Customer Reviews

Soothing Waters - California and Oregon

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well I finally gave in and ordered this and I have to say I'm very pleased with what I saw.The picture is sharp and the sound is great.This dvd features coastal views of California and Orgeon and is just accompined by natural sounds.I liked the whole disc but I had some favorite chapters.

1)My favorite scene in this chapter was a overlook of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park South Of Big Sur California.It shows a small beach and a waterfall.This waterfall isn't a waterfall caused by ocean waves as they pound rocks but it is a waterfall that falls into the sea off of a cliff or mountain.Although it is hard to see thru the fog and mist it's still a beautiful site and if you have a zoom feature on your player you can see a little more detail.Also you here waterfall and ocean sounds at the same time when the waterfall is falling into the ocean.

4)Point Lobos California This features some huge waves crashing against rocks and minature waterfalls caused by waves hitting rocks.

7)Oregon Coast This has some massive coastal rocks mostley in the ocean and the waves hitting these rocks are so beautiful.

Aside from ocean sounds I heard sea lions but didn't see any.I also heard some gulls in chapter 8 but didn't see any.The wind on this dvd actually sounds like thunder but I didn't here it but twice.The oceanviews change every 20 seconds.This is very peaceful.There's no people,traffic sounds,music or narration just the breathtaking sounds of the ocean.This is like taking a solitary vacation on a beach.If your landlocked and no where near the ocean I highley recommend it.This dvd has everything lapping waves,big crashing waves,waterfalls,huge boulders,wind and mist and fog but only a few scenes are misty and foggy.The only problem I noticed with this dvd is the spine on the keep case.Soothing Waters is written upside down.Because of this I will have to store it upside down so it will go with my other dvds.Also the producer plans to do more beaches as well as waterfalls around the world I hope he will do Niagara Falls.That would be a most perfect dvd.

I have serious problems getting to sleep. I also have a very stress-filled job that probably contributes to my sleep problem. A doctor friend of mine recommended that I find some sort of ocean wave sound CD or DVD to help me relax a bit in the evening.

Through an on-line search for "Relaxation Videos" I came upon the Soothing Waters - California and Oregon DVD, and it seemed like what I was looking for. Not only was it just what I needed to help me get to sleep, but the scenes are really quite beautiful, and the combination of scenery and sounds are very soothing and relaxing.

With the help of this DVD I can now get to sleep very easily, partly because it helps me to wipe away the stress of the day so that I am not worried when I go to bed. It is really the only DVD in my large collection that I find myself watching over and over again. In addition to the healthful stress-reduction benefits, I suppose one of the reasons I can watch it so many times is that there is no dialog or music to remember and get tired of. It's just gorgeous coastal scenery, and wonderful ocean, bird, and wind sounds that make me feel like I am lying beside the ocean. I can't think of a better way to relax.

I had never watched an ocean DVD that did not have additional music added to "help" my enjoyment. "Soothing Waters" is wonderful as it allows you to hear just the natural sounds of nature; the waves, the wind, the seagulls, etc. I bought this DVD to recapture the feel of the California coast. I recently moved from Pacific Grove to Ohio and I find myself missing the ocean quite a bit. This DVD is superb in its realism and beauty of the Central coast area. It is so real that I found myself doing the same thing that I did in California---- looking for sea otters. I am sure that they are there.

As for soothing, it is indeed that. If one falls asleep, no problem as you can start all over another time. I find that I skip around to my favorite places. I love "Soothing Waters" as it fills a place in my life that I cannot have unless I return to the Monterey Peninsula.

David Keith has done a great job in his choice of locations. He allows you to be drawn into the feeling of each place without interruption by anything. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone who has the slightest interest in relaxing by the ocean's edge.

I bought this video as it was highly recommended by a good friend of mine. My friend was right! "Soothing Waters - California and Oregon" contains scenes from many of the most beautiful places along the coast of these two states. Natural sounds of the pounding surf, birds and other animals, and even the wind, which a couple of other reviewers found disturbing, I enjoyed immensely as it gave me a feeling of actually being in these incredible places. All of the locations are captured beautifully on the video, but my personal favorites are the many long scenes of Point Lobos, as it holds many fond memories for me.

