18 Eighteen (0)
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| Status: |
Current Member for less than 1 month (at the time of review).
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| Pros: |
- Hot models in a hot niche (young, petite teens)
- Good mix of models
- Many A-list models
- Good production values
- Three classes of videos
- Updates (if a bit sporadically)
- Videos available in streaming and downloads
- Download option
- Huge photo archive
- Supports download managers
- TBP discount |
| Cons: |
- Video resolutions/bitrates not up to snuff in 2019
- The site, and what it offers is stuck in a bit of a time warp |
| Bottom Line: |
I recently rejoined this site and hadn’t intended to write a new review since what I wrote almost four years ago is still mostly accurate. I was planning to just write an update as a comment and leave it at that. But as I started to write and did a deeper dive into the site it occurred to me that the fact that it really hasn’t changed much actually warrants a new review.
Back in 2015 when I first reviewed the site I had several criticisms of it with the main one being video quality. At the time the best video resolution available was 1280x720 with a relatively low bitrate of 3500kb/s. In the elapsed time between the 2015 review and now we’ve seen some big advances in video quality. I’m sure that many people see 1080p as the new standard and there are many sites that now offer everything in 4K. But not 18Eighteen… they seem to be stuck in a time warp since the best resolution that they now offer, four years after I said that what they had then was barely up to industry standard is, wait for it… 1280x720 with a bitrate of 3500kb/s. Keep in mind that this is the BEST resolution that they offer. The technical side of the site simply hasn’t kept up with the rest of the industry. In my last review I chuckled a bit that in 2015 this site was still offering each scene as a series of small clips for download. You know, for those of us still on dial up. I posed the question as to whether, in 2015, anyone still downloaded small clips. But guess what? Here we are in the waning days of 2019 and they STILL offer small clips. Maybe, just maybe, this site has the market cornered on people who still only have dial-up. Maybe there are some porn shops around that still rent VHS tapes too.
So here’s why I think this is important and why it merited a new deep dive: 18Eighteen is an AMAZING site for those of us who like this niche. If you’re looking for the freshest, tiniest teens on the ‘net this place has to be on your list. The models are a great mix of A-list pornstars, lesser known semi-pros (up-‘n-cummers?) and some relatively unknown Russian/Eastern European models. The site is, however, more skewed to American models.
While the models are all in the same category (young and petite) the site itself offers videos and photos in three broad classes: B/G, G/G and solo. So there might be something for everyone (with a caveat). There are currently 308 solo scenes, 373 B/G scenes and just 10 G/G scenes. This isn’t a big deal for me as I don’t usually collect G/G scenes but it seems to me that this is a niche that the site could be doing a much better job at serving.
The videos are available for download in the above-mentioned 720p as well as in 854x480 (1500) and 640x360 (800). They are also available in WMV at 640x360 (2500). I didn’t know WMV still existed. Streaming is an option too.
Two big advantages that this site has are that it is as much a draw for photo collectors as it is for video fans and, since the site grew out of a magazine that started in 1992 they have a fairly decent catalogue of photos. Currently there are 2646 photo sets. But, like the videos the resolution of even the new sets is low – it’s currently 2000x3000. Not bad, but not great either.
The site is definitely still updating though the schedule is a bit unpredictable. There are times when a new scene or photoset is uploaded every two days but then there are stretches with nothing for almost a week. But there are updates.
I had no issues using a download manager to queue scenes for download and I found that download speeds were up to par with what I get at other sites. Given the small size of the files (due to resolution and bitrate) I downloaded a lot in my first evening and didn’t hit a limit.
The bonus sites that were available last time (there were two of them) no longer seem to be bundled with the membership. My recollection of them, and the fact that I have kept nothing from them, tells me this isn’t a big loss.
My biggest takeaway from my current membership here is that it’s a squandered opportunity. This is a site that has some of the hottest offerings in one of the hottest segments in the porn business and their technology is letting them down. The models are stunning, the scenes are well shot and edited and the site layout is reasonably logical. But the site simply hasn’t kept up with the rest of the business in offering better resolutions. In my opinion, they’re selling themselves short.
So would I recommend this site? I would. If you like this niche then this is a site you have to visit even if you, like me, would prefer higher resolutions. With a TBP discount the site is still a good value but go in knowing you won’t see hot teens in glorious 1080p or 4K.
To reflect that the site hasn’t kept up I’ve dropped my score accordingly. It’s still a great site but I’d really love to see them modernize the technology. |
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