Customer Reviews

Fireplace DVD: Real Wood Burning Fire (Anamorphic - FullScreen Edition)

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I've never had a fireplace DVD before, so my only reference base was a day long burning fire that's broadcast on a local cable channel on Christmas day. I guess I was spoiled by that, because the cable version was better than this DVD, but... I still like to play it.

I'll tell you my complaints first:

1. The sound takes some getting used to. The popping wood echos pretty loudly and gives you the impression the fire is burning in an empty room with hard surfaces (not exactly a cozy feeling).

2. The looping is jarring. There are four choices in the menu, a high fire, a medium fire, a low fire, and the full fire (from hi to low). Of the first three choices, the fire loops every ten minutes, but the loop is noticeable. The frame freezes for a few seconds, the sound stops, and then it starts over again. I've made smoother transitions in my amateur home videos, so not sure why they did it this way. Would be better if you didn't notice the loop at all. The fourth option, the full fire, is even worse. It plays for a full 30 minutes, but towards the end of the low fire the sound starts to skip a little. Then the screen goes to black for quite a few seconds (and is silent) before starting again with the high fire. Again, very jarring. I almost fell asleep, but this woke me up. Seems they could have made this less noticeable.

3. You feel the urge to stir! During the low fire part, a log (or a piece of a log) falls out of the firebox and no one puts it back! It really drives home the point this fire is not real because you're dying to jump up and put it back!! (this is another thing I liked so much about the cable version - a guy would come by every so often, stir the fire, add more wood, so it was tended to and you therefore didn't worry about that.

But... in spite of my complaints, I have to admit I still watch the thing and I do find it relaxing, once I got used to the idiosyncrasies. The colors are warm and glowing. The fire is kind of hypnotic to watch. Your brain even tricks you into thinking it's giving off heat! And it is framed just exactly right, so that it fills up your TV screen as though that were the firebox itself. No annoying music, just the sounds of popping wood and the updraft.

For ten bucks I guess it was a decent buy. If I had paid more I would probably be less accommodating. But if you simply want a basic, no frills fire to watch, this will do the job.

I was very impressed with this video. I actually ordered 2 others and was not satisfied. I liked this Fireplace DVD best because 1. it was a real fire and 2. it fills the screen. I really didn't like the cheesy foregrounds of another DVD I bought. Whenever we have people over to the house and want some background, but not a distraction we put this on and people always love it.

I really wish I could agree with the other reviews who gave this a high rating. I really tried hard to like it but just can't. I have a more than a few different fireplace DVD's and the write up on this seemed very promising. I bought this for a 42 inch Plasma. My first problem was that the color tones are WAY too red/orange. I tried every adjustment on my TV and it was either red or washed out. I could not get it to look natural at all. My second issue was that there is a constant odd eliptical illumination in the background. It looks as though there is a spotlight on it all time, not the natural glow that would be naturally given from a fire. Also, the logs and fire were sort of hazy and did not look nearly as crisp and realistic as some other videos. I actually play this on a TV that's nestled in a real hearth and behind a stained glass firescreen (safer than a real fire when you have little tots!) and it was so bad that I couldn't even play it partially hidden behind the glass. The only good part of this DVD was the audio of the fire and the ability to play the fire at different levels or the whole cycle of the fire. My suggestion overall though is to pass this by if you want something realistic!

This real wood fire is perfectly framed, showing a handsome brick fireplace interior behind the fire, and just a little at the sides of the logs. In many ways, this appears to be the best production of a fireplace DVD, including lighting and other techniques.

The fire appears to be gas-assisted. At the start, the flames are large, even under the grate, where there appears to be no fuel. It appears that new logs have been stacked up, the gas fire started, and recording started soon thereafter. Other reviewers have commented on the loudness of the pops at the beginning. They sound metallic, and may be the cold grate expanding with the heat. As the wood burns, the gas is turned down for a natural effect, and the sounds become more natural. The great framing was created by almost doubling the length of wood used, with two logs in front - unusual until you get used to it.

As others have noted, you have the choice of looping through the whole fire, or the first, second or third parts of it (10 minutes each). When you start the DVD, the menu comes right up, you make your selection, and the loop starts. There are a few glitches in the sound, mostly at the end of the third segment, and the transitition at the end is rough. Viewing only the middle segment omits the distracting sound glitches, and the transition from end-mid to begin-mid is less startling.

The fire burns without interruption behind a screen. On my 46-inch Samsung LCD, I can see thin, horizontal rectangles of what appear to be fine wire, perhaps embedded in glass, especially in large flame areas. The vertical lines are occasionally distracting. There are no options for music or other distractions.

What makes a good fire? Is it just a feeling, or can you describe it? Does the fire on a fireplace DVD have to be a pure wood fire? How much of a production should be made of it?

We can probably agree that most fires, even with the same wood pile and fireplace, are going to be different. As such, having more than one fireplace DVD can make sense. On special occasions, we have gone to a B&B, just to have an evening together by the fire. You can buy a handful of DVDs for far less than one night at a B&B, and have your fire at home. Unlike a movie DVD, you may use it often.

