GayDemon's review of 18 and Up Studs

18 And Up Studs features regular guys in unscripted scenes filmed ‘as it happens.' These are real, first-timer videos, and the site gives us solos and action movies, and all the content is exclusive. The site has been updated since our last visit four years ago and the recent movies are now available in HD. However, what we said before about the ‘studs' remains the same: These guys are more college guys, twinks, or Mr Average types than they are studs, so don't expect hunks. But do expect genuine amateur-guy content and, now more viewing options for the videos.

The 18 And Up Studs member home page is a dark wall of menu items, which are also shown in a list across the top, and it's not until you start to explore that menu that you find images. Click to the Scenes and you find large sample pics, a title, the scene length, how many images come with it and its member rating. It's easy to get to the videos, though you do go by way of the image gallery first, and it is there that you find a scene description. The site used to advertise two updates per week, but that doesn't seem to be the case any longer. On our last visit four years ago, there were 56 scenes; now there are 205. Doing some quick math, I find that there has been an average of just over three updates per month in the last four years.

The 205 DRM-free exclusive videos are available in both Flash and WMV, and all the WMV's and newer Flash vids can be streamed and downloaded. The most up-to-date videos had 6 choices of quality/resolution with the lowest quality being 512 x 288 @ 328 kbps and the highest shown in full HD at 1920 x 1088 @ 6.10 Mbps. Videos uploaded after October 2009 are shown in HD. As a guide to other options available, the mid-range one was 1024 x 576 @ 1.8 Mbps, which is still pretty good. The older scenes had fewer choices, down to a high and medium Flash stream and three choices of WMV stream/download with a top size of 720 x 480 @ 1.21 Mbps.

We commented before that there was an issue around poor lighting in some videos; that may still exist in the earlier ones, but I didn't find any lighting problems in the more recent scenes. I did find the glimpse of an occasional lighting-stand or cable a bit of a distraction but generally the hand-held camera stayed with the main attraction - the amateur guys.

The scenes come with accompanying stills galleries, described as screencaps. These hold various amounts of images, with around 150 per set being an average. The more recent screencaps are offered at 960 x 540 in size, and older images are at 720 x 480. All come with slideshow functions and zip file downloads, and all are an acceptable quality, with the more modern images being sharper and clearer.

The guys are varied. There's a mix of ‘boy next door' types, some smooth faced, others with stubble or facial hair; there are redheads and blondes, alternative dudes and preppies. But you always get a good amateur jerk off or a natural looking sex scene. Some of the couplings might lack a little chemistry and it's here where the site falls down slightly, especially if it's a scene where you find the camera wandering around the bed, taking in the cabling and equipment. But other scenes work just fine with realistic action and a sense that you are a voyeur, actually in the room with the models.

There are three basic feeds, and 16 feeds that they call premium - varied, gay feed sites that have four videos each and that get updated monthly. There are also 24 pages of non-exclusive clips showing 383 short scenes, samples or clips from other sites.

When it comes to issues, it's worth mentioning that there's a pre-checked email offer on the join page. I'd like to have seen upload dates and an update schedule, and less of the technical equipment in some scenes.

Forget the word ‘studs' and expect college aged guys or even twinks. Those terms will give you a better idea of who appears in the 205 movies now available at 18 And Up Studs. The older movies are quite acceptable considering their age, and the video choices for more modern ones will suit just about everybody browsing today. At the heart of the site are the amateur, first time performances from ordinary guys in slow solos, or in gay hardcore scenes. The site has been updating an average of 3 times per month, and the site has made some more improvements here, with the addition of downloadable vids and model profiles, but we'd like to see update dates and a schedule. Still, if you like regular guys from 18 to around 25, 18 And Up Studs is worth checking out.

Things we liked:

• Exclusive content Amateur 18 to 25 year olds
• Videos are downloadable
• No DRM used

Things we didn't like:

• The models are not 'Studs'
• No update dates or schedule
• Pre-checked email offer on join page

Click here to visit 18 and Up Studs