What is an NZB file?
An NZB file carries the extension .nzb, short for Newzbin. This offers a clue that these files are utilized in USENET newsgroups. NZB files are used to fetch parts of files, that when combined together, form one large file. The one large file might be a graphic, movie, sound file, game or program. Newsgroups are text-based electronic bulletin boards where people congregate to discuss topics of interest or exchange files. The file-based newsgroups are separate from the discussion-based newsgroups, and are referred to as binary newsgroups. Binary newsgroups are designated for exchanging files. NZB files enter the picture when people want to exchange very large binary files that must be broken up into several pieces before they can be posted. USENET protocols limit the size of messages that can be uploaded. To post a large file, the poster must first convert the file into a text-based format (encode it) then use a software program to compress the file and divide it into numbered pieces. A
An NZB file operates a lot like a .torrent file. It points to a file or number of files on the usenet network. With a newsreader, an application that reads the newsgroups, one can simply open the NZB file and the newsreader will then find the files on Usenet and download the files from UseNet. Connecting OK, what do I need to know to connect? It is entirely possible that your ISP doesn’t offer UseNet, but most ISPs do offer UseNet. The easiest way to find out is via a Wiki on NewzBin that shows pretty much every ISP around the world what the respective situation is on UseNet from the ISP. If you’re going to connect to UseNet, these graphs offer critical information to connecting to UseNet. How can I connect then? You’re newsreader will allow you to actually connect to the network. While there are a number of newsreaders available, it’s recommended that you use Grabit (no adware/spyware/malware). Once you install and configure it, you’ll probably see something like this when you open th
An NZB file contains a list of Usenet message headers. As an alternative to retrieving a large number of headers from a news server, you can import just a few headers from an NZB file. For example, an NZB file might contain: The RAR and PAR headers for a large binary. All the JPG files in a picture series. Several interesting threads from a text newsgroup. See Agent’s Guide to Binaries for a list of NZB indexing sites.
