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Is there a BitTorrent client that can download files "in sequence"?

For example, download

clip 01.avi (high priority)
clip 02.avi (normal priority)
clip 03.avi (low priority)
clip 04.avi (low)
clip 05.avi (low)

then when clip 01.avi is done, it will automatically make it:

clip 01.avi (high priority)
clip 02.avi (high priority)
clip 03.avi (normal priority)
clip 04.avi (low priority)
clip 05.avi (low)

this can be useful when download *.rar as well, since download clip.rar, and then clip.r00, r01, r02, in sequence can allow previewing the file by using RAR to recompose the file (even though incomplete file, but will allow previewing).

Update: will making all files active still considered a bad use of BT?

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Using your example, it's not 'bad' to download only clip 01.avi. It is considered rude to download a file and not seed it. That's why those people are called 'leechers'. The very nature of a torrent swarm is fundamentally opposed to trying to piece files together in some predetermined order. It's very dependent on the number of seeders available. My guess is you are trying to access a torrent with few seeders and you happen to be getting lower priority clips before the others? If these files had lots of seeders, you'd have all the files already. The arrival order wouldn't matter. – DaveParillo Oct 28 '09 at 18:43
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If you want an example of a community generally failing to make torrents work, checkout Jamendo jamendo.com/en/forums/discussion/5155/no-torrent-seeder/#Item_0. Most of the people who visits that site expects someone else to seed the torrents they want. – DaveParillo Oct 28 '09 at 18:49
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2 Answers

up vote 11 down vote

I don't think you are going to find a client that will do this for you. There's some feeling in the torrent community that sequential downloading is bad.

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Agree, it defeats the purpose and benefits of the torrent distribution mechanisms. – Nick Josevski Oct 28 '09 at 4:35
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+1 Sequential downloading makes you a bad member of the BT community. – phoebus Oct 28 '09 at 8:18
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But this useful when you get an series pack for example. You need episode 1 prior then 2. – Zote Oct 28 '09 at 12:18
@zote In which case, set priority to high on ep1 and normal on ep2. – Matthieu Cartier Feb 1 '11 at 9:31
@neurolysis it's what I'm doing. I think sequential, can do it automatically. – Zote Feb 1 '11 at 13:50
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up vote 0 down vote

Yes, use qBittorrent. You may turn "bad" to the torrent community, which actually is another "bad" entity anyway.

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