Over time I've noticed a lot of people wondering about certain studios and their offerings. Since I was a little bored today, and it seems to be a recurring question, I decided to sit down and go through the studios so newbies can check it out and see what certain studios have to offer, both in product and quality. I apologize if I missed anybody here, but I will try to update this every now and then as I see studios appear and either rise or fall. As you go through the list, please realize that there’s a difference between being low cost (good) and cheap (bad).

3D Fantasy Films - I haven’t watched any DVDs from this studio, but I saw a little demonstration of their technology at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Vegas. They appear to care about doing things right, and far surpassed my expectations.

3rd Degree - 3rd Degree appears to have sprung out of Zero Tolerance and Metro’s FusXion line, and so far have been doing a fantastic job with notable directors like Christopher Streams and Danny Case. So far they’ve had hot movies with well done transfers and some effort put towards the extras. Although they were a late entry into 2004, the care they put into their overall product made them my choice for the best new studio of 2004.

A6 - An almost unheard of company now. They specialize in uncut Japanese porn and are probably best known for Samurai Pervert Interactive: Asia Carrera / Their quality is to be quite good and the content mostly doesn't look as cheap as some other Japanese releases.

AceLay -X - Appears to be a dead studio who focused mostly on Scandinavian porn.

Acid Rain - This studio emerged in early 2004. I know nothing about them, but they appear to do all gonzo / all sex movies with some decent care towards the overall DVD.

A. D. Vision - Only has a few titles out, but releases anime

Adam & Eve / Ultimate - Primarily aims at the couples market. Many of their features are slow and non-threatening, and normally put some decent effort into a storyline. Although aiming for couples, they do work in some good anal and lesbian action. Their overall quality varies a bit. Their early DVDs normally left quite a bit to be desired, but over the last year or two they’ve really come along way. They now regularly include behind the scenes featurettes, bonus scenes, and other extras to make fuller use of the DVD format. They have even went as far as having anamorphic widescreen for some of their features. They also have quite a string of compilation DVDs, which seem to be either very well done, such as their Signature Series and Ass Angels lines, or very poor. Although they occasionally release a stinker, in the time I’ve been reviewing I think they’re possibly shown the most improvement overall.

Adult Source Media - A brand new company for 2005 which distributes Japan’s Hot Storm anime product. I know nothing about them.

Afro-Centric - See listing under Video Team.

Al Borda - See listing under Pleasure Productions.

Alexander Institute - Specializes in educational features.

Alpha Blue Productions - Specializes in classic porn. They have plenty of star collections, and appear to put some nice effort into their releases of classic titles.

Amazing - Metro’s budget gonzo line. Simple gonzo features with a decent transfer and few extras.

Amor - Releases Hispanic movies. I know nothing about them.

Anabolic / Diabolic - Same company, different names from what I understand, with Diabolic focusing on a little more extreme acts. Well known for their all sex features such as The Gangbang Girl , Up Your Ass , and Down the Hatch . I haven’t seen many DVDs from either company, but they seem to put some nice effort toward their transfers. This holds very true for their current titles, but their older titles frequently have quite a bit of grain and don’t see much difference between them on DVD and VHS. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen them putting any effort to extra features or anything else to put a little polish on the DVD, which is a big part of what I see separating a good DVD from a great DVD. One of their reps has come out to say that their motto is “More fuck for your buck”, which I think is a great motto. Unfortunately, it seems to stop at whatever fits on a VHS tape, which makes the DVDs I’ve seen from them lack a bit compared to their competition.

Anarchy / Python - A company which appears to have sprung out of Sin City. I haven’t seen much from this studio, but the little I’ve seen hasn’t been too impressive. They started out doing some pretty standard porn with people such as the Jordan brothers (who used to do quite a few movies for Elegant Angel). So far the only positive thing I’ve seen from them has been their letting Ariana Jollee go behind the camera. More than anything, however, they seem like they’re striving to be known for the amount of false and misleading advertising they put on their covers. Their virtual sex titles (including both My Virtual... and Playing With... ) are some of the worst out there and contain such consistently false and misleading advertising (including a claim for multiple angles that I have yet to be able to find) that I doubt I was alone in thinking they changed the name of the line due to people deciding to go with an honest studio rather than because they changed sources for the product. Anarchy appeared to put quite a bit of work into earning the shared honor of being chosen as the worst DVD Studio of 2004 with NuTech.

Anime 18 - See listing for Central Park.

Anton Productions - I know nothing about them other than they release bondage features. They appear to be decent length but have no extras (as usual with bondage titles).

Armageddon - Rougher sex stuff, and best known for putting out the controversial Slap Happy on DVD. I haven’t seen anything from them, but they seem to be much on the same line as Extreme (which you can find later on the list). I don’t think this studio is around any more.

Arrow - Specializes in porn from the golden age .

Astrux - Distributed by Metro. Astrux was originally known for high end editing for companies such as Wicked, Anabolic, and Platinum X, and has now struck out on its own. They appear to be going for a higher end reality style feel, but I know nothing about them for sure.

Avalon - Appears to focus on low budget long running time compilations as well as distributing several other lines, such as Blue Coyote, Taylor Wane Productions, Jim Malibu Productions, Gia Darling Entertainment, and others. The little I’ve seen of them showed some decent care.

AVE - Releases Asian movies.

Avica - Releases Asian movies.

Awesome Productions - Only released a handful of DVDs and now appears to be dead.

B-Line - New Machine’s budget line. No extras, no frills, basically just a movie on a DVD.

B Pops - An amateur studio which journeyed into DVD in late 2004. They only have a few DVDs out so far, and I know nothing about them.

Baby Doll - Emerged in late 2003. They appear to specialize in younger girls. I haven’t seen anything from them, but they give me the feel of putting some decent care into their DVDs.

Babylon - Mostly gonzo porn, although they have released some features. What I’ve seen from them has been very average, although they have put in the care of including behind the scenes featurettes. If you don’t want to acknowledge that there’s a guy in straight sex scenes, this is probably a studio worth checking out.

Bacchus - I’ve only seen a couple of Bacchus’ DVDs, and they both left me completely underwhelmed. I haven’t seen them release anything in quite a while, so I think they changed their name when people noticed the quality of their DVDs.

Bang Bros. - Amateur porn. I don’t know anything about them, but typically amateur studios leave quite a bit to be desired for the overall DVD. I see no reason to expect anything different here.

Barclay - Yet another apparently dead studio which released a handful of DVDs in 2001. I know nothing about them.

BB Entertainment - Releases the Real Deal Amateurs series. So far it’s one of the best amateur series I’ve seen, although the DVDs as a whole could use a little work. If you want amateur porn, these guys are worth checking out, but I haven’t seen anything come out from them in quite a while.

B & D Pleasures - Specializes in bondage features. I’ve only seen one release from them, but it showed some nice care towards the overall DVD.

Beaver Ranch - Seems to focus on simpler all sex movies. They only have a handful of movies out so far. Although they do put a little effort into the extras, the overall DVDs leave plenty to be desired.

Best Parts - Released a couple DVDs back in 2002. I know nothing about them.

Big Top - Specializes in big boob features. They regularly have some of the better known busty babes such as Zena Fulsom and Mandy Mountjoy. I haven’t seen anything from them, but am told that the only series from them to avoid is Buses .

Bizarre Video - I’ve watched several of Bizarre’s DVDs so far. If you have an odd fetish or like bondage, this is going to be a studio for you! The DVDs are pretty plain and bare bones, and the features vary quite a bit..

Black Kat Productions - An amateur studio that has been involved with web porn for almost a decade and is now starting to release DVDs. I know nothing about them.

Black Widow - Currently distributes GGG DVDs (see listing further down).

Blu - Part of Jill Kelly Productions. It arrived in late 2004 and appears to specialize in more artistic and erotic European porn.

Blue Pictures - I know nothing about them other than they’re owned by Cabellero and they focus on she-male, gay, and bisexual movies.

Blue One - A French studio with a lot of classic porn who frequently releases multiple features on one DVD. I haven’t seen anything from them but am told that their technical aspects frequently lack and that they have varying degrees of extras.

Bob’s Videos - Amateur movies. I have yet to watch any of them, but with the stars he’s attracted and how long he’s been around I have a little hope. Currently Bob’s Videos are being distributed by Avalon.

Body, Mind, & Intimacy - Educational releases. I haven’t heard anything about them.

Body Shop - Releases very few movies. I know nothing about them, but from their boxcovers I can’t expect much.

