Netkups, File Hoster With Torrent Distribution

One of the things that is keeping users from distributing their files via Bittorrent, is that they have to be online for the initial seeding, and times when the third party seeder count drops to 0. The only way around this is to use a seedbox that seeds the file from a location that is connected 24/7 to the Internet. For all the benefits that seedboxes provide, they have a few disadvantages including that you need to pay a fee to use them.

The new startup Netkups looked at the current "file sharing" landscapes and noticed that there was not a single service that combined the benefits of torrent distribution with file hosting capabilities. The idea behind the service could help carve a niche for the company in the file hosting vertical.

Users of the service can upload their files to the Netkups servers, just as they would at sites like Rapidshare, Mediafire or Hotfile. A single download link is created that points to both the direct download link of the uploaded file, and a torrent download. The torrent link is only created if the uploaded file exceeds 10 Megabytes.

Downloaders have now the option to select either link to download the file. The service restricts the speed, number of downloads and resume capabilities of direct downloads from the company servers. The torrent downloads do not have those restrictions, which often makes it the better choice, especially if a direct download is already running on the system.

But there is another benefit here that has not been mentioned yet. Netkups will seed the file initially, which makes it work like a seedbox in this regard. That's good for the original uploader as file availability can be guaranteed at all times. The uploader can download the generated torrent to seed from the local system as well.

A premium service is available that increases speed limits and upload sizes, and removes the parallel download limit and resume capabilities.

The idea of bundling direct downloads with torrents makes sense both for end users who are tired of waiting for a download to complete before they can start the next, and the hosting company as torrent distribution takes less strain on the company servers.

The service is relatively new, and we have seen services come and go quite frequently in the past. It is definitely on to keep an eye on, but I probably would not go all in just now. That does not mean that you cannot use the service for your files, only that you should have a backup copy or plan available in case things go south. (via Torrentfreak)

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