Site Status Update Feb 2010- Site is still active, but unsure if there is actually anything new in the membership area since they rotate films. As I recall, the site looks pretty much the same as when I visited it last. Cost of membership is $34.95 USD for 30 Days.
Review posted 8/18/06 by John O'Connell
I came across this site last week by accident, and like many probably were before me, was excited to see a site that offered the famous Red Stripe videos in downloadable form. Closer examination of the site shows that these are not individual downloads, but that it's a membership site with all of the Red Stripe series available. My reaction was similar to when I found the Cal Star site...wow, this is cool. So, I paid the $24.95 fee and logged into the member area.
My excitement dwindled considerably when I found that only 5 videos were available at one time with the selection being rotated every week. I thought to myself, maybe I misread something. So, I went back to the main visitor screens and read everything again. "This is the only place where you can see the whole RED STRIPE series!" That's written after a description of every single production. There is no mention that the videos are only offered 5 at a time. This ticked me off. I felt that I had been deceived. The visitor pages of the site clearly leads potential subscribers to believe that once they pay the member fee, they would be able to download every Red Stripe video, not just a handful at a time.
After recovering from the shock of the deception, I figured I might as well see what the quality of these 5 videos are. So, I downloaded the 5 that were available. Each varied in time, with some being 30 minute production, while others were over an hour. The screen resolution is 512x384 and is in AVI format. The file size for a 34 minute video is 384 MB. So, I thought the quality should be pretty good for the screen resolution and file size. Wrong again. The flow was good, but the lighting was horrible. They all appeared dark and there were color distortions. One of the videos had a red tint throughout and another had a blue/green tint. I never saw the original tapes from these productions, so I can't say if this effect was on the originals or not. My guess is they might have been, but with the technology available, at the very least the files could have been brightened for better viewing.
That's about it. 5 films at a time with nothing else offered. So, if you really love Red Stripe and don't mind spending 25 dollars to watch 5 films at a time with lighting and color issues, then go for it. I know I won't be renewing my membership.