I know a lot of Usenet fans have been looking around for new NZB sites and search engines since Newzbin2 and NZBMatrix closed in December.  You’ll be happy to know there are several new options.  Obviously they aren’t as complete as the big dogs of the past but give them time.  Better yet each of the sites we’re about to list is open to new registrations so you won’t need an invite.  The sites are free to join and use.  Some of them offer premium accounts or VIP status based on donations.  Check them all out and see what you think.

From what we’ve seen so far it seems like there are a few new NZB sites and Usenet search engines that have a shot of being the next NZBMatrix.  Their are several contenders and our favorite is nzbX.  Again though registration is open at all these sites as we’re writing so we recommend you sign up for each and try them all out.  Find the best fit for you.  Several of them are built off Newznab so you’ll notice similarities.

Here’s a list of the top 10 new NZB sites sorted by Alexa traffic ranking:

1. nzbX – Nzbx.co
2. Nznindex.in – Nzbindex.in
3. NZBFriends – Nzbfriends.com
4. NZBid – Nzbid.org
5. NZB Matrix EU – Nzb-matrix.eu (no relation to the original NZBMatrix)
6. Nzbplanet – Nzbplanet.net
7. NZBGeek – Nzbgeek.info
8. NZBZombie – Nzbzombie.com
9. NZB Finder – Nzbfinder.ws
10. pwnZB – Pwnzb.com

Remember to sign up for the new sites while they’re open for registration.  We’d like to wish each of the new NZB sites and search engines the best in building an active community of Usenet fans.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest deals.

NewsgroupDirect’s Usenet blocks are an excellent choice for a backup or fill account.  At 1 TB some users can use the block as their primary for several months.  At 4 cents a gig the price is a great value.  The block is also non-expiring so you can download until the 1 TB is all used up.  NGD members enjoy high retention along with 50 SSL connections.  Sign up before 12 AM EST through the NGD Terabyte Tuesday page and enjoy!

Visit NewsgroupReviews to learn more about newsgroups.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest deals.

What do we mean by fast?  We’re not talking about the performance of a website like Binsearch.  They are very fast at returning search results but you still have to go there are query the search engine.  We’re talking about auto-search features.  Configure your newsreader to watch for the latest episode of your favorite podcast and automatically download it.  Set it and forget it.  Let the client do the work while you enjoy other activities.

In the last few weeks we’ve seen updates from three of our favorite newsreaders.  All addressing the same need.  Helping users automatically find and download content soon after its posted to Usenet.  Newshosting, Newsbin and Newsleecher all released new features.  They are also working on more enhancements.  We suggest you try all three clients and see which new search feature best meets your needs.

Newshosting Client Auto-Search

We’ll start with the new auto-search feature in the Newshosting client.  You’ll need to be a member of Newshosting to use their newsreader.  We use them and would highly recommend the service.  They are currently offering unlimited Usenet for just $9.99 a month or $99 a year.  The service includes free access to the client and search engine.  With the new auto-search feature and access to all future software updates.

With the new automatic search feature, Newshosting members can set up queries to run on a regular basis.  As you can see we configured an auto-search to look for the latest Ubuntu packages.  Rather than get just anything related to Ubuntu we wanted to look for the latest distros of the operating system.  To help we set a size limitation of between 800 MB and 1000 MB.  The same logic could apply to any search query.

Once you’ve set up your automatic search queries and perferences the client will do the rest of the work.  We set our search to only show results.  We could have just as easily set it to automatically download the content.  The Newshosting client would go out and check for the latest matches on a regular basis.  Then it would grab anything that matched our search query.  Without the normal delay of finding content manually.

Newsbin Watch Feature

If you’re going to pay for a premium newsreader then Newsbin is an excellent choice.  Their team is constantly adding new features and responds quickly to support requests.  New users can download a free trial of the newsgroup browser.  After that the client costs $30 a year with their popular Usenet search engine built-in.  You’ll still need a reliable Usenet provider to download content. See our awards post for recommendations.

The newly released Newsbin Pro watch feature will help you find and download content faster.  The first version is meant to help you automatically filter out results while downloading headers.  Which in turn will help you find the matching results much faster than manually reviewing headers.  Dealing with headers is time consuming.  We like where Newsbin is headed as they work to incorporate the watch feature into the search engine.

