BuzzWest has over 100 models in exclusive video and photo content for almost every guy. They update twice a week with new, exclusive content.
Photos and videos are separated for each guy. The site also has an option to further refine your search with a collection of 13 genres, including uncut, hairy, twinks, hardcore, black men, and more. It's very easy to find what you're looking for.
So, let's start with the photos. Each model has a full photoset, which you'll find just by clicking on their model thumbnail. Galleries average between 35 – 60 photos per set, with the entire set presented on one page in a series of thumbnails for easy browsing.
BuzzWest himself gives a detailed intro for each set and video, so you get a dimension of personality. Clicking on a thumbnail will open a new window, which (somewhat awkwardly) resizes for each photo. Right within the pop-up window, you can navigate throughout the entire set. There's a great slideshow feature, with a range of options for speed.
The photosets are awesome. They are available in 320x213, 640x426, and 1024x681 resolutions. When you find a pic you like, you'll love the zoom feature which allows you to get in REALLY close and click-and-drag around the photo. Quality overall is amateur, but without all the blurry pics.
The videos don't disappoint either. Not all of the guys have video, but nearly all of them do. Videos are available for streaming (in WMV and QuickTime), or download (WMV only). You also have the choice of three different file sizes for all kinds of internet connections.
These are full-length videos, no clips, so the larger file sizes are huge-- well over 100 megs. For such large file sizes, though, the download on high-speed cable wasn't that bad at all. The movies are DRM protected.
I wasn't surprised to find great quality videos with 640x480 resolution for the largest size, 480x360 for the middle size, and 320x240 for the smallest. Unfortunately, I never could get streaming video to work for me.
Along with all of this content, you'll get access to 10 other gay video feed sites, with content ranging from bears to twinks and everything in between.
If you're interested in modeling for the site, they have a handy link to contact the owner, BuzzWest.
BuzzWest is easy to navigate, with a very clean layout and intuitive features. I liked that the photo and video content for each guy was right in the same place. The detail intros/descriptions gave each set and video a personal feel. The ability to drill down (so to speak) further into the navigation with the 13 genres is great as well.
If you encounter problems, BuzzWest has a separate support area, complete with a ticketing system, downloads area, knowledge-base documentation, and even live support. I wasn't able to find out why streaming video didn't work for me, though. I tried contacting live support and, after a couple of minutes on hold, got a message saying that live support wasn't available.
Five issues I had: the photos open up and resize in a new window, and the resizing is pretty awkward and clunky. And having to jump through a million hoops to upgrade to a new player was a bitch.
Then signing in every time I wanted to view a video was annoying, especially since you do have to manually enter it each time. The problems with streaming video was lame; the “unavailable” live support was even lamer.
BuzzWest is one of those few straight/gay male porn sites out there that had me feeling like a kid in a candy store.
The navigation was easy, the site was clean, the videos and photos were creative and sexy, and there was lots of bonus video feeds for just about any gay sexual inclination you can think of.
I did have some technical issues, but the site was so good otherwise that I would just avoid streaming video and hope I don't need immediate customer support. A great buy for the money at just $19.95 a month.
