Review date: July 2024
Sean Cody has been a major name in online porn since it launched way back in 2001. The 19- to 26-year-old amateurs -- most of whom who you won't see anywhere else -- had a rare combination of looks, athleticism, and enthusiastic drive that is unmatched. Many of these videos radiated perfect light and outstanding camera work.
Unfortunately in December of 2020, 1800 videos from the site's prime years were removed without explanation. The default membership is streaming-only (though the site may periodically offer members the chance to upgrade to downloads-included for an additional fee.) As is always the case when an independent porn company is taken over by a larger one, there is a loss of personality. There are also many upsells, including a full ad page when you first log-in as a member (make sure it is not prechecked for the purchase of an additional site).
Tour
The Sean Cody tour doesn't really give you an idea of the content; clicking on any link or image just takes to straight to the sign-up page.
On the sign-up page, there is no indication that Sean Cody default memberships are streaming-only. There's also a pre-selected drop-down offering a 2 day trial to another site (probably Men.com); if you opt for this be aware that it will rebill at $35 unless you cancel it within the brief trial period.
Usability
Along the top of the page is the menu with two main choices: "Videos" and "Models." Once you're in the main "Videos" index you get the title (usually the model names) and an image from each of the videos, the most recent first. Just click on the image and you're taken to that individual video page which has the embedded video player, the photo gallery, and the related scenes.
The Sean Cody search options could be better. You can sort scenes by date, popularity, and alphabetically. You can also use the search option in the menu, allowing you to look for a specific model, scene, or scene tag (like "hairy" or "Latin"). There is a "Category" section, which lets you narrow your video options into one of ten specific categories (like twinks or creampie); there are more category selections when you use the filter option in the scene section.
Paging through the site's video index definitely needs to be improved: as you move through pages of scenes you can only go a few pages at a time or to the first or last page; there's no way to skip 10 or 20 pages except for typing page numbers into the website address.
There are upsells, too. Often you'll get a full page of ads for other sites after you log in -- and yet another big banner ad once you're on the homepage.
The Men and the Action
So why do some of the the hottest young men in America peel down and get raunchy for the Sean Cody cameras? We do know they get paid very well. Sean Cody men are athletic guys in the 19-26 age range. Every single one of them is good looking, nicely built and fresh to the porn world. While many are straight, a healthy proportion are gay. While very fit, they usually have natural body hair -- and only some have tattoos. Cock sizes range from normal to huge. Most of the new videos are duos and three-ways, with very few solos making it into the new releases.
In the solo videos, there's often a chat with the guy to put him at ease and to reveal a bit about him. The solo videos include two complete jerk-off sessions. Between sessions there's a timeout, often outdoors at the beach or a park, where these fit amateurs chat a bit while demonstrating a mad level of athletic skill. Sadly, the site has stopped producing solo videos.
There are plenty of hardcore videos too, with the guys carefully paired, really horned-up and into the sex. No one is allowed to just lie there -- they have to fuck and suck in every position imaginable. These hardcore videos also include some chat before or after the scene.There are also plenty of three ways and group scenes.
Video Details
Sean Cody videos are mostly outstanding quality, not just in terms of the amazing clarity of the playback, but in the highly professional camera work. The cameras catch the action from many different angles as the models take several different and often creative positions per shoot. There is a skilled variation of well lit close-up and medium shots so you never feel like you have missed anything -- and almost all the cum shots are shown from two angles.
However, since Sean Cody changed ownership, the videography is more formulaic. Sometimes a giant company just can't match the care that a smaller independent one takes.
As noted above, in December 2020, two-thirds of the videos (over 1800 of 2700) were removed from SeanCody, and more have been removed since. MindGeek has provided no reason, though it likely has something to do with inadequate model release documentation. There are currently 1049 scenes on the site, which typically run from 20 to 25 minutes in length. The site is updated with fresh meat at least once a week.
Videos are available in MP4. These stream in-browser at a default size of 960x540 pixels and you can opt to view in full screen in several qualities, maxing out at 1920x1080 pixels (4,500 kbps). (The site may occasionally offer users the option to subscribe to downloads for an extra $15 per month.)
Screens: The design is fully responsive, so looks and acts well on full sized screens as well as smaller ones. If you want to watch on a TV screen via Apple TV or another device the high-definition videos look amazing.
Image and Other Content
Most of the solo videos include a handful of high resolution digital photos, around ten pics per set, and starting in mid-2012 they include a set of 10 to 20 digital photos for the hardcore scenes as well. The site has a slideshow option, though you still can't download zip files.
Summing Up
Sean Cody has always impressed us with its personality, great looking and enthusiastic models, professional and creative camera work, and stunning technical quality. The price for a streaming membership it great, but with 1800 of the best videos gone and massive upsells, it's a shadow of its former self.
BananaGuide Price
30 day: $27.99 $14.99 (rebills @ $14.99)
Conditions
Quality | 31/33 |
Quantity | 16/20 |
Personality | 5/5 |
Video Options | 4/6 |
Updates | 4/6 |
Content | 59/70 |
Tour | 2/5 |
Usability | 12/15 |
Fairness | 0/5 |
Value | 4/5 |
User-friendly | 18/30 |
Condoms: No
[safer sex in porn]
Memberships
BananaGuide Price
30 day: $27.99 $14.99
(rebills @ $14.99)
Conditions
Billed as:
Sean Cody is operated by Aylo and has been online since 2001.
Also reviewed by:
Top | Home | About Us | Contact Us | Reviews | Galleries | News | What's Up?
BananaGuide: the gay man's guide to porn
© 2000, 2024 Untangled Web Inc.