Webtorrent Desktop
Version: 0.21.0 Web: https://github. com/webtorrent/webtorrent-desktop
Bittorrent is an awesome technology that is both fast and social. When it comes to downloading large video files, torrents often outperform other download methods in terms of speed, provided there are enough seeders for such a torrent. What we have here is an application for watching videos using their torrent files.
The idea is not new: Popcorn Time and other similar video streaming services have used it. However, even though such software doesn’t share DRM video content directly, the whole concept of giving away a catalogue of torrents to commercial movies is unlawful in most countries. Webtorrent Desktop is a better alternative for watching videos while fetching them from torrent files. It is fast, simple and does not infringe anything.
The application provides a friendly GUI where you can drag and drop a torrent file and start watching the video behind it right away. All you need is a decent network connection and some other people who are seeding the video at the moment. The benefit is that you get a no-wait service and much more free disk space, as nothing is stored permanently on your side. Under the bonnet, Webtorrent Desktop is made of Electron, Node.js and Javascript. The application brings up a local webserver, which receives the video content via Webrtc and plays it back locally.
In a sense, Webtorrent Desktop is a next-generation web torrent app because it does not pull Ffmpeg or
VLC with it. Thanks to Electron and Webrtc you only need a good web browser engine in order to play videos without any third-party dependencies. As a bonus, you get a nice system tray integration and support for Magnet links together as well as torrents.