Plot: What’s it about?
If you love to travel and see exotic locales, then you will love The Living Landscapes Collection. This nine volume set takes us on an extensive tour of the world’s most beautiful places. from right here in the United States to all across the globe. You will see the California Redwoods in all their majestic glory, then travel to the east coast for Fall in New England, which of course, has to be seen to be believed. There is a reason tourists flock to the New England to see the leaves turns and now you can witness the gorgeous visuals at home. Then we head back west for the serene Pacific Coast tour, through the rugged Rocky Mountains, and to the tropical paradise that is Hawaii. After a glimpse of the terrain in the Sacred Canyons, we head off to exotic Bali to take in the sights, then to picturesque Costa Rica, a must see for nature lovers. The final stop on the tour is the Olympic Rainforest, home to flora and fauna of all kinds. This is one trip you will want to take over and again.
I’ve never been much of a fan of nature videos, not the documentaries, but the scenic landscape ones. I’d just rather watch a good documentary on the subject or travel to the locale myself. But with the rise of high definition, the potential for these type of shows has also risen. So while I might not be as interested in a DVD, I was looking forward to the HD-DVD release of The Living Landscapes Collection. As I said, I am not the ideal audience for this kind of release, but even I was impressed here. I was able to kick back and just soak in the visuals, which look excellent. The varied locations were well chosen and offer a wide spectrum of visuals to enjoy, in twenty minute infinite loops. The case states that full length programs are also available, which kind of makes you wonder why this collection doesn’t have all the footage. I enjoyed these nine volumes, but since this set offers only small loops, not full programs, its hard to recommend.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The sole reason to watch these shows is to see the gorgeous visuals and they look great in high definition. As expected, the image is crystal clear and pristine, so nothing holds back the visuals. I was impressed by detail depth, so you’ll see a lot of detail and even small, subtle visuals are visible. The colors and contrast perform well, especially the colors, which produce accurate spectrums for the varied locations. In short, this is as good as these locales can look unless you travel there yourself.
Audio: How does it sound?
The sounds are provided via a Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 option, but the lone elements are the musical soundtrack and some genetic nature sound effects. I expected an immersive experience, but the audio here is pretty reserved and stays in the front channels. I don’t think it sounds bad, but it doesn’t surround you and that does take a little from the experience. Even so, the new age style music suits the visuals and concept, so that works out well. Not as atmospheric as I would like, but all the elements sound decent, so I won’t complain too much.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release includes no bonus materials.
