How do Sonarr / related services work? (lemm.ee)

submitted 2 years ago by TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

34 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Recently learned about this stuff on a Lemmy World post and I thought I'd move the conversation here since they've been fussy about DB0 in the past.

I'm really just a common seaman when it comes to the high seas. I just use Proton and qBit and whichever website is supposed to be safe and active nowdays (currently Torrent Galaxy?). I just download from the magnet link to qBit and save it on my drive. I don't know much about torrent streaming or ports or networks or anything IT might ask me to check beyond "plug it in".

But for some shows I've only been able to find single episodes, not full seasons, so when I heard about something that compiles stuff for me, it seemed convenient. I'd be curious to learn more. Unfortunately the websites for these services don't really offer any explanation to new users and laymen, so I got a bit lost. Thought I'd ask here rather than venture into their forums where they already don't seem to welcome idiots like me.

So... what the heck is Sonarr and how do I use it?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Naate@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

Sonarr (and the other 'arrs) is just a management tool. From the servarr wiki:

Sonarr is a PVR for Usenet and BitTorrent users. It can monitor multiple RSS feeds for new episodes of your favorite shows and will grab, sort and rename them. It can also be configured to automatically upgrade the quality of files already downloaded when a better quality format becomes available.

At a high level, you tell it where your current tv show episodes are saved, and add new shows as you want. It then automates the process of searching and downloading. But you still need to have an indexer and download client. If you're not able to find shows searching your current tracker/indexer, Sonarr won't have any better luck.

Finding a good source of the media you want is the most important part. If you're not comfortable with installing and managing your own server applications, the *arr stack could be overwhelming at first. The wiki I linked has a lot of good information to get you started.

[-] TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 2 points 2 years ago

What's a PVR? Mixed search results.

[-] Naate@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

Honestly, I had to google it, too :D

As far as I know, they mean "Personal Video Recorder" in a fashion similar to "DVR"/"Digital Video Recorder" like the one your cable company provides. It's a little misleading, imo, because it doesn't do any recording, but I didn't come up with the name, so who knows.

[-] TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 2 points 2 years ago

Okay, so I guess the name isn't that important. It's hard to keep track of all the different names and figuring out which names mean the same thing (and which ones dont, eg qBit vs Bit). honestly it's baffling that I've spent 30 years on the internet and can understand so little of it