A Buyer's Guide to Adult DVDs, cont.

Previous Page:  Where to Start

Do Your Homework

Before you rush off and start buying lots of discs based on low price, intuition, or simply a guess, you should spend some time researching your potential purchases.  While there aren't as many sources for reliable information on porn, there are ways to increase your chances of finding an adult DVD that you like.  Here are my suggestions on how to start:

Read the reviews, but take them with a grain of salt.  AdultDVDTalk, RogReviews and RAME offer large databases of reviews for you to research your potential purchases.  However, you should treat all reviews with a healthy dose of skepticism until you've gotten to know the reviewer's style and how well his or her recommendations match your tastes.  Just like you may disagree with mainstream film critics, you will probably disagree with adult reviewers.  Perhaps they have an ulterior motive (such as selling the DVDs they recommend), or maybe they just have a very different view of what good porn is than you do. 

Awards don't always mean that the movie is any good.  Just because a certain video received an award from a magazine or a critics organization doesn't mean that you're going to like it.  I mean, I think I'm a good judge of what is and what is not good porn, but I'm often in total disagreement over the recipients of these awards.  Even if the awards processes were totally unbiased, objective, and representative of the majority of the porn viewing population (and I don't think they are), the rule that porn preferences are pretty unique from person to person still holds true.  Use the awards list as a place to start your research, not as your shopping list.

Look at the box covers, screenshots, and trailers.  Many on-line retailers offer images of the front and back covers of the packaging and actual image captures from the videos.  A few even offer streaming video trailers of movies.  Take advantage of these resources and take a close look at them.  It used to be that box covers often were misleading, sometimes including pictures of performers who never appeared on the video.  But in the last five years or so after many consumer complaints, the industry has done a good job at avoiding misleading advertising.  So definitely take advantage of these "previews," but keep in mind that you're not seeing the whole picture either -- usually just the best bits.

Don't forget about your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend.  If possible, you should involve your significant other in the shopping process, or at least know what his or her likes and dislikes are.  That way you'll avoid the discomfort of, say, getting an all-girl video when she's absolutely not interested in women.  If you can't discuss this with them ahead of time, you should start out very slow and deliberately tame.  Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to surprise anyone with porn if they are not expecting it, but if for some reason you have to, it's better not to casually pop in your favorite anal gangbang DVD into the player to end the evening.  It might end the evening, but not in the way you think.  Stick with "couples-friendly" porn -- you can always move up if your partner thinks it is too tame or boring.

Ask for recommendations.  Often, you can get good advice from a forum, chat room, or by e-mailing a knowledgeable expert.  But you should always be sure to say what you are looking for, including likes, dislikes, specific favorite performers, favorite studios, and so forth.  Asking, "what's a good DVD?" is akin to asking a bunch of car buffs what the best car is.  You'll get vastly different answers unless you are more specific.  And when you do get some advice, it's a good idea to try to understand what they like -- that way you can tell whether the person's tastes match your own.

Next Page:  Plan Your Purchases

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