NewsLeecher SuperLeech

The latest addition to the premium clients came from NewsLeecher.  They have a popular search feature called SuperSearch.  They are now adding more functionality with SuperLeech.  The only downside is the price.  You’ll pay $3.99 a month for access to the reader and search function.  You’ll still need a reliable Usenet provider to download the content.  You can use their service or view our awards post for suggestions.

The new SuperLeech feature is currently in alpha testing so you might expect to run into some issues.  That’s the case with the new features in all three clients.  They are kindly rolling them out to help users but there will likely be some growing pains.  The new SuperLeech feature will help find and automatically download content through their SuperSearch engine.  They are asking for feedback and suggestions for future updates.

We look forward to testing out the new SuperLeech add-on this weekend.  Rather than wait until next week we wanted to share the news with you first.  That way you can check it out as well.  Here’s some additional information from the alpha test forum post to get you started using the new feature:

Currently, SuperLeech implements 3 different service modes :

————————
1. “Leech [ All ] ” Mode
————————
This is the most basic mode. Using this mode, SuperLeech will
leech *everything* matching the specified search query. This
mode should only be used, if you search for very specific
subjects, or you will end up having the SuperLeech service
leeching way too many articles.

————————-
2. “Leech [ Once ] ” Mode
————————-
Using this mode, SuperLeech will leech the first matching
article ( or article collection ), that gets posted to the
Usenet, after the SuperLeech entry has been activated.
When a match has occurred, the SuperLeech service will make
sure that no further articles are matched.

—————————–
3. “Leech [ Episodes ] ” Mode
—————————–
This mode has been implemented for users, who are interested
in series episodes. It can be used to automatically download
new episodes for wanted series, almost as soon as they get
posted to the Usenet.

Say you are interested in a podcast series called “My favorite
podcast series”. To automatically download new episodes of the
series, when they become available, simply setup a SuperLeech
entry with the search query set to “My favorite podcast series”
(wo. quotes) and the search method set to “Leech [ Episodes ]“.

You can read the full forum post for additional details.  Next week we’ll recap all the new auto-search features released recently.  In the meantime test out the new SuperLeech feature and let them know what you think.

We went in and set up a quick search for Ubuntu posts between 800 MB and 1000 MB.  Then we set the valid time to a week.  Specifically April 30th to May 7th.  For demonstration purposes we chose “Only show results”.  If we wanted the latest Ubuntu distro as soon as it hit Usenet we’d choose “Download one search result” or “Download all search results” from the Action dropdown.  Hopefully you get the idea from our quick demo.

The new automatic search feature is currently in beta.  You can expect to see more refinements in future releases.  If you’re not a member you can sign up for Newshosting for just $10 a month or $99 a year.  You can read our Newshosting review to learn more about the client and follow us for the latest news and updates.

Here’s a full list of features and changes in Newsbin 6.50 vs. 6.42:

• New Watch feature. Configure Newsbin to pull out items of interest during header downloads.
• Ability to launch post unrar processing scripts.
• Provides the ability to download parts of a post to one drive and have them assembled to another. Useful if you want to minimize I/O bottlenecks by downloading to a fast internal drive then save the assembled files on larger external media like a NAS.
• Optimizations for downloading to SSD drives
• Uses new hashing code. Seems to solve the rare problem where Newsbin and quickpar don’t agree on the hash value
• If you have two unique Regular Expressions with a space between them, it’ll AND the results.
• Intermediate NB2 files are no longer used.
• New logic to verify all downloaded files even without pars so it won’t download dup files ever.
• Startup checking is much faster, like if you exit with large sets in the download list.
• Compacts more posting styles
• The “Small File Filter” is now disabled by default (Show PAR/NFO)
• Unnecessary files in the data folder gets purged on startup now.
• Now supports SMTP authentication for email notifications.

Newsbin customers can download version 6.50 Beta 5 from their beta page. All full releases and betas are free of charge for users with a software license.  New users can download a 10 day free trial to test the client.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to compare Usenet clients and providers.  Join us on Twitter @NewsgroupRevs.

The Easynews web interface is by far the best around.  Browse over 400 days of binary retention through your web browser.  With the ability to search for content, view images, preview and stream.  All without any software.  Then if you want to go beyond 400 days you can fire up your favorite newsreader and browse up to 1,700 days of retention. You can check out our Easynews web interface review to see some of the features in action.