Bordellonoir - Appears to release highly artistic movies. From the little I’ve heard and read of them, they did a decent job with them.

Bouncy Pictures - A small studio that I know very little about. They seem to try to do a little of everything, but focus quite a bit on the smoking fetish.

Brand Nu-Line - Four hour comps. ‘Nuff said!

Brave Entertainment - Russian porn (no, not with Stella). I don’t think Brave is around any more, but they appeared to have a fairly basic product.

Bruce Seven - Widely thought of as some of the best bondage movies ever made. They’re now being released by Pleasure Productions.

Caballero - Has perhaps the best back catalogue out there with a ton of 80s and early 90s releases such as many of the early great Andrew Blake movies. Unfortunately they only seem to care about being able to bring out cheap products, and not just in price. They normally don’t even put enough care into their titles to include a time stamp on their features and the transfer normally sucks. I don’t think I’ve heard of a single person being really happy with a Caballero DVD. Caballero recently started releasing collections of the Swedish Erotica series, and even these seem to be vastly underwhelming people. As a word of warning, Cabellero’s releases of the Swedish Erotica series are being released as compilations rather than being released as collections of the original episodes.

CandidCam - Appears to focus on amateur and hidden camera movies. They’ve been around a while, but I haven’t heard anything about them.

Carnivore - Seems to focus mostly on she-males. I’ve only seen one of Carnivore’s DVDs. It was simple, but paid attention to things like a decent transfer.

CAV - Appears to be a dead studio, but offered both 1950s movies as well as Oriental movies.

Celestial - Stoney Curtis’ company which releases gonzo titles such as Fast Times at Deep Crack High and Hot Bods and Tailpipes . I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but have heard decent things about them.

Central Park - Specializes in anime. I’ve only seen one DVD from this company, but it was very well done and even had some decent extras.

Cesar Video - Appears to focus on “Girls Gone Wild ” style movies.

Channel 69 - I haven’t seen anything from them, but what I’ve heard has been as bad or worse than Caballero.

Cherry Boxxx - Emerged the last few months of 2003. They release a plethora of inexpensive compilations as well as new features and all sex movies. They appear to put some decent effort into their movies.

Cine Street - Another Hispanic studio I know nothing about.

Cinema Play - Arrived in late 2004 and appears to focus on older women and reality videos..

Classic Collections - Releases golden age and previous porn. They don’t appear to be around any more.

Classic X - Needless to say, classic porn. They’re supposed to be cheap and poorly done (possibly even worse than Caballero), but do have the benefit of being low cost and having some very hard to find movies that aren’t even available on VHS any more.

Close-Up Productions - Bondage porn. There’s some decent names in their movies, but I know nothing about them.

Club Jenna - Jenna Jameson’s company, which is being distributed by Vivid (who can be found later in this list). I haven’t seen anything from Club Jenna, but word of mouth is that the movies are a bit on the softer side and the DVDs are well done.

Club Reno - The all-girl side of Insanity Pictures (found later on the list). Currently, Club Reno is being distributed by NJ Pictures.

Coast to Coast - Releases a variety of DVDs, such as the long running Rainwoman series. I’ve only seen a couple of their DVDs, and they seemed to be pretty average.

Collateral Damage - Jill Kelly Productions’ hardcore side. They appear to put a little effort into their DVDs.

Colossal Entertainment - A new studio that focuses mostly on gonzo and all sex porn. The little I’ve seen of them has been pretty good, and they appear to be working to improve their overall DVDs as well.

Colmax - A French studio who specializes in releasing movies not directed by themselves. I haven’t seen anything from them but am told they normally don’t have any language options other than French but have high video quality and varying degrees of extras.

Comstock Films - So far has only released Marie and Jack: A Hardcore Love Story , which completely amazed me. This is a unique studio that’s artistic and captures emotion better than pretty much any other studio I’ve seen. I can’t wait to see what else this studio brings out!

Cream - I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a positive comment on their DVDs.

CV - Arrived in the last few days of 2004. I know absolutely nothing about them other than it appears to be Chloe Vevrier’s studio.

Daddy Oohhh! Has the distinction of being the only gay company in this list. It’s there because it’s a gay company that’s aimed towards straight women. I haven’t seen any of their titles, but from what I’ve heard they have a very nice variety of styles and themes and are well put together DVDs with above varying technical aspects and decent extras. If you’re a woman curious about gay porn, I would strongly recommend this company on the word of mouth I’ve heard!

Dan Hawke - Appears to have released a few bondage DVDs and then died.

Dane - Specializes in barely legal porn with lines such as University Co-Eds and Nineteen College Girls Video Magazine . It’s straightforward porn without anything for extras, but also priced low enough that one can’t complain much about them.

Danni Ashe Productions / Danni.com / Danni’s Hard Drive - Mostly softcore movies by internet queen Dannie Ashe. I’ve only seen one of Danni’s movies, but it the movie was very well done and had some nice care towards the technical aspects even though the extras were lacking. This would be a good place to look if you want softcore porn. Danni has recently moved into hardcore movies, but I haven’t heard anything about them.

Darkside Entertainment - Black porn. I know nothing about them.

Dave Cummings Productions - Helmed by Dave Cummings, they focus on older guy - younger girls with a vignette feel. I haven’t seen anything from them, but the little I talked with Dave Cummings he struck me as a guy who cares about his fans and his job. If you want older guys with young girls, this would seem to be a great place to start.

David - Is no more. From what I’ve seen, that’s not such a bad thing since they’re pretty much another Caballero.

Defiant Productions - Doesn’t appear to be around any more, but their handful of DVDs covered Canadian, Oriental, and 1930s style porn.

Demolition Video - Appears to focus on barely legal movies. They also appear to put some nice care into their DVDs, although I haven’t seen anything from them to know for sure.

Demonic Films - Bondage gangbangs.

Devil’s Films - A low profile studio that keeps pumping out a lot of porn without a lot of hype. They appear to make pretty straightforward porn and are known for lines such as Teen Tryouts , Gangland , Transexual Prostitutes , and Runaway Sluts Exposed . I’ve only seen a few of their DVDs and they had a decent transfer and a little effort towards the overall DVD. Recently they appear to be putting a lot more effort into their DVDs and to be listening to their fans quite a bit on how to improve their product. This seems like a studio to keep an eye out for.

DG - Appears to focus on softcore releases, such as nude sports.

Diabolic - See Anabolic’s listing.

Digital Dreams - Compilations and low budget movies. I know nothing about them.

Digital G Entertainment - A new company who seems to go for bigger budget features. They only lasted for a few releases before disappearing.

Digital Lust - Seems to change their name fairly regularly, which mostly seems to be due to customers realizing the quality of product they put out. They’re another company I have yet to really hear anything good about. I’ve watched a few of their DVDs and was completely unimpressed. So far I’ve only seen one of these DVDs that was above average quality and all the rest were far below it.

Digital Playground - Well known for their Virtual Sex with line and high talent contract performers such as Tera Patrick, Devon, Jessie Jane, and Teagan as well as directors such as Robbie D and Nic Andrews. They put out a well made overall DVD with a nice transfer and plenty of extras and aim more for the couples market.

Digital Rain - Focuses on barely legal girls. Very similar quality to Dane.

Digital Sin / New Sensations - A very nice studio with a wide variety of features. Their DVDs normally have nice transfers, and they pay attention to many of the little details such as lighting in their features. They have a good budget to their features, and put some very effort into making their feature into well made overall DVDs with commentaries, behind the scenes, etc. They’re also known for their My Plaything Virtual Sex line, which is probably the biggest competition to Digital Playground’s Virtual Sex with... series, offering many of the same things but with a slightly different feel. Their all sex features are normally lower budget features and have a few minor faults, but they don’t skimp on things like the transfer. With the exception of the She Squirts line, which barely has any squirting, what you see is normally what you get. They’re putting some very nice effort into their recent releases, and have turned into a studio worth paying attention to again with directors such as Joachim Kessef, Tyrone Shuz, and Axel Braun.

Digital Team - Appear to be low budget comps.

Doghouse Digital - An all sex studio which arrived late in 2003. I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but they appear to put out a fairly typical all sex feature with some nice effort towards the overall DVD.

Don Goo - Seems to specialize in low cost releases. I’ve had mixed results from them, but their technical aspects frequently lacked.

