Reviewed 2008-07-01 l Last update on 2020-09-26
At the Gay DVD Shack you will find a large collection of hard-core, gay DVDs to view. That is the basic set up of this well known on-line theatre. But as well as titles from some well known production companies and performances from famous porn stars you also have: a collection of photo sets, links to web cam sites, regular updates and several other functions that make your use of this well stocked site more pleasurable. Whether you are looking for younger guys or older bears you are in luck.
All of your content is set out for you in the members area on pages that are packed with things to click. Basically you have videos and photos but each of these sections are arranged in categories, or you can simply start with the most recent additions and work you way back down the line selecting movies, watching them, downloading them and then moving on until you are completely satisfied.
There are 16 categories of DVDs to view, plus a generic one for any movies which are High Definition. All in all you have over 760 hours of viewing ahead of you, so it does not look like you are going to be short of something to watch. The site does not specialize in any one genre but instead aims to spread itself around. It tells you this on the tour so that is fine. When I was viewing the site there were (by way of an example) 158 Amateur movies, 183 Blow Job ones and 231 Anal. These were the largest numbers; by contrast there were only 2 Voyeurs and 3 Toys, but still a good number of titles to choose from.
Select a category and up comes a page of titles, each one represented by a cover shot. Click that to get to the details page where you will find more information about the storyline. Beneath this are thumbnails taken from each scene so you can get a feel for what is to take place. These thumbnails click up to a large size if you want to see them larger and beneath them you will find the various ways of streaming or downloading the content. Each video (that I saw) had four choices of viewing, to suit most if not all connection speeds.
All the files were Windows Media Player and each scene was available in four qualities: 240 x 180 @ 56k for dial up; 320 x 240 @ 300k for DSL; and 560 x 420 @ 700k for Broadband users and there was (in most cases) an HD version which came up at 720 x 480 @ 2MBps.
Once you have got to grips with how the site works and what the technicalities are then it is plain sailing. Simply select to play or download and away you go. As for the quality of the content, well that seems to be pretty high, it looks like the Gay DVD Shack has selected some good companies to represent here and, in the studios list, you will find names like Daddy Oohhh! Productions, Ounique and Puppy Productions, to name a few. The only things I thought were missing from the DVD set up were: information about the stars and studios and the run time of each scene. Having said that there is a model index to be found in the right column where, once clicked, you will get all 111 stars listed alphabetically by name.
In the photos area the stats are equally as impressive with almost 60,000 images in 26 categories. There was no production house list here but I guess the images come from studios and producers of high quality erotica as there are some great pics to collect. Each gallery is listed by way of a good sized image on the category index page and clicking one will take you to the first thumbnail page for that collection. The amount of images per set varies but a good average would be 150, so the site does not stint on content amount. New windows bring you individual images and the ones I saw were a good size, 800 x 1200, though some had been forced up to this size and there was some pixelation; others though were digital and made to be big so were as clear as you could wish for. A bit hit and miss maybe but nevertheless there are some cute and hot guys in here and many that you will not have seen before.
There are some neat features here including great support and help. Look to the right column to see the list of extra menu items and you will find information about the media player you need plus a page telling you your membership information and a page of help and FAQs. This column also lists the most popular DVDs while the left hand column has even more widgets and things in it. Here you can search for stars or studios, titles even and here you also find your drop down category lists. There are featured DVDs to help you if you do not know what to watch first and the photo category list can also be found here too. Right at the bottom of every page is a set of thumbnails that, when clicked, will lead you over to a web cam site - you will need to register to join in.
As for other little features: when you hover your pointer over a DVD title you will get a floating information box so you can see the basics before you click and go to the actual movie. This is the title and the description only but it does save you opening and closing pages, helping you to quickly decide on what to watch. Each of the videos comes with an add to favorites link so you can set up your own personal part of the site and store your favorite scenes for later viewing.
The other good features to note come to you when you get to an individual DVDs page. Up with the title you will see add to favourites and then a link where you can see your list of added favourites. Beside this is a queue function where you can add an interesting title to your queue and later bring up that list to remind yourself of what you thought you might like to see next. So basically you can browse around adding things to the queue on your first visit - when you are fresh and excited - and then go back and work your way through it. You can also use this to check what you have seen before.
Navigation on the site is easy, particularly considering that there is so much to view. The category lists help with this and the pages load up quickly enough. The columns left and right stay as they are and your main content is always in the central area of each page. Individual images open up in new windows with navigation buttons so you do not drift away from the thumbnail pages. The site is well designed and easy on the eye: there are just loads and loads of images to view!
Although Gay DVD Shack shares some of its content with other sites from the same webmasters (such as Absolutely Male) and employs the same design and layout, it remains a great DVD site to be a part of. There really is a little bit of everything here with the emphasis being on hard-core and anal themed DVDs. You will find all kinds of guys from all nationalities, many different production houses and thousands of images too. It is easy to use and there are no restrictions on downloads.
