Search - FirePlace on DVD

Where's the crackling?

R. Hardy | California | 11/12/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I had pre-ordered this with high-hopes, but those hopes quickly vanished after I received it today and eagerly tried it out.

Equipment used for review:

Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ750U
Onkyo TX-SR705 receiver with Paradigm 5.1 speaker system
Sony PS3 Blu-Ray

My entire system is professionally calibrated by an ISF technician.

In spite of being touted as filmed in "4K", the picture is quite grainy and doesn't even look as good as some standard DVD's.

The audio level is so low it requires you to boost the volume which, in turn, amplifies an inherent and unrealistic reverberation in the audio track.

The three fireplaces appear to be the same, but have different log configurations.

The 1st scene has some logs in a "teepee" configuration, but it seemed pretty static to me.

The 2nd scene started out promising with the logs just beginning to catch, but they quickly became engulfed in flames to the point that it was difficult to even distinguish that it was a fireplace. And with that amount of flame, I would expect some roaring or at least some heavy-duty crackling, but no.

The 3rd scene is fairly decent visually, but with the aforementioned audio problems, it still just doesn't seem like any fireplace that I've experienced.

I'm still waiting for a really decent fireplace hi-def DVD with realistic audio."

No good

Denver | 12/29/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"How do you screw up logs burning in a fireplace? The actual fireplace is featureless. It is nothing more than a smooth box. It is devoid of character. You cannot even see the grate. It is as if the logs were burning in some sort of metal furnace. The actual fire is little better. The flames are so overwhelming that you can't see the logs. They are only black silhouettes."