Dream Girls - Used to be distributed by Evil Angel (who can be found further down on the list). They’re best known for their Real Adventures series which centers around girls filmed at public places. Most of the features aren’t very hardcore, but are occasionally explicit.

Dreamland - Releases a wide variety of styles of porn. Most notable of their directors is Cash Markman, who I think might own the company. Their DVDs have been very average with nothing noticeably good or bad about them.

Dreamworld Productions - Compilations.

DVSX - Your basic gonzo porn, and done well. As with many other studios, their releases are formed around a single idea, be it tits, ass, internal pops, or size queens. They’ve put out some very well done and well received movies, and have shown some nice attention to extras and technical aspects. The only bad thing I’ve seen about DVSX’s DVDs are that the time stamp doesn’t allow you to jump around in the movie. You can only navigate using the chapter breaks. Thankfully this problem appears to be limited to their early releases, and is now a thing of the past.

Elegant Angel - Is finally putting some very nice effort into their DVDs. Up until about the middle of 2002 the technical aspects left a lot to be desired, and almost every feature had a green bar running down the left side of the screen. They’ve put a lot of effort into bringing their back catalogue out on DVD, and almost all of their DVDs are all sex features in the ongoing series format. Over the couple years they’ve put some great effort into their DVDs and a wide range of people from Elegant Angel have made an effort to listen to people in the Adult DVD Talk forums to learn how they can better improve their DVDs. It’s been a roller-coaster ride with Elegant Angel, but they seem to be trying to make a good comeback.

Erotic Angel - See Dreamland listing.

Erotic Media - Another new studio for 2004. I’ve heard nothing about them, but they appear to release a variety of bare bone European DVDs.

Eurotique Entertainment - Yet another company that appears to be dead. They focused mostly on fetish related titles.

Evasive Angels - I think this is T. T. Boy’s company. They go for gonzo porn and appear to put out a well made DVD. Sadly, they’re also associated with the only HIV breakout in the last few years due to their policies.

Evil Angel - Probably the king of gonzo sex features with directors like John “Buttman” Stagliano, John Leslie, Joey Silvera, Rocco Siffredi, Christoph Clark, Jules Jordan, Stanley Miranda, Nacho Vidal, BellaDonna, and now Justin Slayer and Johnni Darko. Evil Angel kept things simple in the beginning, and put all their effort into getting the best possible transfer without spending money on extra features. As they’ve grown and listened to their customers, they’ve put more effort into a few extras and are continually improving their product. They’re some of the highest priced DVDs out there, but normally worth every penny. Unlike other adult companies, Evil Angel has also put a large effort into making their DVDs day and date with their VHS titles, while slowly bringing out their back catalogue. I’m not sure if I’ve seen a company pay as much attention to their fans as this company.

Evolution Erotica - Tom Byron’s company which started in August of 2003. According to Tom Byron Evolution is going to be putting out a wide variety of titles and putting the effort into them to make them some of the best products out there. They started out with all double DVD sets, but have recently backed off and begun releasing single DVD releases. They’re also re-releasing Tom Byron’s movies from when he was with Extreme Associates.

Explosive - Another dead studio. They released a little of this and a little of that, but rarely appeared to do a good job of it.

Exquisite - Releases movies from Bionca Seven, Rodney Moore, and Max Hardcore. I haven’t seen anything from Exquisite, but they seem to be putting out some well made DVDs.

Extreme - Were the WWF bad boys of the adult film world. I’ve only seen a couple DVDs from them, but I can’t say that I was that impressed. They were best known for Tom Byron and Thomas Zupko’s movies, but now seem to be no more. Their movies are slowly showing up on DVD, and although it looked like Extreme was going to be a thing of the past, they’ve now come back with more of what they were best known for.

Fallen Angel - Luc Wylder’s company. Pretty typical gonzo features with all the flaws that have plagued gonzo since the start. The main thing that sets them apart is that Luc seems to prefer working with real life couples which gives his features a little more realistic feel. Unfortunately, he puts very little effort into some of the little details that really help out the overall DVD quality such as time stamps, animated menus, etc. Currently, Fallen Angel is working with Adam & Eve for distribution, which is nicely enhancing Adam & Eve’s offerings while bringing Fallen Angel a little more notice and bigger budgets. Luc also seems to pay a lot of attention to what his fans think, so I’m hoping that in the near future the little things will fall into place too.

Fantadream - Japanese imports. I haven’t seen anything from them but I’m told they have high video quality.

Fat Dog - Well known for low quality porn.

Fatt Entertainment - Releases a little of everything. They’re currently flying under most people’s radar, but look like they have some potential.

Femme Productions Candida Royalle’s company, distributed by Adam & Eve. The features are all very soft and couples friendly to the point that some people find them boring. The DVDs, however, have been well done.

Fetish Films - See Mother Productions.

Filmco - I’ve only seen one DVD from Filmco, but so far, they’re another one to avoid. To call their DVD “amateur” would have been a compliment, since they appear to only know how to give features chapters by making each scene its own title on the DVD. They also appear to have a generic stamp for their covers that claims the features are 90 minutes long. The one I’ve watched so far didn’t come close to this claim, even as a total DVD running time.

Flash Point Productions - Came out in late 2004. I know nothing about them, but they appear to focus on public sex.

Flesh Entertainment - I haven’t seen anything from Flesh Entertainment, but they seem to specialize in low budget, long length compilations. I don’t see much about this studio that gives me any hope.

Forbidden Films - Releases mostly movies from the early to mid nineties. I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but they appear to be basically bare bones editions. On the positive side, they also appear to be priced low enough that one can’t complain too much about not having much for extras.

Freedom - Only released a couple movies. I know nothing about them.

From Dusk Til Dawn - Tyce Bune’s studio. Mostly gonzo porn with plenty of fresh talent, anal, and cream pies.

Full Blown Pictures - Has only released a handful of interactive DVDs, and the one I saw was more than a little lacking.

FusXion - Metro’s gonzo porn line which features directors such as Pat Myne, Bridgette Kerkove, and Brittany Foster. This is the extreme side of Metro which focuses on nastier gonzo porn with well put together DVDs.

FutureWorks - Releases a variety of titles including Asian releases and features. I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but they have some titles which look interesting and appear to care enough to put some decent extras on their DVDs.

Gen XXX - See New Machine’s listing.

GGG - It stands for German Goo Girls, and for good reason they’re also known as “the sperm company”. If you enjoy what Private has to offer and want to kick things up a notch, this is probably a great place to look, but don’t expect much for extras.

Gentleman’s Video - Niche porn such as she-males, balling, and large women. The little I’ve seen of them was very unimpressive for DVD quality.

Ghost Pro - POV style porn that has sprung from the web onto DVD. They cover creampies, female masturbation, and standard POV porn. I’ve watched several of their titles, and they’re normally very well made DVDs with a nice transfer and some effort put into the extras.

Girlfriend’s Films - I haven’t seen anything from this company, but they specialize in lesbian features. I haven’t seen or heard anything about them, but they put out long features that don’t appear to be compilations.

Global Media International - Concentrates classic Heather Hunter titles as well as vintage porn.

GM Video - Reality style movies that appear to be along the lines of Girls Gone Wild .

Gold Team - Cheap looking compilations.

Gotham Gold - Fetish movies focusing on feet, bondage, and gay.

Gothic Entertainment - A new company who appears to focus on bondage. I know nothing about them.

Green Leaf Productions - Asian porn. They don’t appear to be around any more.

Greywood Entertainment - All girl action with some decent names. I haven’t heard much about them, but the little I heard was very positive. Unfortunately, it looks like there isn’t much effort put into the overall DVDs.

Gwen Media - Bondage. I know nothing about them other than they’re associated with Gothic Entertainment.

H2 - Supposedly is only distributed by Hustler and is not an actual part of Hustler. They mostly have European and fetish movies, and appear to be doing a decent job.

Harmony Concepts - Bondage porn. I’ve only glanced at one of their DVDs so far. The authoring left quite a bit to be desired, but the feature looked much longer than the typical fetish movie. If they address a few of their authoring problems this could be a studio to keep an eye on.

Harmony DVD - British porn released in the US by Evil Angel. All I know about them is that they feature work by Tanya Hyde, who was well known for making Private’s Pirate line such a success.

Heatwave - Pretty average all around. Basically no frills DVD.

Historic Erotica - Specializes in just that. I haven’t heard anything about them.

Hollywood Adult Video - A mix of compilations, new titles, and 80s porn. I haven’t seen anything from them, but I think I’ve heard a few good things about their overall DVDs.

