Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Get ready to witness the ultimate aquarium in your living room -- and there's no maintenance required! 3D Living Aquarium gives you a 3D experience you can't get anywhere else: an ultra-clear picture shot in 4,000 lines of resolution and authored specifically for 3D high-def televisions. What you don't get is exactly what you don' -- no cross talk or "ghosting." Choose from six different themed chapters, and two audio tracks give you the choice of soothing ambient music or natural aquarium sounds. Created by a leader in the 3D industry and designed to play on a television, this remarkable film will make you want to reach out and tap the glass!
Nature | 100% |
Other | 30% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The idea of a 3D "ambient television" release is -- to be quite honest -- a silly one. Titles from Topics Entertainment that fall under the HD Moods banner aren't designed to provide a traditional viewing experience; they're best used as screensavers, mood setters, background filler... they're not really meant to watched intently for hours on end. And while 3D Aquarium doesn't officially fall under the HD Moods banner, that's precisely what it is. So the appeal of turning off the lights, slipping on a pair of 3D glasses and staring at six different aquariums for seventy minutes completely eludes me. (It doesn't help that the various aquariums aren't large enough to deliver any substantial 3D depth of field. More on that in a bit.) All that said, 3D Aquarium offers a variety of viewing and listening options (in 2D and 3D), gorgeous technical presentations, and solid lossless surround sound, all at a reasonable price.
Judged solely by the proficiency of its 1080p video presentation, 3D Aquarium is a beaut. Colors are bright and vibrant, black levels are satisfying (considering everything is submerged in water), and detail is excellent. Better still, there isn't any significant artifacting, banding, aliasing or other anomalies, and the only blips on my radar involved some jitteriness at the beginning of "Nano Tank," almost imperceptible noise in a single shot in "Anemone and Clown," and a brief burst of arguably negligible blockiness in "The Reef Close Up" that, faint and small a patch as it is, appears in the darkness, just over the... erm, shoulder of a green crab. Otherwise, there isn't much at all to complain about: Topics' 3D Aquarium looks fantastic.
Unfortunately, the 3D presentation is a bit of a mixed bag. While the quality of the transfer itself is excellent and while ghosting isn't much of an issue at all (save a few instances in "Nano Tank," when smaller fish dart across the screen), the aquariums featured in the disc's six segments aren't exactly roomy. And because the fish on display are swimming mere inches away from the coral, stones and plantlife that populate their cramped undersea stomping grounds, the resulting 3D effect isn't very striking or, really, very convincing at all. There are still moments when a creature or tank dweller pops off the screen -- a glass-hugging starfish in "Anemone and Clown" and a seahorse in "Nano Tank," chief among them -- but instances of breathtaking 3D are few and far between. In the end, 3D Aquarium boasts a fairly stunning 2D presentation, but offers little more than a serviceable 3D experience. Proceed accordingly.
3D Aquarium's three audio offerings are presented via comparable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks. The fullness of each aquarium's soundscape is undeniable, as is the prevailing artificiality of each one. (That's another matter, though, one related to the title's sound design, not the actual quality of the mixes.) Air bubbles, swishing and swashing, and the warral warral warral of filtered tank water pour through the front and rear speakers with equal assertiveness. It's a bit odd actually, as the rear speakers tend to come on a little strong, but it isn't a problem per se. Even so, music ebbs and flows nicely across the entire soundfield, and the fluid, synthesized melodies are as clean and enveloping as they should be.
No special features are included, save the viewing and listening options detailed above.
3D Aquarium is a decent, smartly priced release, even if its 3D isn't very impressive (or, really, very practical). Its 1080p video transfer is on par with other visually striking Topics Entertainment titles, its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks sound great, and it has enough value to justify the cost of admission.
IMAX
2007
IMAX 3D
2008
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2010
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