BitLord

Introduction

 The world of torrent clients is currently in the greatest state of development than it has been since the advent of P2P file sharing via torrents was first developed. Once upon a time, when torrenting was in its infancy, there were not many choices available to those who wished to torrent. In terms of torrent clients, people had basically one to pick. And that was, of course, the famous BitTorrent – one of the originators of torrenting technology. It didn’t matter if you loved it or hated it, it was pretty much BitTorrent or nothing.

As the space of torrenting progressed, advanced, and became more popular, though, newer (and arguably better) torrent clients began being made available. Oftentimes, as is usually the case with software, these additional torrent clients aimed to address specific core problems that developers and coders began noticing with BitTorrent, the sort of base line torrent client. uTorrent, for instance, was created as a direct response to BitTorrent’s somewhat clunky performance.

The developers of uTorrent sought to offer a more lightweight alternative, one that performed just as well as BitTorrent but by taking up a fraction of the space and drain on computers. And they were more than successful. Nowadays, actually, the uTorrent design has become the new standard in torrent search engines. If a torrent client is not lightweight in 2020, it is irrelevant. BitTorrent, however, survives because it has OG status and tons of brand recognition. Most people, even those who are unaware of how torrenting works, have heard of BitTorrent. So, it is not going anywhere … at least not any time in the foreseeable future.

The next revolution in the progression of torrent clients, the one that we are currently still in the middle of, is that of the media center, torrent client hybridization. Newer torrent clients are becoming more and more streamlined with every update. The goal, I think, for many of these torrent clients is for them to become a one-stop shop. These programs threaten to make third-party media players and torrent search engines obsolete.

This is where the demand has landed us, though. Time and time again, people have voiced interest in the ability for torrent clients to be able to handle every step of the torrent downloading process. And these newer, leaner, smarter programs are aiming to answer that demand. Which is why you see a recent influx of torrent clients that also allow users to stream video and audio content with built-in media players, search for torrent’s within the client’s interface, and play content via ChromeCast and AirPlay. We are currently living through the age of the all in one torrent client. And, I must say, it is a wonderful time to be a P2P file sharer.

I quite like these newer torrent clients. I am, personally, not as concerned with the technical end of the torrenting process. My main goal in torrenting is to be able to access hundreds upon hundreds of torrent files of my favorite free indie TV shows, movies, and music. And maybe the occasional open-source computer program. But, other than that, as long as my torrent client can execute downloads quickly, I am good to go. So, to add onto that the ability to stream content, especially if a client allows you to do so before the file is finished downloading, sign me up. I am all in.

There are a few torrent clients that have made a name for themselves based on this ability alone. Vuze is one of them. Web Torrent is another. But the torrent client that we will be taking a look at today might just be the best example of bridging the gap between torrent downloads and entertainment. And that client is known as Bit Lord.

Bit Lord takes every aspect of torrenting and provides it to you, all in one convenient and easy to navigate interface. Search, download, and stream without so much as opening your Downloads folder or web browser. Bit Lord aims to be, as its name suggest, the ruler of all things torrenting. And, in my opinion, I think that they do a pretty good job. However, it may not be for everyone. As I alluded to earlier, if you are the type of person who really values backend features, and the ability to customize how your torrents are downloaded to the maximum degree, there might be better, more technically focused torrent clients out there.

But if your main goal is to find, download, and enjoy your favorite indie movies, TV shows, songs, and audiobooks, Bit Lord might be the torrent client that you have always been waiting for. But don’t just take my word for it, dive in and see everything that Bit Lord has to offer for yourself!

 History

 Bit Lord is one of the newest torrent clients to hit the market. So, unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of history for us to mine. Its first stable release came out just 2 months ago (as of the time of this review), on March 1^st, 2020. In a small amount of time, though, Bit Lord has managed to become one of the highest-rated torrent clients in existence. This is probably because, unlike any other torrent client that I have seen, Bit Lord has finally managed to create a completely streamlined and simplified torrenting experience.

 Design

 What might be the only major downside to Bit Lord is the fact that the interface can be a bit confusing (ha ha) … Whereas the popular design model for torrent clients is to offer a very sparse, data-driven, and utilitarian design, it appears as if Bit Lord, yet again, has innovated with experience in mind. The only problem … it offers a ton of content with no real clear organizational structure. In other words, it may take you a few minutes to adapt to Bit Lord’s different design, whether or not you are familiar with torrenting in general.

Once you get the hang of things, though, Bit Lord becomes second nature. You’ll find a search bar, allowing you to, at any time, search for new torrents. The search engine, it turns out, is actually quite powerful, with its ability to filter by type of content and recency of file. You also have a more classical download manager, found by clicking on the “Torrents” tab. All of the organizational features can be found on the left-hand side of the screen (a la uTorrent or BitTorrent), while the central window alternates between your download and file manager, media player, and search engine browser.

Content and Features

 We have already covered how Bit Lord offers some pretty unprecedented features, such as a powerful built-in search engine and media player. But I think that it is also important to note that Bit Lord doesn’t just offer any old subpar media player. Instead, you can enjoy a built-in version of VLC Media Player – the king of kings when it comes to media players. So, that is a definite win for Bit Lord.

Additionally, unlike any other torrent client that I have ever seen, Bit Lord allows you to organize your files into playlists. This is an awesome feature, especially if you, like me, spend a lot of time downloading and enjoying indie music. Plus, it can be an interesting way to get a free indie TV binging marathon going of your favorite free indieshow. Want to watch a few hours of only the best episodes of your favorite free indieTV show? Well, Bit Lord makes that possible thanks to their built-in playlist maker. Oh, and in case it has been somehow lost in translation, Bit Lord even allows you to stream content as soon as a file begins downloading … absolutely brilliant.

As far as entertainment features are concerned, there may be no other torrent client that rivals Bit Lord.

 Mobile and Desktop Experience

 Unfortunately, there is no mobile version of Bit Lord available. At least not as of yet. This may be a bit disappointing for those of you who like to torrent on the go, directly to your smartphone or tablet. Bit Lord also does not have remote download capabilities. So, if you are looking for the most mobile friendly torrent client on the market, Bit Lord may not be your best bet.

 Pricing and Plans

 Bit Lord is freeware. There are no premium subscription fees to worry about. This, however, is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, great, I get access to all of Bit Lord’s features without paying. However, this comes at the cost of ads that cannot be disabled. Many other ad-supported torrent clients have the option, at least, to pay for an ad-free version. This would be a great addition, I think, going forward.