Homegrown - See Xplor Media.

HomeSexTapes.com - An amateur studio. I’ve only seen a handful of their titles, but so far I’m extremely impressed by them. Their technical aspects appear to be much higher than most amateur features. They also release a mix of features that they shoot themselves and that are sent to them. So far they’re one of the two best amateur studios I’ve seen, and it’s pretty much a coin toss between them.

Horizon - Pretty average all around. Basically no frills DVD.

Hot Boxxx - A new studio that appears to have broken out of Digital Sin / New Sensation. I haven’t heard anything about them, but so far they look very impressive.

Hustler - Basically make Euro, barely legal, and ethnic lines in both gonzo, vignette, and feature films with directors such as Kat Slater, Pierre Woodman, and Kris Kraminski. They put some decent effort into their DVDs, and claim to be trying to improve them even more with things like 5.1 surround sound and half hour behind the scenes featurettes. Huster has been showing a lot of improvement over time, and the care they’ve put into their DVDs has made them one of the best studios out there right now for all sex DVDs.
NOTE: Huster is one of the few companies who have contacted me after seeing this list in an effort to try to let people know a little more about them and what they’re offering, which is something that to me shows some decent care about those who may be interested in their product. I’ve updated some of their listing with some of the new information. They’ve also showed up in the Adult DVD Talk forums, and have changed some things about their DVDs (such as adding cast listings) after talking with people. Hustler is getting to be one of the best and most caring companies out there.

I-Candy - Classic porn. They started out with some of the best made classic porn DVDs out there with some nice commentaries, but after a theft from their office things seem scaled back a little. Thankfully they’re still releasing DVDs, but they appear to have scaled back a little and some of the movies appear to have been edited.

IFG - A Spanish company currently being distributed through Smash Pictures. What I’ve seen has focused on high end artistic movies and has shown some nice care to the overall DVD.

Image Entertainment - Appears like it might be dead, but was most noticeable for releasing the Electric Blue series on DVD.

In-X-Cess - I haven’t seen anything from this company, but they seem to focus on vignette style porn with lines such as Kinky Debutante Interviews , Hawaiian Video Magazine , and Asian Dolls Uncut .

Innocent Pictures - A subsidiary of Denmark's Zentropa Productions, and the world's first and only mainstream studio producing hardcore adult films. The goal of Innocent Pictures is to bridge the gap between mainstream and adult, by uniting all the best qualities associated with adult entertainment and mainstream filmmaking into one artistic, commercial and widely palatable package.

Inpulse Pictures - Inpulse TV's philosophy is to change the way Adult programming is viewed by women, and works to reflect women's love of men. They appear to put out very well made DVDs, right down to being high definition.

Insanity Pictures - Helmed by Reno Ash, is an all sex studio. They release their movies slowly, but seem to be taking the time so that they get things right. This is one of those smaller studios which should be getting more attention than it does. Currently, Insanity’s DVDs are being distributed by NJ Films.

Jake Steed Productions - I haven’t seen anything from Jake Steed Productions yet, but I know he has a good following. His titles are interracial and from what I’ve heard well done.

JanetExposed.com - I’ve only seen a couple DVDs from this website / company, and have had mixed results. It’s true amateur porn and there’s no doubt that Janet is into it. I’ve had some technical problems with their DVDs and the extras are pretty standard. I’ve been told that the technical problems have been resolved, and so far this is slightly above average amateur porn.

JAP - Appears to have disappeared after people realized how low budget their compilations were.

JB Video - Focuses on feet, stockings, and tease. I haven’t watched anything from them, but they’ve attracted some big names.

Jet Multimedia - I’ve seen very little of their product, but what I saw and what I see them offering are simple movies on simple DVDs.

Jet Set - Appears to focus mostly on wrestling style movies.

Jill Kelly Productions - Mostly focuses on the couples market. I’ve watched a handful of their titles, and they appear to put some nice effort into a good overall DVD. There’s very little “nasty” sex and some nicely done features.

Jim Gunn Productions - Focuses on simple gonzo all girl movies. Jim normally puts some decent effort into his overall DVDs.

Jim Malibu Productions - See Avalon.

JM Products - Another company that thinks the most offensive way to do something is probably the right way. They’ve taken over for Extreme in the badmouthing department, and with a few exceptions, their titles seem pretty unremarkable.

John Dough Productions - Gonzo movies. I haven’t seen anything from them, but they appear to be longer movies on fairly bare bone DVDs.

John Fantasy Productions - Releases a little of everything, but appears to do a lot of black and bondage porn on pretty bare bones DVDs.

Jost Productions - Only released three anal titles before collapsing. They had some decent quality DVDs.

Juicy Entertainment - Distributes for several performer owned lines, such as Van Damage, Brittaney Starr, and Buster Booty. The main reason to pay attention to them, however, is that they’ve acquired the rights to distribute Le’Wood, which have been hot movies on very nicely done DVDs.

Kick Ass Productions - Their features, such as Specs Appeal , Grrl Power , Smokin’ , and Barefoot Confidential have been a lot of fun while nicely focusing on a specific fetish or idea. They’ve had both well done transfers and a few nice extras. They started out as a fast rising star, but lately they don’t seem to be getting attention like they once were. I haven’t seen much from them lately, but they seem to be doing the same job they started with.

Kitty - Does a decent job with anime. I’ve only seen one of their DVDs, but it was fairly impressive. Rather than putting one episode per DVD, they collected both episodes on the same DVD and gave it a very good transfer. They also cared enough to give the viewer the choice between subtitles and dubbing, which is great as it satisfies the anime purists and makes it very friendly to the new viewer as well.

Knob/Ryder - What I’ve seen hasn’t been good. The few DVDs I’ve seen from them looked shoddy in almost every way. They are now no more after selling out to Pleasure Productions.

Knock Out Productions - Low quality compilations DVDs.

Koch Entertainment - Appears to be dead, but released a few Bettie Paige DVDs.

LBO - Cheap stuff, in almost every way. The transfer normally leaves much to be desired and there’s normally no extras. It’s too bad, since they do have some decent movies.

L. Scott - Appears to be dead but focused on fighting movies.

Legend - Another company that’s average at best. They have quite a few 4 hour compilations, and what I’ve seen of those have been sub-VHS quality. They have a wide product line, that includes bondage features, which is great, but put almost no effort into putting DVD’s opportunities to use. It looks like that might be changing, as they’re putting some effort into extras for their DVDs and even looking at moving into high definition.

Leisure Time - You’d get better value for your money sending it through a shredder. More often than not you don’t even get what’s on the cover.

Leoram - Fetish and she-male movies.

Lethal Hardcore - Appears to have sprung out of Celestial. It still has Stoney Curtis behind the camera, but the movies are to be nastier.

LGI - I haven’t seen anything from LGI, but they appear to specialize in anal and Brazilian porn. They’re also associated with Sex Z Pictures, found later on the list.

Limelight Productions - I haven’t seen anything from this company yet, but they appear to specialize in amateur gonzo porn with some better known faces.

Lipstik - Lipstik appears to release late-eighties features at low prices. Something about this studio doesn’t let me have high expectations about their product, however I also haven’t seen anything from them.

London Entertainment - Releases bondage features. The little I’ve seen from them was okay.

Lord Perious Productions - Best known for the Filthy Frank’s Real Amateur Porn line, but also releases features. I’ve seen a few of their features, and they normally leave plenty to be desired.

Lucky Media - Compilations.

MMG - Another anime studio, which normally concentrates on parodies of other anime. Their overall DVDs have been impressive and fun, although the running length is normally overstated on the covers.

MMV - German porn releasing a few US titles. I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but have heard they range from average to an occasionally very well done DVD.

Mac Daddy - Releases a variety of compilations, softcore features, and other movies. I haven’t seen anything from them, but the little I remember hearing about them wasn’t good.

MAD Media - Releases a mix of compilations, early to mid-1990s porn, and interactive titles. I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but something about them doesn’t give me a good feeling.

Madness Pictures - Gonzo and vignette movies from people such as David Aaron Clark, Lee Stone, and Andre Madness.

Magma - Another Germany company. Their earlier titles were supposed to be quite good, but they’re said to be lacking recently.

Marina Pacific - Mostly fighting and she-male movies.

Maverick - Cheap compilations.

