OK, I just received the Classic Aquarium DVD from the company linked above. The filming is sharp and well-lit, the fish are colorful, the aquarium is attractive.
It has two music tracks (Meditation and Relaxation) in 5.1 Dolby or DTS. Both are the dreamy sound you would expect, but the sound quality is good. It also has a surf track and a bubbles track (which quickly becomes annoying) in Dolby stereo.
For video you can select full aquarium, where the camera holds steady on the full tank, or closeup mode, where the camera focuses on one or a few fish at a time, close up, panning to follow the fish. The closeup track really shows the brilliant colors of the fish well. Either track can be set to repeat. The full aquarium track is about 40 minutes, and the closeup track is not quite 8 minutes. The DVD case says "Hours of Unique Programming." I count about 48 minutes. I guess you would get hours in repeat mode, but they wouldn't be "unique," IMO. The fishography track is just a series of slides on each fish that you click through manually, with a small photo and a text description for each fish.
I would not play this for hours on end on a plasma. First, it would use up the limited life of the plasma. Second, the full tank view has a sharp contrast between a black background and two large white coral objects, and I would guess that could lead to image retention if left playing for hours in repeat mode. (My plasma is pretty new, but I've been careful to avoid stationary images that could lead to image retention or burnin.) I could see playing it during a party or a card game, though, as it is attractive and doesn't require attention.
It also apparently includes computer screesavers, and I may install one of those at work.
All in all, I think it was worth $10. I don't expect to play it a lot, but it is well done and enjoyable if you want to experience a virtual aquarium.
