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Exotic Saltwater Aquarium [HD DVD] [2007]
![Exotic Saltwater Aquarium [HD DVD] [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qAbtkOpuL._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £11.99
Our Price: £10.05 (subject to change)
Exotic Saltwater Aquarium HD-DVD: Nearly 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
Review date: 2007-09-29 Rating: 6 out of 10
I have mixed views about this produc.
Whilst it is priced well, it does just seem like a souped-up version of the old Aquatica Screensaver that half the world had on their Windows 98.2 computers.
The graphics; to be honest, I find it very hard to tell the difference between the HD side and the SD side, and if anthing, the SD side actually handles black-areas a lot better, and doesn't seem to pixelate as much on them, (though, in the defence of the HD side, you can see the bits of food floating around a lot clearly on the pixelated black areas).
The sound; work well enough, and does give you some variety in not having to listen to bubbles all the time, but at times you don't feel as though you can get the volume you want, and that it's either too noisy or too quiet, though I respect that this will be dependant on what TV and sound-system you have.
There are also some problems with having it play all of the tanks on a loop; sometimes it will work, changing tanks every 5 minutes, however, sometimes, it will count down from a minute, and not change when the time reaches 0, don't worry, it doesn't crash, it just keeps playing the same tank over and over, and if anything, it would've been nice had this been a seperate, but intentional feature, to set it to one tank, and have that set view to continuously play over, (thus, no fading, or panning into the next tank).
It would also be nice if I could view the exact same tank for more than 5 minutes, without it panning and fading into another tank, it kind of breaks up the mood of it, (which is very theraputic, might I add).
As well as this, if you wish to change the audio track yo're listening to, you have to exit right-out of whatever you're watching, and then change it in the audio-options, there is no way to randomly play the audio either.
Also, because there is no differation in the default sounds, each fish-tank sounds absolutely identical, with the same bubbling effect.
Finally, there are some errors:
1. The sleeve says there are 3 audio options, when in-fact, there are 4 audio options, (result, I guess).
2. The sleeve says that the HD is on side 1, and the SD is on side 2, when it's actually the other way around, and for a day, I didn't know what I was watching wasn't the HD version.
Overall, I would say this is a good priced first HD-DVD, and is also something that you can put on in the background for relaxation, and it's a lot cheaper than a real Saltwater fishtank, (and not as messy either).
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Product Details/Specifications
Creators:
Richard A. Diercks (Cinematographer)
Willie Powe (Cinematographer)
Jim Behringer (Composer)
Recording label: Dvd International
Manufacturer: Dvd International
EAN: 0647715301024
Binding: HD DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, Dolby,
Release date: 2007-01-15
Universal product code (UPC): 647715301024
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Exempt
Region code: 2
Running time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007
Language: English (Original Language)