Customer Reviews

Fun View TV - Volume 1: Fireplace, Fish, Snow & More

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got this dvd because I was looking for a fireplace dvd just to put on in the evenings to relax to. Out of all the ones I looked at this one looked best so I ordered it. I got a fireplace and so much more. My kids love all of the scenes and they are just mesmerized by them. I just pick one and turn it on and they just sit and listen or watch. It is a way to have the tv on without having to watch most of the junk that is on tv nowdays.

"Fun View" is a DVD containing numerous short videos. The most realistic is a closeup of a blazing fireplace. It is about 2 1/2 minutes long before it loops, and has pretty good video and sound quality. There is a video of a goldfish against a white background with goofy "bloop bloop" sound effects for the audio tracks. There are a couple of oddballs, such as the video of the running microwave oven. The rest are all partially or completely computer generated, and some (such as the zooming starfield) are literally computer screensavers caught on video. They're all well done, but do look a little fake, especially on a large HDTV.

In contrast, the VJWorld "Fireplaces Fishtank & Lava" (FF&L) containing 5 short videos, each about 30 minutes long. They are closeups of a two fireplaces (classic and modern), a campfire, a saltwater aquarium, and a lava lamp. The fire and fishtank videos are excellent, in sharp focus and with good, realistic sound quality. There are many active fish in the aquarium, plus some coral and a shrimp. While the DVD is standard def (480i), everything looks pretty good on an HDTV with a quality upconverter in the TV or DVD player.

The "Fun View" and "FF&L" fireplaces are similar, and perhaps a little better on "FF&L", and the "FF&L" fireplaces are much longer before they loop. The "FF&L" aquarium is much better than the "Fun View" goldfish. Both discs have a lava lamp. (I'd have preferred a freshwater aquarium.) "FF&L" is a clear winner over "Fun View" in the "fireplaces and fish" department.

However, "Fun View" does have seasonal videos, such as a jack-o-lantern with lightning in the background and a New Year's Eve-style countdown clock. They might be useful to play as a sort of animated decoration for a party. For variety at the expense of quality, "Fun View" is a reasonable choice.

Since neither is terribly expensive, a third option is to simply get both.

The firepalce video is the best that I've seen yet, it has a great "warmy quality" with lots of natural sounds. But The DVD also has a lot of other very cool scenes that are nice to play at parties and holidays.. keeps the kids occupied during family events.. thank god..

I went round and round on Amazon trying to find a fireplace DVD and stumbled upon this one. It's great! A great value too! I'd bought 2 fireplace DVDs this one and another solely dedicated to a fireplace DVD and the one soley dedicated to be a fireplace DVD was pretty lame. This one is good because the fireplace scene is good, nice crackling fire and + it has other features that are fun too like the lava lamps, fireworks, and other eye-candy fun stuff. A great value for the price I paid. I bought one for my sister and her kids to put on in the background instead of them all watching mindless TV instead.

I bought this ambiance DVD over others because it had so many different scenes to pick from. Mainly I just wanted the fireplace though. Once I got it, the fireplace was nice (no music or anything to distract from the natural burning sounds). Very realistic. My cat loves the goldfish scene; the snow scene (with or without the multi-colored lights) was also nice. I can't really see myself watching any of the others though. Only 2 (the fire & fish) were real-life. The rest of the images were computer-generated, although of very good quality. The party-type scenes (disco balls, etc.) are rather obnoxious, music and all.

Scenes included:
Fireplace, Goldfish, Pizza in a microwave, Clothes in a dryer, Disco balls, Psychodelic abstract images, snow-falling scene with & without colored twinkle lights, autumn leaves falling, etc. There's something for every season.

I bought this DVD to turn my TV into a variety of fun scenes. I was surprised how the fireplace scene was the best I've seen yet. It is better than the DVDs I've purchased that were just fireplace scenes only. This DVD has quality scenes and gives you some fun choices. It is on the top of my list of best scene collections.

I recently bought this DVD for a Christmas party, primarily for the "fireplace" scene. Before purchasing, I checked various other fireplace DVDs (Ambient Fire, Virtual Flames etc). The reviews for this DVD convinced me to purchase it.