Maximum Xposure - A few compilations, but mostly focuses on more extreme sex. I

Mayhem - Started out as Skeeter Kerkove’s division of Sin City. If you want over the top, hardcore, anal sex, this studio is hard to beat. The movies are extreme, have good technical aspects, and even have extras. Since Skeeter left for Metro things have continued on with Aurora Snow, Mr. Pete, and Jim Powers behind the camera.

Media Blasters - I haven’t seen anything from Media Blasters yet, but they release anime titles and appear to do a decent job with them.

Mercenary Pictures - Headed by Lexington Steele and focusing mostly on interracial sex. I haven’t seen anything from him, but have heard he’s putting out some very well done DVDs.

Metro - A nice mix of features and all sex features. They’re probably best known for having Ron Jeremy under contract and for James Avalon, their leading director. They put some nice effort into trying to make an all around well done DVD on their bigger pictures, and leave the lower budget ones as just that. They’ve flown below most people’s radar, and I’m not really sure why. Over the last couple years they seem to really be improving, and offer a little something for everybody. They have features with Cal-Vista, an Urban line, cheaper all sex with Toxxxic, and nasty sex with Bad Ass and FusXion.

Midnight - Releases fetish titles, all sex titles, and four hour compilations. I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but I don’t have that high of expectations from them so far.

Midnight Mayhem - Appears to be mostly compilations, but have a few all sex DVDs as well. I haven’t heard anything about them, but can’t get my expectations up much.

Mirage - An early DVD studio that released double features of classic films. I don’t think they’re around any more.

Mitchell Brothers - Golden age porn, such as the original Behind the Green Door . From what I’ve heard, they do a pretty good job.

Mojo Video - Compilations.

Moonlight - Early nineties porn. Distributed by Freedom.

Mother Productions - Releases a little of everything under the sun for all sex features, including quite a bit of fetish themes such as pregnancy and female body parts. I’ve watched several of their DVDs, and although the features aren’t too bad the overall DVDs have some of the worst authoring I’ve seen. It appears that Mother Productions is no more, and that they’ve been replaced by Starr Productions.

Multimedia Pictures - Features and all sex movies on lower budget DVDs. Apparently they’re trying to improve and are even making the move to high definition in the coming year.

Mystic Productions - Appears to be no more, but appeared to put out halfway decent all sex movies.

Mythic Entertainment - All sex and gonzo movies. I haven’t heard anything about them.

Nasty Pixxx - Appears to be Jon Yuma and Nic Cramer’s company after the demise of OGV. I’ve only seen a few of their DVDs so far, and they haven’t impressed me much. The technical aspects were lacking, there weren’t any extras, and the covers often appeared deceptive.

Nectar Entertainment - Started out with all sex features by Marty Zion and is now moving into features. The DVDs are nicely done and show plenty of care. This is a studio worth checking out if their movies sound interesting to you.

New Era - Bob Chinn’s company, who originally gave the world Johnny Wadd with John Holmes. Yet another couples feature studio, and what I’ve seen puts as much effort to the plot aspects as the sex aspects. You could almost think of it as an adult TV show. They put some decent effort into extras, such as behind the scenes featurettes, and have spread many of their releases over two DVDs between the movie and the extras.

New Machine - New Machine is best known for handling Ed Powers and Randy West’s DVD releases, although they also have a few mainstream style features. They’re fairly low budget releases, but seem to do a decent job considering the probably quality of the source material. Over the past year or so they seem more interested in putting out compilations of Ed Powers and Randy West scenes than anything else. This studio seems to be going downhill quick and seems like they don’t want to spend more than it costs for a case of beer on a movie.

New Paradigm - I’m guessing that this is Joy Jericho’s company because the only DVD I’ve seen them released was her virtual sex title.

New Sensations - See Digital Sin.

Ninn Worx - Headed by Michael Ninn, who’s well known for his art direction. I haven’t seen anything from them yet, but I’ve heard mixed things about them. Ninn Worx appears to pay a lot of attention to the technical aspects, but the amount of extras vary from disc to disc.

NJ Films - Yet another studio to emerge in 2004 who focuses on interracial action. They seem to be interested in putting out a decent DVD and I’ve heard plenty of positive things about the people who run it. Although I haven’t seen anything from them yet, I have hope here.

No Boundaries - Headed by Corey and Dale Jordan with a little help from Skeeter Kerkove and Gia Paloma, this studio focuses on nasty sex. With Skeeter there I have a little hope, but the Jordan brothers were never known for doing much more than average quality movies. At least they appear to put some care into their overall DVDs.

Northstar Associates - Helmed by porn legend Peter North they release all sex and gonzo porn. I’ve heard decent things about them but haven’t seen anything from them yet.

Noose Video - Bondage features. There’s no frills here, as with most bondage features, and the movies are very average for the genre.

Nutbuster - Started on the internet and now has moved into DVDs. They were well thought of on the net with their MILF Hunter series, so I have some hope for them here as well.

NuTech - Has a wide product line including classics, anime, and fairly current releases. Some of their classics include bogus multi-angles, but other than that they appear to do a an average at best job with them. They’re working to make their anime features more mainstream friendly by having current stars such as Asia Carrera, Rayveness, and Tabitha Stevens provide the voices for the characters. They’ve lost rights to release some of their anime features. Rather than releasing full series on a DVD they release them episode by episode on DVDs that normally don’t last quite a half hour while costing nearly as much as the full series releases by other studios. NuTech shared the honor of being my pick for the worst DVD Studio of 2004 with Anarchy.

Nymph - If you thought Leisure Time couldn’t get any worse, then you never saw Nymph. I’d say more, but they’re best described by body fluids that aren’t white.

Odyssey (OGV) - Sadly, OGV is no more. They were best known for previously releasing many of the Shane’s World titles, as well as the Pick-Up Lines and Rodney Moore series. They do a very nice job with their DVDs, and put some effort into using many of the abilities DVD allows them to. I really don’t know why so many people missed them as they did a very nice job.

Old Pueblo - Releases a little of everything, but most notable is the Charity Event for Taylor Summers and Shannon Getsit .

Oriental Dream Pictures - Couples friendly wall to wall sex with an Oriental flavor.

Original Sin - Features directors Nic Andrews, who’s well known for his award winning couples movies, and Barrett Blade. I haven’t seen anything from them, but with some of the talent they have behind the camera this should be a studio worth watching!

Outback Productions - Nicole London’s company. So far they only have a handful of DVDs out, but they show some potential. They’re directed towards the couples market, and normally have a fifteen minute behind the scenes featurette on each DVD. Sadly, the technical aspects are normally lacking. Supposedly they’ve gone to High Definition video and have big things coming out soon.

Outlaw Productions - See Pleasure Productions’ listing.

Overthere - Focuses mostly on she-males. I know nothing about them.

P. T. International - Bondage features. I’m not sure if they’re still around or not.

Pacific Sun - Asian releases. I’m not sure if they’re still around or not, but I remember them being very bare bones.

Pagan Pictures - I don’t think Pagan is around any more, but there were mixed responses to their product.

Pandora - Sadly, another studio that didn’t last. Their DVD had some very nice extras, and although their early DVDs had a few transfer problems, they were gradually disappearing with each new release. Pandora’s movies were all on the artistic side, and still something that I would recommend to anybody who can find them.

Passion Pictures - They’ve had mixed DVDs in the past, but appear to be going for a higher end couples movies.

Peach - The softcore side of Vivid Video. I haven’t seen anything from them, but what I’ve heard has been pretty good.

Phoenix Releasing - They’re probably most notable for currently releasing the original Shane’s World lineup, but they’ve also released plenty of all sex titles. They appear to put some nice effort into their DVDs, and currently release movies from Heidi Fleiss, Shane, Victoria Givens, Chloe Jones, and John T. Bone.

Pink Visual - Started out as a website and is now distributed by Old Pueblo.

Pinko Enterprises - Appears to be no more, but looked like they released higher end European features.

Pirate Booty Productions - More of a fetish studio than anything. I haven’t seen anything from them, but they appear to put quite a bit of effort into their DVDs.

Pixie’s Emporium - Amateur porn from the backwoods of Maine with plenty of chemistry. Unlike most other amateur companies they’re completely involved with the entire process from filming the scenes to editing and producing the DVDs right through selling them. The DVDs are fairly average, but the Pixies are doing a nice job of continually updating their DVDs to improve them. This is an amateur studio worth paying attention to.