In addition to this product, we also purchased:

Sierra Nevada Log Cabin Fireplace DVD ... 4-star
Cozy Cracklin' Fireplace ... 2-star
The Holiday Yule Log: Includes Gift Book, DVD with Classic Holiday Carols, and Lyric Books - Everything You Need to Enjoy Home, Hearth, and Family for the Holidays ... 3-star

We gave the Yule Log as a Christmas present, but watched it first. That prompted my wife to buy this product. I was bothered by the sound glitches and artificiality I mentioned above - after investigating, I bought the other two. My wife finds the Sierra Nevada flames too subdued, while I find it a worthy contender. But this DVD from PlasmaCandy is at least as good as anything else we have seen.

This dvd only offers 1 fire, which is kind of nice because you can tell the producers went for quality over quantity. The fire really gives off a nice natural warm glow. I really like that you can see the whole fire from when it starts to where it burns down to glowing embers.

I love putting the dvd on and curling up with a book on a rainy day. Ahhh so relaxing!

We don't have a real fireplace, and missed the ambiance a fire provides. When reading the other reviews I decided to give this DVD a try, and I am thrilled. It gives us the feel of a real fire on our big screen, and adds the perfect touch to the room. You can set the DVD to play the full flames, low flames, full flame to embers or cozy fire, and it will loop for you. There are no distractions with hearth's, cheesy christmas music or other distractions. Just the wood burning fire, and soft crackling. I am extremely pleased with this DVD, great job, and it will provide many hours of relaxation. Shipping was quick, we are very satisfied.

My wife and I traveled to Pennsylvania last Christmas to visit family. We were excited about enjoying a snowy white Christmas (we live in Florida) but were disappointed when we learned my sister did not have a fireplace. We feel the presence of a fireplace during the holidays is a total necessity.

Before our departure we found Plasmacandy's DVD surfing the web. I haven't watched any other fireplace DVDs, but this one is great. It simulates a real fire with real wood, it even has all the sounds. This DVD is great for the holidays and for romance; five stars.

I returned this product because the audio was horrible. When the volumne was on, it had an irritating humming sound, which made it almost impossible to hear the crackling fire.

I don't write reviews as much as I'd like to or should, but this item has me so fired up that I feel the urgent need to post my thoughts before another minute passes. PlasmaCandy and their Fireplace DVD duped me into buying their DVD with their fancy boxart and glowing product description. I have been on the hunt for a DVD featuring a soothing, crackling burning fire for years. Most appeared cheesy or were noted as featuring silly backdrops and goofy music. So to find this DVD which is noted as being ultra high quality, featuring a burning fire, and only a burning fire, had my interest peaked. As did, of course, the many five/four star reviews. I honestly feel as though I bought the item from a street vendor selling a copy filmed via a cheap video camera with a shoddy microphone.

The quality of the image isn't stunning by far, but given that it's being upscaled to 720p, I can't fault it for not looking superb - though it could definitely look better. I can get over the state of what's displayed, I must note. What I can't get over, however, is the ridiculously poor audio. The roar of the fire is muffled so heavily, that to "effectively" hear it, one needs to raise the volume to an excessive degree. Yet, this poses another problem. Raising the volume couples together the poor roar with a high pitched whine of sorts (imagine turning up cheap speakers as high as they'll go, with nothing playing from them). My speakers aren't cheap, so I can't fault them (though, they certainly aren't the best either, I might add). While this sad sounding roar isn't something I could get over, the worst part is actually the snap, crackle, and pop of the fire - something I was really looking forward to hearing and enjoying. Wow. This DVD's title is, "Real Wood Burning Fire," but I have no reason to believe these sounds to be coming from a real wood burning fire. The crackling is so distracting, so completely jarring that I cannot enjoy the DVD at any volume level. Each pop, each snap, each crackle is so loud and so generic sounding that I cringe with each. I could mute the DVD, sure, but that would take away what I wanted most from this DVD - a gimmick-less real wood burning fire, both in terms of sight and sound. There is even an audible defect heard within seconds of the DVD's start. It also sounds like there are people in the background walking around - a rustling noise if you will. I just don't get it. Did they film this in mono? Or with just a really, really bad microphone?

How hard can it really be to accurately duplicate a real fire? As someone that has built, maintained, and enjoyed wood burning fires for years, I expected so much more. Not necessarily the exact same experience of course, but certainly something close or even remotely related. This DVD is so pathetic in quality, that I do not want it in my collection. And since I cannot return it given what kind of item it is, I'll be giving it away to anyone unlucky enough to take it. Perhaps I'm just too picky, but in this case, I think I have just cause to be wholeheartedly disappointed. Thanks, PlasmaCandy, for sending my hopes of a real wood burning fire to enjoy on my TV during the holidays and beyond up in flames.

It looks ok, but the video quality is not, even for a mid size (42 inch) LCD, instead go for the blue ray for the best experience