Confused by NNTP vs. web retention?  If so here’s a quick explanation:

• NNTP retention uses newsgroup software like SABnzbd, Newsbin Pro, NewsLeecher, or Binreader to browse and download from Usenet.  Easynews includes NNTP access with all their plans.  They also have the option of unlimited NNTP Usenet for just $9.95 a month.  With or without a corresponding web plan.
• The web interface and web retention are unique to Easynews.  A great choice for those new to Usenet who don’t want to mess with installing a client.  Use the web interface to search for content, preview, stream and download.  Easynews also supports iOS and Android.  New members can try it free for 14 days.

Cheers to the Easynews team as they surpass four and a half years of binary retention.  With increased web retention and other enhancements, they continue to expand the service.  You should check them out.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet and follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest news.

We don’t currently use VyprVPN so we can’t speak to the quality or speed of the new servers.  If the past is any indication we would expect the servers are well suited to meet their users needs.  Let’s take a look at the VyprVPN server locations that Giganews Diamond members can now access:

• United States – Austin, Los Angeles, Washington DC
• United Kingdom – London
• Canada – Toronto
• Asia – Hong Kong
• Frnace – Paris
• Germany – Frankfurt
• Netherlands – Amsterdam
• Denmark – Copenhagen
• Sweden – Stolkholm
• Switzerland – Zurich

If you need access to servers in other countries then check out our VPN review site.  On VPNSP.com we compare over 300 providers along with reviews, guides, free trials and the best deals.  It’s a lot like NGR.

Congratulations to the Giganews team in Austin and everyone else there.  If you haven’t already heard Austin has been selected as the next location for Google’s fiber Internet access.  Now that’s some fast Usenet!

Those of us who regularly enjoy Usenet now have access to over four and a half years of binary newsgroup posts.  At 1,700 days you can access newsgroup posts from 4 years and 8 months ago.  As 1,700 days ago was August of 2008.  Back then the highest retention to be found was 240 days, which is around 8 months.  Now we can all explore over 56 months of Usenet posts for a fraction of the 2008 price of newsgroup access.

The quality and value offered by Usenet providers has also progressed since 2008.  Back then services offered unlimited Usenet for $20-$30 a month.  Fast forward to 2013 and the price is half that much.  Not only has the cost dropped significantly.  Users now enjoy free extras.  Including faster speeds and additional features like newsreaders, Usenet search and online storage.  All for under $10 a month.

We look forward to celebrating again in 100 days as Usenet hits 1,800 days of binary retention.  Surpassing five years of retention in the not so distant future.  Until then continue enjoying the best Usenet has to offer.  Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet. Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest offers.

You might want to bookmark this page since it will be updated frequently.  Any time we see a new deal or get news from one of our friends in the industry of an upcoming special we’ll let you know.  That way you don’t have to search around the web for the latest pricing.  As for our list, we’ll be covering all the Usenet providers we’ve come to know and trust over the years.  Each of which offers non-expiring block accounts.

We’ll also make suggestions for which company to choose based on who you use as your primary Usenet provider.  For example if you’re on UseNetServer then we’d recommend a block from Astraweb, BlockNews or Usenet-News to compliment for fills and as a backup.  Here’s a more complete list of suggestions:

Unlimited Usenet (Primary) with Suggested Block Providers

Let’s jump right into the deals.  We’ll start with the latest offers and best prices.  Reviewing the blocks by size, price and cost per gig.  Continuing the same process for each Usenet provider to show their full offerings.

Best Block Usenet Deals

NewsDemon Blocks

NewsgroupDirect Blocks

theCubeNet Blocks

Astraweb Blocks

BlockNews Plans

Usenet-News Blocks

I hope you find our pricing tables helpful.  You can put together different combinations of primary (unlimited) and secondary (block) plans to enhance your Usenet experience.  Between our editor’s we use a mix of UseNetServer and Newshosting for our primary service and have a 1 TB block plan from Astraweb for fills.  We share the block plan and given the 1 TB size it should take care of our needs for a long time.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about any of the Usenet providers listed in our post.  We also welcome you to follow us on Twitter – @NewsgroupRevs for the latest news, guides and special promotions.