Jerkoff Genius's review
Does C1R deliver what it promises on the outside?
Many will have at least heard of the drag queen film director ChiChi Larue and her live shows called "Live and Raw" broadcast at Channel1Releasing.com, also known succinctly as C1R.com. I think I was introduced to C1R as a feeder on another site years ago. C1R has been pumping out the live shows since 2000, and has also acquired the contents of DirkYatesLive.com (of San Diego military fame) which is now defunct as a site.In the old days, the live shows were way too grainy for me to be interested in (and too long - sometimes going on for hours). The embedded player back then was about as big as a postage stamp, jerky, and not all of the models were such hot quality and oftentimes more than a little sleazy with the butt plugs and giant dildos.
You can take the very brief tour and see that you will get the pre-recorded contents of both Live&Raw and DirkYatesLive plus five free videos per week plus one live show per week from Live&Raw and DirkYates.
What's good about C1R? What needs improvement?
What's good is that C1R has re-mastered its full archive of recorded live shows going back to 2000 in a much clearer resolution than was originally presented "back in the day". This goes for DirkYatesLive content as well. I had some old saved off videos from DYLive circa 2002 and the re-mastered content is much clearer than it was when I saved it off.The bad news is that ALL of the content on the site is only playable in FlashPlayer (no downloading) and there are constant bombardments trying to sell you DVDs by mail or convince you to enlist in PPV to spend more money. That badgering to buy more is exactly as I remember the site from years ago. C1R has been a feeder staple for years, so many will have seen at least one show or two - either live or recorded. The live shows have tapered off to once a week, between Live&Raw (Tues. @ 6-9PT) and DirkYatesLive (Fri. @ 6-9PT) you will get two grueling sessions of three hours each to while away your time waiting for the action to begin.
How is C1R unique?
All of the content here is attributable to either Live&Raw, DirkYatesLive, or Channel1 Releasing studios.What do paying users recieve for their money?
For $24.95 monthly, you'll get:700+ DirkYatesLive pre-recorded live shows,
1500+ Live&Raw pre-recorded live shows,
5 free movies per week (their choice),
and a bunch of filler junk thrown in.
The JOIN page states that you will get over 4500 Live&Raw pre-recorded live shows, but I counted them and its not that many. It also states that Live & Raw is giving 4 live shows weekly and the schedule showed otherwise. I always found it tedious to remember to tune in at a certain time on a certain day of the week anyway so I usually just watched them recorded.
Other GayGeek reviews of C1R
Lab Ratt's review 
August 9, 2009
This website does a lot of banking on name recognition. Most every gay man has heard of Channel 1 Releasing, and most likely seen some of their work. That's what the site is hoping will lure you in. They offer tons of archived cam shows, and free DVD's to watch each week. What they don't tell you is that the quality of these "membership benefits" is pure crap. The fact that it has won a GAYVN award for best site makes me seriously question how much that award really means. Read full review
NewsBoy's review 
August 1, 2009
This is the home of Chi Chi LaRue and Dirk Yates, and the homepage boasts of winning a best website award this year. So you'd expect it to be good. And on one level, it is. There's masses and masses of content; it would take you years to see it all. But at the same time, it's a thoroughly frustrating experience -- to such an extent that you have to ask whether it's worth the money. Read full review
