrate for streaming- this way I can make sure I watch the entire program in 4K.
manigandham 4y ago
There are multiple torrent/download services like Put.io that make it much easier and more useful. Regardless of streaming service subscriptions, nothing beats raw files for high-fidelity playback without buffering and instant replay/seeking.

2143 4y ago

Well, it can be used to transfer any large files amongst a bunch of people. I like the protocol in theory. If n people want the same resource, it seems better if they get that in a sort of distributed way rather than all of them connecting to a central server to get that resource. Can be useful if you're on a slow network. I wonder if existing routers along the way make this efficient regardless. Some Linux distros nudge you towards torrents to download its .iso file even if direct download methods are available. Xubuntu is one such distro [1]. Also, can anybody from Germany confirm if there's a ban on torrenting over there? I hear some governments/ISPs etc are starting to blanket-ban the entire protocol to prevent proliferation of pirated movies, which seems to be what the protocol is used for in practice. [1] https://xubuntu.org/download/ https://xubuntu.org/download/

Gigachad 4y ago
These days it’s much more practical to just upload it to cloud storage and share a link. Sure in theory it’s not the absolute fastest way but it’s massively more convenient and regular users aren’t sharing 1TB files.
- jszymborski 4y ago
  The bandwidth isn't much fun to pay for though.
  - Gigachad 4y ago
    No consumer cloud storage charges you for transfers.
    - jszymborski 4y ago
      If I'm reading the AWS S3 pricing charts right[0], you get charged 0.09 USD per GB for the first 10 Tb of transfer out of US East. If 1000 people download my 1 GB file that I host on S3, that'll run me 90 USD. You can host on Wasabi which is the only object storage I know where out is free, but my understanding is that the storage is more expensive. [0] Which I might not be because I'm pretty sure you need an astrologer.
      - derefr 4y ago
        By "consumer cloud storage" the GP commenter likely meant to refer to services like Dropbox, Mega, etc.; not to IaaS object storage (which would more appropriately be called "commercial cloud storage.")
        jszymborski 4y ago
        Ah that makes sense! I occasionally use Wasabi to sling files around so that's where my mind was when I made the original comment. I do feel like you do end up paying for storage if you're sharing anything significant in size, which is where torrents become more convenient imho if both parties know how to use a torrent client.
Loranubi 4y ago
Torrenting is not banned in Germany. You are just easily sued if you distribute copyrighted material. Not just isp warnings and the like

Gigachad 4y ago

Same situation as you. Used to be involved in the whole private tracker thing too. Was a mix of online services getting better, and me having more money. Hardly ever torrent stuff now.

wirthjason 4y ago

Linux distros. ;) https://ubuntu.com/download/alternative-downloads https://ubuntu.com/download/alternative-downloads

Hasnep 4y ago
For more FOSS torrents, see FossTorrents.com [1] :) [1] https://fosstorrents.com/ https://fosstorrents.com/

dmix 4y ago

I use torrents heavily despite subscribing to 4 different streaming services because I live in Canada and we don't yet have Hulu or HBO Max. Plus I also like watching some older movies via 2160p bluray rips and torrents are just the easiest option to do so. That plus it has everything. I use Transmission for torrents and then https://airflow.app/ https://airflow.app/ to cast movies from my Macbook to my Firestick/Chromecast, which I find just as easy as using a streaming service. When I a) can't find it on streaming and b) don't feel like waiting for torrent d/ls (even on fiber connection) I just use https://soap2day.id/ https://soap2day.id/ and mirror via Chromecast casting, which seems to have every movie/TV show ever. Quality is pretty good, usually 1080p or 720p.

xwowsersx 4y ago
Yeah, streaming has become such a mess. In the beginning, it felt liberating to cut the cord and the promise was, at least in theory, that you could get just what you wanted with a couple streaming services. But now you have to have 5 or 6 and when combined they are more than cable used to be! Even if those services are available where you live, you might not want to subscribe to yet another streaming service just to catch one episode or one show, especially since a many of the streaming services aren't exactly filled with tons of great content that justifies the permanent subscription. I hadn't heard of Airflow, thanks for the link. Out of curiosity, if my TV is already AirPlay-enabled, what does Airflow do for me that I can't get by just clicking on my Mac to watch on that screen (although I often just end up connecting my Mac via HDMI because that seems more reliable, at least on my TV)?
- dmix 4y ago
  I'm not sure re: airplay. I personally use a Firestick 4k Max, which I replaced my more custom Android TV box (w/ Plex) because it has a fast CPU and Wifi 6 and was <$50 (vs $75+ for a decent custom android box and >$100 for Apple TV). Honestly I'm not even sure which protocol Airflow uses to connect with my Firestick + TV, I use an app (AirReceiver) which says "AirPlay, Chromecast, and DLNA" and it works every time so I don't really care :)
leovander 4y ago

lelanthran 4y ago

> What else do people use torrents for from a consumer perspective? We have three streaming services: Netflix, Prime and Disney+.[1] Not everything I want to see is on those services. [1] And "youtube with ads", i.e. standard free youtube. Dunno if that counts though.

xwowsersx 4y ago
Oh for sure. I wasn't suggesting there's no need for torrents anymore. Like I said, I still torrent, just a lot less than I used to. And I was speculating that this is due, at least in part, to the increased availability of video content on streaming platforms. It used to be that the only way I could see a certain show or movie was by torrenting it.

Narushia 4y ago

I simply prefer watching stuff via a video player of my choice (mpv). That way I can do stuff like frame-by-frame playback, and take screenshots / video clips with conveniently named files. Niche, I know, but I watch a lot of animation, and like to study and discuss how different artists approach and implement their scenes. So these are all essential features for me. Also, some stuff I want to watch is not available legally anywhere in my territory.

kerpotgh 4y ago

I use torrents for full videos of porn, UFC, ebooks, professional tutorials, expensive software and for anything that isn’t available on Netflix since that’s the only subscription service I have. Also subscription services don’t let you select the bitrate for streaming- this way I can make sure I watch the entire program in 4K.

manigandham 4y ago

There are multiple torrent/download services like Put.io that make it much easier and more useful. Regardless of streaming service subscriptions, nothing beats raw files for high-fidelity playback without buffering and instant replay/seeking.