Fire Dvd - Fireplace XL - Extra Long Open Hearth Fires with Burning Wood Sounds

Why I purchased this: Wow! I first saw one of these on Hoopla in the free Bonus options for November and fell in love with it. I immediately wanted to own more of them by Ambiance so I could play it whenever I wanted a cozy, relaxing fire to enjoy. I have an electric fireplace with a wood mantle and two side storage shelves with glass doors that I love, and my 40" LCD TV sits on top that. My electric fireplace is over 14 years old and still works great, but eventually it will stop working and I will still use it for storage of CDs and as a beautiful TV stand. They are extremely expensive now, so I'm thrilled to have the option of 3 different wood burning fires that I can enjoy for $20. It doesn't show an actual fireplace, just the entire inside hearth where the actual fire is burning, and that's the best part! Pro: Each video can be played one at a time or all three videos can be played for continual long playing up to 2 hours. The options include fires alone, fires with soundtrack of the natural crackling and pops as the wood burns, and/or a soundtrack with relaxing music that reminds me of the type of music you listen to while getting a spa massage. Very soft, gentle, and with an Asian feel to it. I find it to be stress reducing while I work on my bills and review insurance policies, or quietly reading my Kindle books. It's fun to have it 'burning' when my friends come over to visit and everyone comments on how relaxing it looks and sounds. The video is clear and the colors are true of these actual wood-burning fireplace scenes. No cleaning up ashes, no allergic reaction to smoke, no chemicals, and you can easily go to sleep without worrying about sparks or embers! I'm delighted to highly recommend this to all who love the ambiance that only a cozy fire brings. Con: Only thing missing is the smell of real wood burning, but I may look for an essential oil or incense stick that would remind me of the scents of oak, eucalyptus, and pine from when I used to have a real fireplace. Enjoy!

This DVD was delivered today, and just in time, as seasonally appropriate fall weather has finally arrived. I bought this to replace a much older fireplace DVD I bought from Amazon years ago. I can't review the music or the holiday-themed options, as all I want to see and hear is wood flames and snap/crackle/pop. So far, the two viewing options I've tried are very calming and satisfying. The intense, saturated flame color is magnificent, and the 3-D effect is very realistic. And I love that the flame action on the two plain fireplace options I chose were more mellow -- my old fireplace DVD has several options, most with very fast and furious flames (so much so that I dubbed them the "Disco Inferno" menu options), so I usually watched only two of the frames, as the others were too hectic and distracting. The fireplace and flames in this new DVD are much more relaxing, and just what I wanted -- no cutesy mantel or fireplace surround or snoozing animals (we supply our own) -- just logs burning beautifully in the interior of a maintenance-free fireplace. Highly recommend.

This is fabulous. This is the third fireplace DVD I have purchased over the last 6 years, and it is the absolute best. The fire looks real. We have a ridiculously big LCD television in our living room. When it is on, it distracts and overstimulates our toddlers. However, when I play this fireplace DVD, the kids calm down and start playing nicely with each other. The even talk in quieter voices. The flames are totally real. You can even see the bright blue colors at the base of the flames. It's just lovely! There are long fires and short fires. You can listen with music or without. There is a campfire, and fireplace fire, and others. They all look great. The Christmas fire has a sort of haziness to it, but it's fine too. I don't usually use the music, but it's also very nice. I generally just use the fireplace sounds to provide a calming background to our living room. My mother in law liked it so much that I got it for her for a Christmas gift. She actually jumped up in happiness when she opened the package. IT'S THAT GOOD! If you don't have a fireplace in your dwelling, and you really miss it, this is the DVD to get.

While nothing is ever PERFECT, this dvd comes close. Here is my list of pros (+) and cons (-): + Very good quality HD image - on big screen TV or on a monitor. + Very good color. + OPTIONAL music overlay. (wonderful to have that choice!) + Very nice, thoughtfully arranged fires with real logs and convincing core to each fire. In other words, it appears each fire has been well established with a good 'base' of real embers and coals. No assistance from gas flames are apparent. + Simple, well designed menu(s) and functions. + Overall, does it achieve its objective - does it make me feel good? - YES (but not homely) :-) - Strange! The natural fire crackling audio is clear but often sounds as if it was recorded too far away from the fire and in a large empty room, because there is a noticeable echo to every snap, crackle and pop. This introduces a false dynamic to the listener's surroundings that affects the desired illusion. It makes me 'aware' that I'm watching a video. Hard to describe. I don't know, maybe it's just me. - Image area seems a little too zoomed-in, so tops of large flames are cropped. If you care. - On a large screen, the flames are so disproportionately big that they lose their 'believability', and the illusion suffers. ? Music: Fantastic idea for most people, but for me... All I want is to turn my TV or monitor into a 'realistic as possible' background fire crackling away in a fireplace. While I think the OPTION of background tunes is a really nice touch that many will enjoy, I have no desire to even check them out, and probably never will, so I have no constructive feedback. MY WISH LIST: > Size options. Because big screen TVs are the growing norm, it would be great to have a few size options for larger TVs where the scale of the flames looks a little closer to real size. Obviously the disk space needed for multiple versions would require more than one DVD. > I wouldn't mind seeing some of the surrounding bricks or stonework. Remember, I want my subconscious mind to be lulled into believing this is a real fireplace. > Better sound with no spacial imaging - just close up and personal with no echo. > A little more of the top of the flames showing. It doesn't have to show ALL of it - you can't see the tops of big flames in most fireplaces anyway, right? But a little more would be nice. (Or show the top of the fireplace opening!) That's my two bits. Overall, I think this disk is a worthy presentation, and I will be spinning it.

