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| Content Quantity: |
14/20 |
Content Quality: |
20/20 |
Updates: |
6/10 |
| Entertainment: |
14/15 |
Navigation & Design: |
8/10 |
Download: |
5/5 |
| Value for Money: |
13/15 |
Reviewer's Tilt: |
4/5 |
Total: |
84/100 |
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Site info help
Site info valid on date of review
| Video: |
30 (approx. 35-50 minutes each)
MP4 and streaming Flash formats available
Highest quality: MP4 1920x1080 (1080p HD), 4000 kbit
No DRM protection
Available 3D formats are SBS (side-by-side), Nvidia 3D Vision and anaglyph. Regular 2D version also available
SBS (on a Samsung 3D TV) and anaglyph formats were tested for this review |
| Pricing: |
1 month recurring: $39.99
3 months recurring: $84 |
I bought a plasma 3D TV earlier this year and while the built in 2D to 3D conversion feature often does a pretty decent, sometimes even surprisingly impressive, job of adding subtle depth to 2D content - porn and whatever else I've thrown at it - it's certainly no rival for proper, native 3D content.
Naturally I've been quite keen to check out 3D porn filmed with stereoscopic 3D cameras, and 3DXStar is the first site I've come across where the downloadable trailers confirmed that this was indeed proper 3D porn with 3D depth pretty much rivaling the most impressive Hollywood 3D movies, given similar environmental factors and camera angles of course.
The short trailers on the tour page - just like the full videos in the member section - are available in a number of formats ranging from side-by-side 3D (separate left and right eye images that are merged to a proper full screen 3D image by your 3D TV), over Nvidia 3D Vision for PC owners with a setup supporting that (requires a modern Nvidia graphics card, the Nvidia 3D Vision glasses and receiver, plus a 120 Hz monitor. A setup anyone who's not a hardcore gamer is very unlikely to have at this time. And for the "average" consumer interested in 3D, a 3D TV will probably be a much more likely proposition), to old fashioned, color destroying and generally rather unimpressive anaglyph (colored red/cyan glasses that works with any TV or monitor) as well as even a plain old 2D version.
Although why anyone would want to join a site like this to watch the content in 2D I don't know. The content here might be pretty good, but it's certainly the added dimension that's the main draw - if you want regular 2D porn there's a near endless supply of vastly more comprehensive and cheaper options available.
(Member area screenshots)
When I downloaded and watched the short video trailers before joining the site, my initial thought (impressive 3D notwithstanding) was along the lines of "generic crap", even though I did recognize several very popular American pornstars (most notably Tori Black, Lexi Belle, Tara Lynn Foxx, Courtney Cummz and Lisa Ann), but quite a few of the videos actually turned out to be rather hot, prompting me to watch them from start to finish, something I usually only do with lesbian scenes (of which there are unfortunately none yet).
To emphasize the added 3rd dimension, there's a lot of focus placed on the models directing their attention straight at the camera and the viewer, with (more or less successful) teasing and sexy dialogue, always a solo masturbation sequence as a scene opener and long stretches of POV camera work in most of the videos, a few are entirely POV scenes.
There are also frequent occurences of hands (or legs) being stretched out towards the viewer, which on my 3D TV often resulted in some quite spectacular "pop out" 3D effects, where it looked like they were reaching out of the screen and into my living room.
In fact in a number of videos this effect was better and more convincing than most of the time I've seen obvious pop out 3D effects used in mainstream movies, including such movies as Avatar, Resident Evil: Afterlife and Drive Angry, where these effects are typically used with fast moving, blurred objects (projectiles, explosion debris etc.) rather than the slow and solid forms of an arm or a leg.
During a few minutes of Courtney Cummz initial masturabtion sequence, the first video I downloaded, it looked like her legs were almost tangibly protruding out of the screen, while the rest of her, the furniture and the room stretched back into the screen with excellent depth.
Yes, I really am claiming here that many of the videos on 3DXSTAR manage to impress as much in the 3D depth department as $100+ million Hollywood productions. In small scale locations of course, living rooms, bedrooms, gardens. No flying mountains, CGI landscapes or huge setpieces here.
Another aspect that suits my taste in b/g porn, entirely unrelated to 3D, is that the male performers try to keep fairly quiet and in many cases pretty much completely silent, making it much easier to enjoy the woman. Very vocal (moaning and/or talking) male performers is a major and all too frequent problem in particularly POV porn in my opinion, but so far most of the videos on 3DXSTAR get it more or less right. Well, right according to my preferences at least.
So much for the great stuff, now onto the - at the moment - less impressive aspects of 3DXSTAR (though given the current extreme lack of consumer options in the 3D porn market, you won't really have any options but to accept them if you want proper stereoscopic 3D porn at the moment).
The video collection is still small, with a total of 30 scenes at the time of writing, split into four sections. New videos are currently also only being released at the very slow pace of two per month, just as no new niche sections have been added in the two months I've been a member.
Oh, and then there's the matter of the membership price being around $10-15 above the typical paysite price, but then I guess that's one of the liberties a company can unfortunately also take when they are among the very first in a new market. And additionally targeting consumers who have already proven willing to invest a reasonable chunk of money in the required hardware.
I asked the company behind 3DXSTAR about these issues - except for price, the answer there should be obvious, as already pointed about above - and it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel. Supposedly the current site design doesn't support additional niche sections, so content updates have been slowed down while the site is being redesigned.
I've been informed that the new design is estimated to go online some time in the first quarter of 2012 and that three new sections will be added (one of them being lesbian I assume, since I recently came across a softcore 3D trailer from the site on YouTube with Sammie Rhodes and Celeste Star) and the update pace increased.
They are reportedly also working on a mobile site, though how that feeds into the 3D aspect I'm not sure - unless it's aimed at the still extremely few handheld devices with auto-stereoscopic displays, such as the HTC Evo 3D android phone.
Altogether, owners of 3D TVs with an urge to see what proper 3D porn looks like really ought to give 3DXStar a look. I've been googling around trying to find alternatives, but though I found a few other sites I initially thought also offered proper stereoscopic 3D porn in side-by-side format, they very disappointingly turned out to only offer anaglyph 3D, to which I can't imagine anyone with a 3D TV/3D monitor setup would willingly submit their eyes.
Click here to visit 3DXStar
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95+ Excellent
85-94 Very Good
75-84 Good
65-74 Acceptable
-64 Don't Bother
Full rating info here
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