Rating: 
Summary: I was not disapointed . . . others are too picky.
Review: Face it people, your TV is not a fireplace, but I approve of the tradeoffs these filmakers made to get it as real as possible. The sound is good, the image quality is good, and you can almost smell the smoke. This is just what I had in mind, and it fills the wide-screen hdtv monitor screen up just fine. The universal reaction has been "How cool!"
Yes, it is a fake fire, but if you think about it, what choice did the filmmakers have? If it was a real fire, it would burn down and you would have hands and pokers tending the fire. It would be very distracting. But you don't have to take my word for it, just read the reviews of other DVDs that have real fires. People scream at how distracting "The Hand" is.
Rating: 
Summary: Gas logs
Review: I bought both Virtual Flames and Ambient Fire, 3rd edition. Ambient Fire is much better. The 2 outdoor fires on this DVD show too much background and foreground and you get no feeling of being there. They rate 0 stars. The fireplace fire is OK but uses obvious gas logs. They are decent quality gas logs and the fire is centered well and is a raoring fire.
Ambient Fire uses real wood. This one isn't awful but the other is better.
Rating: 
Summary: Great ambiance!
Review: I don't know what the previous review means by a "fake" gas fire because it isn't. It's a film of actual fires and who wants a fire to burn out? That's the beauty of a virtual fireplace. The crackling is wonderful and brings back wonderful memories of times spent in front of an actual fire as a kid. It's great for the holiday parties and I found that the people actually congregated around the TV for most of the party! Try it! It's worth it!
Rating:
Summary: No Jive!
Review: I got this Dvd for christmas to play in my dorm room, and I really love it. I don't care if they are real logs or not, whatever. I'm just happy that the picture is as high quality as it is. All you folks out there talking jive about how it is a fake fire with fake logs, seriously, it's a fire on tv...think about what you're saying. Go get yourself a real fire if your gonna be cranky.
Rating:
Summary: Progressive Scan DVD Player + Big screen HDTV = Perfect Fire
Review: I have a 51 inch rear projection HDTV with a progressive scan DVD player using component wires. The picture quality could not be any better. I researched all of the Fireplace DVDs available and I took a chance with this one. I am extremely pleased with the quality and choice of scenes. When I throw a party, I find that being able to shuffle between 3 different fire scenes is much better than glancing over and seeing a huge blank screen. If you're looking for something to throw on the TV while you have people over, then pick up this DVD, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Progressive Scan DVD Player + Big screen HDTV = Perfect Fire
Review: I have a 51 inch rear projection HDTV with a progressive scan DVD player using component wires. The picture quality could not be any better. I researched all of the Fireplace DVDs available and I took a chance with this one. I am extremely pleased with the quality and choice of scenes. When I throw a party, I find that being able to shuffle between 3 different fire scenes is much better than glancing over and seeing a huge blank screen. If you're looking for something to throw on the TV while you have people over, then pick up this DVD, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Cozy Fireplace
Review: I just received this dvd for Christmas and I love it! We turned it on while we were opening presents and it really made us feel like we were opening presents in front of a fire. We had our own music playing and turned up the volume on the tv and could hear the crackle. It was perfect. I can't wait to use this for our New Year's Eve party and have the same effect.We will definitely be using this "Fireplace" all winter long. Now we don't have to wait for the Duraflame to burn out before leaving or going to bed. I will be able to turn it on at a moment's notice and read and relax by it. The campfire and beach scenes look nice too and we will use those for the warmer times of year. We'll probably take it with us in our RV and use it when we camp because sometimes there are too many bugs to conveniently make a campfire. The scenes all look very nice and very well photographed. The sound is great. You really hear crackling in the fireplace, natural camping sounds (plus the fire sounds) in the campfire scene, and real soft background waves in the beach scene with the crackling of the fire. It might be enhanced a bit, but it is very realistic. I don't know if the fires are gas or not, but it doesn't matter because they look great. I'm just glad that it doesn't show a fire starting with a big flame then burning down like real fireplace, then starting over again. It is one continuous fire with the flames burning at the same intensity the entire time. It's probably looped to do that, but it's nice not to be distracted by scene changes or panning once the fire is started. The packaging is nice and the whole thing looks like it really was professionally done.
Rating:
Summary: Truly continuous fire
Review: I really like this dvd. It's great. I just put it in the player, select my scene, and it plays as long as I want to enjoy it. There is no beginning or ending that is disruptive to watch. It is exactly as the review from Orlando, FL described. It really looks like it was professionally produced. The packaging is professional and classy. I would be proud to give this as a gift. This is just what we were looking for to enjoy anytime we want a fire.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly as the other reviewers described
Review: I researched a number of fireplace DVDs before I purchased this one. It was exactly as the other reviewers said:<br />1. Gas logs -- not real log. Gas logs is fine by me.<br />2. No camera movement or panning in or out. It is a picture of a fire just as you would see in a gas fireplace.<br />3. No annoying background music -- just fire and fire sounds (crackling, etc.).<br />4. The logs do not burn down (because they are gas logs). The fire is constant -- it does not get bigger or smaller as the DVD plays.<br /><br />It is as satisfactory as you will get for a virtual fire. No, it is not the same as a real fireplace, because it is not a real fireplace. However, on Xmas morning it was a nice pic to have on the t.v. as we opened presents.<br /><br />Thank you for the accurate reviews of this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: A True video Fireplace
Review: I researched the reviews from the other video fireplace DVDs and decided to take a chance on this DVD that was not reviewed at the time. My gamble payed off and here are the features of this DVD: There are 3 chapters that are 30 min each: colonial fireplace, campfire, and beach bonfire. When you play a chapter, it's automatically set to repeat. All fires start off fully lit; there are no "striking matches" scenes and there is no fire buildup or watching the fire go out. This is literally the case of someone building a fire, letting it build up, and then filming the fire for 30 minutes. There is no panning or zooming! The camera stays focused on the fire and nothing else. In the Colonial Fireplace, the camera is focused on what is inside the firebox. There are no mantle details shown. There is no music whatsoever - the only sounds come from the popping embers (except for the beach bonfire in which you can also hear the ocean). The video is not of hollywood quality, but it's good video. The DVD says it used "broadcast quality" video equipment. I guess so. It's watchable, clear, no bleeding colors, and the flames are detailed - they're not bled out and fuzzy. I give only 4 stars because it would be nice to toggle on/off some ambient music, but as far as video fireplaces - this DVD is exactly as advertised: a video fireplace.
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