I recently moved back to Michigan from South Florida and was hoping to find a place to live with a fireplace. That did not happen, so I set out to find a fireplace DVD to burn on my TV screen. I read the reviews for the Fireplace XL DVD and took a chance. It is one of the BEST PURCHASES I've made in a long time! It is extremely realistic - beyond my expectations! I shared it with a friend, and he wanted one, so I ordered another one for him. Anyone looking for a fireplace DVD that has logs burning, charring and the fire crackling and snapping should consider this DVD. When the logs eventually burn down, the DVD loops and starts all over again - automatically. The DVD includes music to accompany the fireplace themes. In all honesty, I've been so happy with the realistic sounds of the fire...I've never bothered to try the music options, so am unable to comment on this. The DVD lived up to the reviews, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys the ambiance of a fire in the fireplace - without having to shovel out the ashes when it's all done!

If you do not have a fireplace in your home but love the images and sounds of a roaring fire, this DVD is for you! There are so many options that you can choose from, depending on your mood: Three different fireplaces with 5 options each (three different musical selections, the fireplace with just the fire sounds, or music and fire sounds together), with an added option, Themed Fireplaces: Classic, Christmas, and Forest Cabin. The fire dies down as the time goes on, and then will loop back again (so, if you are using this as a complement to a social gathering/dinner party/etc, there won't be any screeching halt when you come to the end of the option you chose). Or, if you are using this as background music as you go about your daily day, it will keep going until you turn it off. It is incredibly relaxing and soothing. I must say, this was one of my better purchases. I have thoroughly enjoyed this DVD ever since it arrived, and with the holidays and the long winter approaching, don't anticipate it getting too far from my player....ENJOY!!

Wonderful DVD! The images (and variety) are great, the music is pleasant, and the fire sounds are very realistic. We literally feel warmer when we have the DVD running. This is actually better than a real fire- no smoke, no cleanup, no worry about flames or burning embers. It's very relaxing. The fact that the video loops is another bonus- we can run it for hours without having to do a thing. I highly recommend this DVD.

This DVD is Amazing! The picture is super clear and it's nice to have a choice between the real fire crackle sounds or those sounds along with music. The music is beautiful calming instrumental music and doesn't over power the sounds of the fire. Very relaxing and nice to have in the background while talking with guests, reading, or just taking a breather from a stressful day. It gives you the fireplace you've always wanted....except for the heat. So, crank the thermostat and enjoy!

Love watching the flames and listening to the crackling sounds of the fires. There are three different fires.

This was more or less an impulse purchase, bought in moment when I was contemplating past times when I had a house with a log fire, a dog grate to be precise and I often miss those evenings doing nothing but gaze into the flickering flames and watch the logs burn down, sometimes into the wee small hours, my dog on one side, my cat the other side and me in the middle in a cosy chair, it was so comforting, but those days are gone and I no longer have an open grate. Anyway enough of my past, I am so thrilled with this, I love all the fires you can select from and just like old times, I can once again gaze into the flickering flames of a log fire, it even plays with my imagination and I can feel the heat even though there is none, the crackling sounds also help the experience. I love it so much I have put my spare 32 inch flat panel TV into the space where once sat an electric fire which was never used and so the log fire is in the right place for the experience. So far I have spent several evenings with a glass of Bordeaux, a book and the continuous log fires of this splendid DVD, and let's not forget, no logs are being chopped up for this log fire and nothing added to the atmosphere from burning wood. I now have it in mind to buy some of the others in the collection and may well go for the rainfall one next. It really has made me a happy bunny.

I thought it was perfect and provided comfort to elderly mother

this has to be the next best thing to a real fire, with 3 HD versions and then a further 3 non HD to choose from it really is bliss. having this on in the winter was mesmerising for anyone watching it, it was meant for background crackle and flame but you get drawn into it. great for afternoon naps, reading books or just relaxing or working it makes you feel warm too. Its brilliant so soothing, calming and toasty. It goes on repeat loop as well so you don't have to keep pressing play it just keeps going. very festive at Christmas or a cold winters day. love it.

Having no chimney or flue in the barn conversion, this is the next best thing. I read a mass of reviews on other fireplace DVDs picking out the few "fussy" comments that had been written by a critical eye. Oddly a lot of people just say great, fine, looks good but wanting the "best", I honed in on a really critical reviewer on another fireplace DVD that had in the end, after returning other fireplace DVDs, opted for "FIREPLACE XL" and left a reassuring good review. This reviewer had first hand comparisons of fireplace DVD's that I wouldn't get as I can't be bothered with buying something for a tenner & then returning it if its not quite up to my expectation. I'd just put up with its disadvantages. So "FIREPLACE XL"..... all positive comments from me! It's all good, long run times on the fires (I have yet to see the fire loop, but I know it must at some point), very sharp & clear picture quality, shot not too close & not too far away from fires. Good log fires & sounds. My norm is to put the DVD on the "with music" setting and then just relax to the "new-age" style back ground music, ideal if you have guests around and want to chill out and chat by the fire without having striking melodies intruding into your conversations. An odd effect & the wife noticed this aswell, the barn lounge is 32 feet x 16 feet and is never much more than bearable warm at best but after playing the DVD during the first evening, whilst fiddling with the aquarium, I was down to a T shirt and still sweating!?! It must be a subconscious thing! so saves on heating oil aswell!!