The image quality (which received poor reviews on other DVDs) is very good. The fireplace scene is realistic, complete with popping and crackling sound effects. The lava lamp and goldfish scenes are good also. The microwave scene (revolving pizza) is the least impressive.

The downside is that with 20 different scenes on the DVD, each scene is very short. The fireplace scene is only 5 minutes in duration, for example. Each scene auto-repeats but (on my DVD player, at least) the pause when a scene repeats is noticeable if you are paying attention.

I would rate this 5 stars if it had only 4-5 scenes, each lasting 20 minutes, rather than 20 short scenes.

I bought this DVD a couple of weeks ago and I've gotten a lot of use out of it already. My kids love the fish and snow scenes and the fireplace scene is so cool, you warm up just looking at it :-). Bottom line, this DVD is really cool. It's ranks toward the top of my "Why didn't I think of that" list. I recommend this DVD for anyone.

I'm not sure which is more amusing. This DVD, or my cat Meesa watching the lava lamp bubble and trying to bat and bite the bubbles as they appear. She loves watching the fish disappear and appear and is especially taken with the floating hearts. The music is romantic and the pink hearts float upwards in a romantic dream.

We first noticed Meesa's fascination with the computer screen when she sat transfixed by the Amazon IMAX movie and since then I've been finding amusing things for her to watch. Although she does wonder why the sounds are coming from the stereo.

One of her favorites is the fireplace that has realistic sounds as if you were in a castle tower and the room was cozy and warm, complete with couches and shelves filled with books. The smoke and flames are so real you might want to create a romantic mood or a reading mood for relaxation.

The Lava Lamps have an especially exotic soundtrack that can be played for a long time and can create a nice relaxing mood for massage or reading, while the microwave and Laundromat seem more industrial and not as interesting to watch. Those are part of the Novelty Collection.

Enter the "Party Views" and you turn your computer into Boogie Lights, Spin Bright, Star Field, Disco Floor, Tie Dye or Count Down mood. The most amusing seems to be Boogie Lights although Spin Bright is stunning in its hyonotising power. Need a break from writing, stare into this portal for some interesting visual experiences. Tie Dye is like mystical smoke rising in lavender, sapphire, lemon, pastel orange and swirls of green turning to light blue and purple. The most magical experience on this DVD. If you put on Star Field, you can move through space while typing in Word. It gives your writing a new perspective. The soundtrack seems to imply deep space.

Wait, where am I? Oh, I've landed at a beach complete with trees delicately fluttering in an ocean breeze. Clouds move across the sky, but not as ominously as in "Jack's Night Out" which includes a pumpkin sitting in front of a scene of rain, thunder, clouds and lightening bolting out in the most frightening of ways. In Spring Breeze, you can see fields of grass moving in a breeze and the sounds of nature are very prevelant.

Autumn Breeze is filled with nature sounds and leaves falling from the top of the screen. Winter Freeze is more realistic with snow falling outside a window. When typing in front of it, your words seem to be falling with the snow. Fun illusion. Snow Glow is similar, but themed for Christmas with sleigh bells and Christmas lights. The sleigh never appears and I almost though it would. Finally, there is a fireworks display.

With so many choices, you are sure to find a mini escape into the soundscape and landscape of your choice. Each screen plays on a continuous loop, so that might work for holidays or parties. You may also just want to give your cat a fun 5 minute break from her normal life and be completely entertained watching the interaction. As for me, I love the Lava Lamps. Meesa seems to agree. She will sit here with me and watch the lava lamps while I type.

~The Rebecca Review

My family loved this DVD. My husband liked the fireplace (esspecially the pops and crackles). My daughters had fun with most of the scenes. I loved fishy-fish. I will admit that some of the digitally created scenes (fireplace is real and goldfish is real) were disappointing/frustrating, but a fun variety here to be sure.

If you are prone to seizures, you probably don't need me to warn you that some of the scenes may be best avoided. I took quick peeks to see what my daughters were viewing, and even those peeks left me feeling none too great.

Bottom line: Fun fireplace, great fish, otherwise fun variety, but the digitally created stuff was not on par with fireplace and fish. These other scenes brought my review down to 4 stars, but the DVD is complete enough with just the fish and fireplace.