Filestream.me is my first experience with using a seedbox instead of downloading straight to my computer. It's opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. I'm a cord-cutter, which means most of my TV shows have to be downloaded unless I want to wait for dvd, which... not happening. Until now, I've been jumping through hoops hiding my IP address, limiting the amount I download, and crossing my fingers my net provider doesn't figure out what I'm doing.
I love that there's a free option. I'm a try it before I buy it kind of person, so this was an important factor for me. Granted, I'm limited in the amount that I can download, but it's better than paying out money and risk not getting it back if I'm not happy.
Here's what you get free:
2 options on max size per downloaded file. 1 gig for logging in with a Facebook account, 300 MB if you don't.
300 gig storage space for downloaded files
Unlimited monthly traffic, So far I haven't been hit with any limitations
Unlimited download speed. Which isn't quite true: Their FAQ says: "Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps. Actual speed depends on your ISP and download sources. *FREE users use shared infrastructure which can get significantly slower under heavy loads. Personally, I've been happy with it so far, it's not significantly slower than using uTorrent and sometimes has actually been faster.
Downloaded file storage is 3 days with an option to extend that by upgrading temporarily for a 24 hour period
No dedicated servers. Well, you get what you pay for, right?
Max number of files you can download simultaneously to a cloud is 2
Max number of files you can download simultaneously to local devices is 5
Download Queue will let you add as many files as you want. This works great. I've had several in queue behind the 2 downloading from the torrent and they all download neatly one right after the other.
Hides your isp. As a newb, I have to add the disclaimer that I have no way of testing their claim that I know of. My assumption -- and please feel free to tell me if I'm wrong -- is that by downloading the torrent to the Filestream.me seedbox, my isp is never in the picture.
SSL encryption downloads. Again, I'm a newb with no way to test this claim. The files download as Zip files which are the same size as the original file.
Download from private torrent trackers. They say yes, but I haven't been able to test this because I don't belong to any private trackers.
Pause and resume downloads. No. They say yes, but I say I haven't seen the option to do so.
Partial downloads from large archives. No. They say yes, but they don't, and after an email exchange they admitted they are working on it but it's currently not available.
If you use Chrome, there's an extension on that allows for a right click on the torrent link to "add to filestream.me" easy peasy.
The 24 hour Gold upgrade for $2 would allow 100 gig file size, 1 TB file storage, 10 file limit download simultaneously to a cloud, 30 file limit download simultaneously to local devices, and dedicated servers. Bigger than I need, but nice to know it's available.
I've been using it for 2 weeks and I'm happy so far except for 2 things: the 1 gig limit per file and not having the ability to do a partial download from an archive. I download comics and the archives for DC comics that I've been dipping into are 30 gig on average. Obviously, I don't want to even try to download all of that into my computer. I'd settle for putting it all in the seedbox and doing a partial download from there, but that's not an option, either. Most movies I can find a less than 1 gig file, but not always, plus there's a quality of playback issue. I'm cheap, but I have standards.
For a newbie like myself, I think this is a good place to start. It's easy to use, cheap, and they answer emails within a few hours. If I stick with Filestream.me, I would most likely upgrade to the Bronze level. It's normally $2.50 a month or $21 a year. Currently, there's a special running where it'd be $9 a year. The max file size would be 2.5 gig, 500 gig storage, 10 days of file storage, 5 files that could download simultaneously to a cloud, 30 files that could download simultaneously to local devices, audio and video streaming, file conversion to formats other than zip, and dedicated servers.
I hope this helps anyone who's shopping around for options, and please feel free to educate me on what I've overlooked or not known how to dig into.