Pixis - Avoid. If you need to know more, see Digital Lust

Platinum X Pictures - Owned by Jewel De’Nyle, Brandon Iron, Manuel Ferrera, and Steve Holmes. I haven’t seen much from PXP, but the little I’ve seen was nicely done. They seem to focus on specific fetishes and sex acts, such as rougher sex or feet, and have done a very good job putting all they’ve learned in the industry to good use. They’ve had some problems with their video quality, but they’ve recently brought their DVD production in-house to try to correct it.

Pleasure Productions - The Pleasure family puts out what I consider the most average product line out there. There are a few that are below average, a few that are above average, but 99% of them hover right around average. They offer a wide range of products, including European features, gonzo, mainstream features, and fetish lines, and keep their products fairly basic. Many of their gonzo features are “cookie cutter” porn, but there are some decent scenes in there. You can expect a few trailers and bios, as well as a decently treated feature, but not much else in the frills department. The biggest problem I see from the Pleasure family is that many of their European features feel heavily edited without stating anything about being edited. The most notable thing about Pleasure is that Jules Jordan started here, and they are slowly bringing out his features.

Plum Productions - See Pleasure Productions

Premier Productions - Bondage features. I don’t know about them.

Private - The best known company for European porn. They put a lot of effort into their transfer and translate the audio into around a half a dozen languages for their releases, as well as offering a few others in subtitles. They also include a few nice extras such as production notes and star filmographies with each DVD as well as frequently including behind the scenes featurettes. They’re well known for a heavy anal emphasis and beautiful European performers, both men and women. They also have their Pirate line, which is one of the best fetish lines out there that I’ve seen. They’ve recently started into virtual sex, which is the low point of their line. The worst thing about Private is that for their earlier DVDs they list their total DVD running time on their cover rather than the feature running time, which makes it almost impossible to compare to other studios on this aspect. Sadly, over the last year they’ve appeared to be going downhill and have been more concerned with putting out compilations than new products.

Puritan - Best known for Puritan Video Magazine which was often directed by Michael Raven. They make a decent vignette feature, but haven’t included many extras from what I’ve seen. Recently Puritan was bought by New Machine. This should give them a bit more visibility, but with how New Machine appears to only be concerned with how cheap a product they can put out I’m afraid that Puritan’s product is about to go downhill.

Pure Play - One of the biggest distributers out there right now. They currently handle product for Danni Ashe, Seymore Butts, NinnWorx, Cousin Stevie, Suze Randall, and Score.

Purrrfect Video - Barely legal movies with a little more artistic feeling.

Python Pictures - See Anarchy.

Rain Productions - I’ve only seen a couple of Rain Productions’ DVDs, but they’ve left a lot to be desired due to poor technical aspects, camera work, and DVD production.

Real Amateur Porn - I haven’t seen anything from this studio, but there’s something about them that doesn’t give me a lot of hope.

Real Girl Videos - I’ve only seen one DVD from this company, but it was short and sweet. They specialize in lesbian amateur porn with real couples. The technical aspects were good but there wasn’t anything for extras. I tried ordering a title from this studio over a year ago and since I haven’t seen the DVD come through I’m assuming the studio went the way of the dodo.

Rebecca Lord Productions - As far as I know has only released one DVD. I know nothing about it.

Red Light District - A company which started a couple years ago and specializes in all sex features. They appear to be the main competition with Anabolic / Diabolic. I’m not positive, but I think they’re actually a breakaway company from Anabolic / Diabolic, and have stuck with what they seem to know. They came out of the gate with slightly above average releases, and seem to be working to improve their product by listening to their fans and what they want. Rather than limiting themselves to what could be done on a VHS tape as Anabolic and Diabolic do, Red Light District has actually been including a few nicely done extras with most of their releases. I think of them as what Anabolic and Diabolic could be if they felt like utilizing the DVD format as it could and should be. Ever since they came out, Red Light District has safely nestled themselves in the top five all sex companies out there.

RedBoard Video - A long running fetish studio which has ventured into DVD late in 2003. Their movies are much longer than those from other fetish studios and from what I’ve seen they put some nice care into their DVDs. If you want fetish movies, this is a studio worth checking out.

Robert Hill Entertainment - I’ve only heard one thing about this company. It was a couple years ago, but it was from somebody high up in the company. He said that their DVDs suck, and I’ll trust him on it. I can’t say that I’ve seen or heard anything different.

Rockman Enterprises - Gonzo porn by Brett Rockman that’s distributed by Fatt Entertainment. I haven’t seen anything from him, but it appears that quite a bit of effort is put into the DVDs.

RodnieVision - Rodney Moore’s line, distributed by Exquisite. POV style porn with an emphasis on a big pop at the end. They’re normally fairly couples friendly and have a fun feel without the nastiness.

Rosebud - Rosebud is part of the Pleasure family, but seems to stand a bit apart of them for some reason. They are slowly releasing their features, which have a heavy anal emphasis, on DVD. I’ve had mixed luck out of them. One of their early DVDs that I tried watching had such poor quality I couldn’t make it through, but I’ve recently watched one of their more recent releases which was well done. If you’re an anal fan, Rosebud is definitely worth checking out. You might want to stick to some of their more expensive titles, as their cheap titles have had more of the technical problems.

Samurai / Snatch - Japanese porn, although Snatch does other America releases also. Neither are known for having much above average quality, and I don’t think either include any extras or a time stamp.

Scarlet Tower - I haven’t seen anything from this studio, or heard anything for that matter, but they appear to specialize in gangbangs and Asian porn.

Score - I haven’t seen anything from this company, but they specialize in busty features that frequently go over two hours.

Sean Michaels Productions - Used to be distributed by Pleasure Productions, then by Sean Michaels Productions, and now by Platinum X Pictures. Sean specializes in interracial features with lines such as the We Go Deep oral series and Sean Michaels Rocks That Ass features as well as all black features such as Ebony Erotica . I’ve had mixed results from SMP. The features varied, but the DVDs lacked any worthwhile extras and the technical aspects were often lacking.

Sensational Video - Currently releases lower budget porn that leans towards the interracial side. I’ve watched a few of their DVDs, and they seem to be improving. The technical aspects vary a bit but there’s often a decent extra or two.

SEVP - Appears to be Swedish porn. I haven’t heard anything about them and they look very bare bones.

Sex Top Stop Productions - Indian porn. I’ve heard nothing about them, but they look very bare bones.

Sex Z Pictures - Releases couples friendly movies and normally shows some nice effort with their extras. I haven’t seen anything from them, but contract director Roy Karch normally comes close to putting me to sleep and contract director Skye Blue does a varying job. They do seem to be interested in doing something a little different, which gives me hope.

Seymore Butts (Golden Goose) - Seymore’s DVDs are released by Pure Play, who also releases Ninn Worx DVDs. Although Seymore’s titles were very slow to come out at first, since joining with Pure Play they’ve been coming out very regularly and stores don’t seem to have problems stocking them. They’re higher priced than average, but the transfer is very good and there are normally some nice extras. The downside to the line is the Seymore’s Classics part, which is normally very affordable. The Classics line normally lists a running time around an hour and a half, while the feature runs less than forty five minutes, which has left me feeling ripped off more than once. Seymore also lists the total running time of the DVD on his covers rather than the running time of the feature, which I think misrepresents the feature length as they’re the only studio I know of currently listing running time this way.

Shane’s World Productions - Currently distributed by Digital Sin / New Sensations. Shane’s World Productions is well known for Shane’s World as well as Slumber Party, Pornological , Search and Destroy, and Campus Invasion and several websites. I have yet to see a bad DVD from this company. Although geared towards the college crowd, they’re also one of my top picks for couples because they tend to feature the stars being themselves in realistic situations, a very fun spirit with great chemistry, and don’t get too nasty. I have no idea why Shane’s World Productions doesn’t get a lot more attention.

Shogun - Japanese porn. They appear pretty bare bones, but I haven’t seen or heard anything about them.

Shooting Star - Seems to focus on older things, whether they be movies or women. I can’t say that I’ve heard much about them, but they seem to have one of the best collections of antique porn around.

Shot at Home - Currently I think Shot at Home is one of the kings of amateur porn. What you see is what you get for the features, the technical aspects vary but are normally far above average for amateur porn, and there’s normally a half hour of extra footage on each DVD. They also have a Home Alone series that’s one of the only things like it out there (in a good way!). I’ve had several very nice e-mails with the head of the company and there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of care about the product and that it’s going to improve even from where it is now. If you’re curious about amateur porn, this is one of the best places to look!

