Search - Fireplace: Visions of Tranquility (Combo HD DVD + DVD) by HDScape on HD DVD

Pretty nice

John Hillestad | Ft Lauderdale, FL USA | 09/01/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Its the nicest one I have used... but it could have been nicer...



Pan a little out so the whole flame would have been welcomed..



Also there are some fires that the camera pans and scan around and thats just not called for!



I would have rather seen different views back off the same fireplace... some tv's are bigger than others and if its like 50 or 60" the fire just looks too big... so different views further back would have been better.



At least they did use a real fire with real wood not a gas fire like most of the other discs I have seen. The first one is a full fireplace with wood that burns almost down then loops... thats the way to do it. The others that scan the fire are distracting and dumb.. the whole concept of these discs is an illusion of a fireplace so why does the camera need to move ? instead just offer different views of the same fireplace instead.



Overall on a lcd around 32 to 40 " you will be very pleased.... the bigger your set your fire will look too big and will not look natural at all.... in fact it will look like your living room is on fire... hence the further away view would have been welcomed..."

Does what it needs to, looks good

Brandon Dennis | Seattle | 12/14/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You can't expect much from a video of a burning fire other than just that--a video of a burning fire. I have not seen the standard definition version of this HD DVD, but I believe that this version comes with fewer features, based on the reviews I have read of it. Still, this version comes with multiple different versions of the fire: A complete fire (starts after the fire is already lit and goes until it nearly goes out--you do not see the very beginning or the very end) An eternal fire (which is just the first minute or so of the fire looped back to back forever) and a number of other versions, including an exciting fire, which just looks at the fire with different camera angles, and a version of the fire set to music.



The fire looks great on HD DVD. The sound is a little weird--sometimes you hear little metal popping noises and tinkling sounds, and I wonder if this is an error in the audio compression or just the natural sound of the fire rack being heated. I once had an error with the HD DVD where the menu would not allow me to make a selection, and I had to restart the machine, but this happened only once and I do not know whether it was the player's fault or the HD DVD's fault. The reverse side has the standard definition version and its content is slightly different, but I cannot recall how it differed. Both sides are in wide screen and there is no full screen option. All in all, it is a great little fire to have going on in the background if you, like me, do not have a fireplace in your apartment."