Simon Wolf Productions - Simon Wolf came out in 2001 with some high budget moves on very well made DVDs. He’s doing both feature films and all sex movies, both of which have great technical aspects and a lot of extras. Unfortunately at the time Simon Wolf Productions was also harboring Marc Wallice, who allegedly faked HIV test results and infected several performers. For this reason, Simon Wolf Productions is being avoided by some consumers. Since they started, Simon Wolf Productions has aimed more at all sex and gonzo movies. I have no clue how they are today.

Sin City - Is well known for their big budget features, many of which were directed by Michael Raven. Many of these feel like your big Hollywood blockbusters with sex thrown in. They also offer a decent sized line of all sex features. Their early releases left a lot to be desired, and were plagued by lower quality technical aspects, mandatory commercials at the start of the DVD, few extras, and no time stamp. Over the last couple years they’ve been improving their product quite a bit and seem on the verge of taking on some of the better DVD companies. They frequently shoot on film, and have been giving the film the attention it needs to look good. Unfortunately, they had many problems getting their DVDs to play on Macintoshes with a DVD player, and I haven’t heard that they’ve solved the problem yet.

Sinclair - Educational features that are currently being distributed by Adam & Eve. They’re normally pretty basic, with an average transfer and no time stamp. On the plus side, the more recent releases normally include a bonus educational featurette which has strengthened Sinclair’s overall DVDs.

Sineplex - A newer gonzo studio which got some immediate notice by releasing movies by BellaDonna, Nacho Vidal, and Toni Ribas. I’ve only watched a couple of their movies, but they appear to be very well done DVDs on the same order as Red Light District and Evil Angel.

SinTec Media Labs - See Digital Lust’s listing

Sinthetic - See Digital Lust’s listing

Smash Pictures - Smash appeared in 2002 and has been making steady progress since then. They focus on all sex movies with both North American and European talent and even poke their nose into the fetish niche a little with their Stocking Secrets series. Over the last year or so they’ve made some nice progress with their DVDs. Currently, I think Smash is putting out some of the best DVDs out there.

Snatch - Appears to be dead. They put out mostly bare bones DVDs and were probably best known for putting out the Pussyman movies.

Standard Digital - Golden age porn. Currently, Standard Digital appears to be the company putting the most effort into their golden age porn releases.

Stardust Industries - Releases a little of everything on what appears to be fairly bare bones DVDs.

Starr Productions - Has taken over for Mother Productions. So far the only improvement I’ve seen is a main menu that actually shows the boxcover (and believe me, with their DVD authoring, that’s an improvement). The movies have been good if you’re into the fetish they offer, but to call the authoring extremely basic is one heck of a compliment to the DVDs.

Sticky Floor Cinema - Appeared to be dead. I didn’t hear anything about them, but I guess they’re coming out with a few new movies.

Strokebrook Video - Appears to be dead.

Studio A - Andrew Blake’s studio. Perhaps the best transfer you’ll see. Primarily all girl action, with almost all of it being highly artistic and lying on the edge between hardcore and softcore. Imagine your artistic porn magazine given motion. Some of their earlier DVDs have next to nothing for extras, but recently they’ve been including some nice ones, such as short bonus features.

Sunshine - Well known for being able to pick up cheap. Sadly, they’re also well known for low quality in almost all of their releases. I haven’t seen any of them so far, but if I recall correctly, there are one or two that have had decent reviews.

Suze Randall - A mix of classic and current porn released through Pure Play. Suze has been well known as a top notch photographer in the industry for a long time, and I’ve heard that her couples movies show some nice care.

Taboo Entertainment - Appears to be no more. Mostly released cheaper compilations, but also released some Ginger Lynn movies.

Taylor Wane Entertainment - Releases a little of everything with Taylor Wane in charge. The little I’ve seen has showed some decent care.

TCKS - Released a few compilations. I know nothing about them, but they don’t appear to be around anymore.

The Agency - I know absolutely nothing about them other than they appear to focus on she-males.

Thug Media - Hip-Hop porn. They’ve only released one DVD, and I’ve heard absolutely nothing about it.

Tip Top - I haven’t seen anything from Tip Top, but they appear to be foreign releases.

Totally Tasteless - I’m not sure, but I think this is what Bacchus became. The DVDs look awfully similar. They little I’ve seen of them was fairly poor, but they do give some decent attention to certain fetishes.

Totally Tight - Gay and she-male movies. I’m not even sure if they’re still doing new movies.

Toxxxic - The cheaper all sex side of Metro. They’re well known for some decent movies on a budget.

Twisted Transmissions - A metamorphosis of Pandora Bazaar. Twisted Transmissions moves into bondage features while keeping great art direction, creativity, and nicely done DVDs.

TXD Entertainment - A new internet company. The one DVD I saw from them was okay.

Typhoon - Uncensored Japanese stuff. Although it gets into some of the kinky stuff Japanese porn is known for, the quality is supposed to be very poor. They’re released by Sticky Video.

Ultimate Pictures - See Adam & Eve.

Uncensored Entertainment - Only released one title, but went for a softcore black reality feel.

Underground Entertainment - I’m not sure Underground is really around anymore, but they appeared to do mostly low quality compilations and cheaper features.

Union Jaxxx - British porn. I’ve watched several of their DVDs and was disappointed by both the movie and the DVD quality on every one of them.

Universe Laser - Appears to be dead, but released a couple of Asian features.

Unlimited - Appears to be dead. They released a handful of DVDs that covered a little of everything.

Urban Adult Entertainment - A new (apparently) black company. I know nothing about them.

Urban Logixxx - Black porn that appears to be on the low end.

V-9 - I haven’t seen or heard anything about this studio, but they specialize in reality porn. They have a few lines of amateur, voyeuristic, and barely legal movies.

Vanilla Spice -

VCA - Best known for releasing mostly couples features. A couple years ago they were one of the leaders in DVD, but since then they don’t seem to put much effort into improving their product. 95% of VCA’s DVD have the same feel, the same main menu, the same chapter menu, the same bios, etc with a minor change made to show the current movie in a frame. While other companies are trying to make their DVDs Vipers and PT Cruisers, VCA seems to like being the Edsel of the DVD world. They have some great contract performers and directors, such as Chloe, Jim Holliday, and most notably Antonio Passolini and Veronica Hart. Sadly, Hart, Holliday and Passolini’s features seem to be the only things that VCA puts a little extra effort into for their DVDs. Most of VCA’s efforts right now seem to be going into their FantaSex virtual sex simulators, which are sometimes done in front of a blue screen. VCA’s FantaSex simulators stand out from the others by often being integrated into their movies, so it gives you the experience of actually “being” in the movie scene “yourself”. I have heard some reports of problems with VCA’s interactive titles on Macintosh, but apparently some things can be done to solve some of the problems as well.
UPDATE : VCA is one of the only studios I’ve had respond about this listing (as well as a few other things), which shows quite a bit of care. They say that they were trying to standardize things to make the DVDs easier for viewers who were new to DVD, and from a study they conducted, were confused by the more complex menus. I wonder if these people can go to the bathroom without help, but if that’s what VCA’s research showed and they adjusted their product to try and better satisfy their consumers, it makes them one of the best companies out there in my opinion. That said, I was also told that it backfired on them and they’re working to show that they’re still one of the top companies out there.
UPDATE #2 : VCA has been purchased by LFP / Hustler. I haven’t seen many changes since the purchase, but have heard that things are getting better.

VCX - As far as I know, only does classic porn. I’m not sure how, since I haven’t watched any of their DVDs yet, but they’ve managed to make themselves a worse reputation for their DVDs than Caballero. I’ve been told by very reliable people that the technical qualities leave a lot to be desired and that you can’t really believe a single word on their covers about what features the DVD contains.

Venom - Gonzo and all sex porn on the nastier side. The little I’ve heard of them was pretty good.

Ventura - I’m not sure if they’re around anymore, but I think they only released a couple movies. One of those was the infamous Sylvester Stallone porno.

Venus - A little of everything, and almost always very cheap. I haven’t seen anything from them, and from the little I see of them I don’t think I’m missing anything.

Victoria Givens Productions - Distributed by Phoenix, and of course helmed by Victoria Givens. I’ve seen a little of Victoria behind the camera, and she shows potential if you like all sex videos.

Victory Multimedia - As far as I know, has only released on softcore DVD.

VidBidNess - I don’t know anything about this company other than they appear to specialize in voyeuristic styled movies.

Vidco - Fetish, she-male and bi movies, all of which appear very cheap and poorly done.

Video Marc Dorcel - European porn for couples. They’re currently released by Wicked in the United States, and seem to be a good match. Think your typical Wicked movie with nastier sex and a European cast and you’re coming very close to a Marc Dorcel movie. The only real problem I’ve seen is that Video Marc Dorcel hasn’t really put much effort into making their DVDs too accessible for people who don’t speak French. The movie is available in multiple languages, but the features are normally only available in French.

Video Team - Best known for their No Man’s Land and My Baby Got Back series as well as a few black and inter-racial series. I’ve only seen a few of their DVDs, but they’ve been putting some nice effort into them lately.

Video-X Pix - Classic porn. I hear they’re just as poor as VCX’s DVDs.

Vidway - See Global Media.

VIP Entertainment - Might be dead. They appear to release low quality and budget movies that mostly go after anal action.

Visual Images - See Legend.

Vivid - Perhaps the most visible studio out there, and well known for their 4 hour claim. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if I’ve heard of a single one of these DVDs reaching a full four hours. The main Vivid titles also normally advertise multiple angles. When Vivid originally came out with multiple angles and their visibility, they embarrassed most of the adult industry. Rather than being true multiple angles, Vivid hacked up their features so badly that by changing angles you might change complete positions. Vivid also butchered their features so they could fit more extras onto their DVDs. In some cases, this was so bad that features that ran over two hours ended up barely being an hour and a quarter. When customers complained, Vivid just thumbed their noses and went right on with business as usual. I’ve heard they’ve improved, but I haven’t enough of their recent titles to know first hand. Vivid was also well known for including the same handful of extras around all of their DVDs, which made the 4 hour claim even more annoying. Thankfully, this trend has ended, and they’re nicely changing around their extras and putting some nice effort into the little details like animated menus. The recent DVDs I’ve seen have had a few technical problems, which are hopefully going to be changed soon.

Vivid Wave / Raw - Vivid’s low budget line. The Wave line is Vivid’s earlier releases, while the Raw line is normally “cookie cutter” porn that revolves around a star introducing scenes. They’re normally unedited, but I’ve heard that many of the Wave titles have had the music changed from the original release. They also have some of the standard extras, including quite a few bonus scenes. Unfortunately, the scenes are normally chopped down, and I haven’t seen one that lets you know where they come from in case you want to see the rest of the scene.

Vixen Video - Appears to be distributed by Historic Erotica. Vixen focuses on bondage.

Volcanic - Only released three DVDs. If I recall correctly, after that it went on to become Red Light District.

Voluptious - Big boob movies. They appear to be distributed by Cabellero.

VXI - Released a little of everything. The little I saw was very bare bones but decently done.

Wayne - Mostly amateur and softcore movies. I’m not sure if they’re around any more or not.

WePlay2Gether - An amateur internet studio. The one movie I saw from them was fairly basic, but decently done.

West Coast - Best known for their all black porn and series such as Booty Talk, Chasing The Big Ones and There's Something About Jack . I can’t think of anything I’ve seen from them, but I’ve heard from others that they put together very average DVDs.

Wicked - Possibly the best studio out there for feature films, and almost certainly the classiest. Wicked puts out about a DVD a week, and maintains the attitude that they’d rather be the best than the biggest. They put some obvious effort into every DVD, and have pushed the DVD format as much or more than every other company out there without getting into interactive titles. Their titles frequently have commentaries, behind the scenes featurettes, and interviews, as well as animated menus and screens that are tailor made to fit the DVDs. If that isn’t enough, they also put some good effort into making the transfer as good as possible, and I think might have remastered some of their older titles. They’ve also made an effort to bring a few DVDs out day and date with their VHS releases, which really says something with how packed with extras and well made their DVDs are. The only downside some people might find is that Wicked’s features are aimed mostly at the couples market and normally has at least a halfway decent plot worked into them as well. They’ve expanded their line slightly by also distributing European releases by Video Marc Dorcel , which have a slightly harder feel than Wicked’s normal offerings, but have more of an emphasis on anal. Dorcel’s releases are on the line of Private’s offerings, but normally don’t have quite as many extras.

Wildlife - Wildlife seems to concentrate on straight ahead, bread and butter fuck flicks. I wasn’t too impressed with the couple DVDs I first checked out from them, which was a long time ago, but their recent DVDs have looked pretty good. Their technical aspects vary a bit from DVD to DVD, but they care enough to give extras such as behind the scenes featurettes and also keep their prices down. Wildlife appears to be one of the hidden gems in the porn world that deserves a lot more attention than they get.

Winckler Productions - As far as I know, only released on softcore movie. I haven’t heard anything about it, but it looks like there’s some nice effort put into it.

Woodburn - Cheerleader movies that appear to be distributed by Devils Films .

Woodhaven Entertainment - Softcore amateur movies along the lines of Girls Gone Wild .

Working Girl Videos - Put out one movie in 2004. I don’t know if there’s more coming from them or not, but the DVD appeared to be pretty basic.

Works World Wide - See Sensational Video.

WRW - Reality, Girls Gone Wild style movies with pornstars.

X Level Video - Might be distributed by Legend. Appears to concentrate on black movies. I know nothing about them.

X-Vision Interactive - I haven’t heard anything about them, but the little I see doesn’t give me a lot of hope.

X-Real - Cheap 4 hour compilations.

X-traordinary - See Legend.

X-Worx - New in 2005. I know nothing about them, but the couple movies they’ve released feature some great talent and appear to have some nice care. I haven’t seen or heard anything about this company, but I have hope for them.

X-Zone - Long and cheap compilations.

Xplicit - Cheap porn. The little I’ve heard about them isn’t good.

Xplor Media - Best known for the Homegrown Video line. I’ve only seen a couple DVDs from them, and can’t say that I was too impressed. They’re often thought of as being one of the top amateur companies out there, but I’ve seen a lot more effort from Shot at Home, Pixie’s Emporium, and Hal Maroon.

Xposed Entertainment - Cheap and long compilations.

Xtreme - Cheap and long compilations.

XXX Files - Released one cheap and long compilation.

Yoko - Asian porn that appears to be on the longer side.

Youngest First Time - Appears to give you just that. I know absolutely nothing about them but suspect they’re an internet company.

Z Productions - European features. I’m not sure if Z Productions is around any more, but you can still find some of their DVDs out there.

Zane - I’ve seen part of one of Zane’s recent releases, and it was one of the worst quality DVDs I’ve ever seen. I suppressed most of the memory, but the fragments that still linger make me think that they didn’t even care enough to include a title and chapter menu. I do remember that the technical aspects sucked, there wasn’t a time stamp, and I felt extremely ripped off paying $10 for it. Needless to say, they seem to be right down there with Nymph, Leisure Time, and Sunshine on the avoid list.

Zaye Entertainment - Started in 2002 and flies under the radar of most people. They’ve concentrated on a few series with a slight fetish focus. I’ve only seen one DVD from them, but the movie was nicely done and the overall DVD showed some very nice care. They appear to be distributed by Northstar.

Zero Tolerance - A gonzo studio which came out in 2003 with directors such as Mark Davis and Mike Quasar. I’ve only seen a couple movies from Zero Tolerance, but what I saw had nice and straightforward porn without the fast forward fodder and with some nice effort towards the overall DVD.

ZFX - Bondage and fetish movies. I don’t know anything about them, but they appear fairly basic.

Zoom - Mostly anal movies from the 1990s. I haven’t seen or heard anything from them, but the little I see of them doesn’t give me much hope.

Zulu - Only released one movie, and that appears to have been taken over by Nymph. I don’t have any hope here.

UPDATED 02May02 to add a couple more studios, add a little more information on a couple studios, and fix a couple of my screw-ups.

UPDATED 18Jun02: A few more studios added and a few more screw-ups fixed.

UPDATED 13Nov02: A few studios added and updated.

UPDATED 19Nov02: Updated Huster info.

UPDATED 04Dec02: Added DVSX and updated Elegant Angel

UPDATED 03Sept03: Big Ass Update!

UPDATED 30Oct03: Added Comstock Films, Danni.com, HomeSexTapes.com, and Sineplex and updated a few other studios.

UPDATED 03Sept04: Another Big Ass Update with information updated for a few studios and several others added.

UPDATED 03Feb05: Yet another Big Ass Update!

Edited by - astroknight on Feb 3 2005