As I watch with my headset on to better hear the sounds, I am mesmerized and then completely relaxed, to the point of what I call "drifting," and a profound sense of peace drives the tension and anxieties of daily living right out of my mind and my body. I believe Mr. Keith succeeds admirably in his efforts to promote these tranquil feelings in his viewers.

I bought this DVD to branch out from the popular WAVES series, of which I own the "Hawaiian Dreams" & "Hawaiian Zen" discs. Compared to these videos, "Soothing Waters - California and Oregon" offers superior picture quality and more frequent cuts from scene to scene.

However, as other reviewers have mentioned, the audio quality detracts significantly. Wind noise is prominent; anyone who has ever made a home movie outdoors with an inexpensive video camera knows this disturbing, thunder-like rumbling all too well. I can also attest to the fact that, at least with a decent audio setup, cars and people can clearly be heard in the background.

This would be a great disc, if only the audio were as professional as the video. As it currently stands, I would recommend the WAVES Virtual Vacation series videos instead.

I just read a recent review which was not very complimentary about this wonderful DVD. It seems to me that they were talking about a different DVD. I heard no closing car doors (only a few quiet clicks in a couple of scenes,) and at least 3/4 of the DVD was done in bright sunshine.

Those few overcast and foggy scenes are every bit as relaxing, and can be just as beautiful, as a sunny coastline. The coast has many moods, all of them beautiful. And big waves washing against big rocks can be very beautiful and soothing indeed. The rhythm of the waves flowing up and back can have a hypnotic effect.

Personnaly, I was very impressed with the beauty of this DVD. I thought when I bought it that I would only be looking at it once or twice, but rather I find myself looking at it time and again after a rough day at work. I do have work-related stress, and this beautiful DVD is able to virtually eliminate that stress, and allow me to sleep. I have even fallen asleep in front of it on several occasions. And it does make me want to visit the Pacific coastline. I had forgotten that the California and Oregon coastlines were so beautiful. I have shown this to many of my friends and they also love it.

I bought this DVD based on the high recommendations of the other reviewers. All I can say is that I was very disappointed in the quality of the video. I wanted something that would look beautiful on my 61 inch Samsung. Almost all of the shots seem to be slighly out of focus, as if they were shot with a cheap camera with a poor lens. I compared this DVD with various beach scenes in movies I have and the scenes in the movies look a lot better! Sure, they use high end film Panovision cameras, but that is the quality I was hoping for. This DVD will be in my next garage sale.

This DVD is flat beautiful and I love it. The gorgeous scenes and great sound make me want to go back and sit beside the ocean again. The experience is just what I can remember when I visited the coast a few years ago. It just seems to melt my stress and tension away.

And talk about relaxing. I have to remember not to watch it too early in the evening, or my wife has to nudge me to wake me up to keep her company (she hates it when I go to sleep when she's trying to talk at me.) The scenes may be the prettiest ocean scenes I have ever seen. This is the only DVD in my collection that I watch again and again, just like you never get tired of a beautiful painting. I highly recommend this DVD.

You know how your system just blocks out the rest of the world when you are on that long-overdue vacation, sipping on your Margarita, taking in the sounds of the surf?

That's what you get when you slip the Soothing Waters DVD into your player -- the Margarita being optional, of course...
You are quickly transported into a dreamlike state of complete relaxation.

What I appreciated most was that this soothing feeling is not achieved through mind-numbing, ever-repeating music, but instead using the natural sounds of the waves, the surf pounding against rocks, seagulls flying above -- in other words: exactly what you would hear at the beach.

This product needs to carry a warning label: "Do not view while operating heavy machinery. This video is so relaxing it will induce sleep"

There are some nice 'postcard' pictures on this video overlooking the foggy coastline of California and Oregon. However, the sound track and foggy weather leave much to be desired. There is a good deal of irritating wind noise that are more like Hurricane wind blasts than rustling tree leaves... so much so that you can't hear the sound of the waves at times. There is also a noticeable high pitch hiss throughout and sounds of car doors closing, etc..

The second problem is the foggy weather. Unfortunately, there is little direct sun or blue skies like the box cover implies. Instead, be ready for dreary views of the fog rolling in. This makes for a rather colorless video with white skies, black rocks, and dark seas (except for the sunset at the end). Add to that gusty winds blasts, and you might want to bring a warm windbreaker and earmuffs.

The video alternates between a series of panoramic cliff views and close ups of the surging surf. The panoramic views show very little movement. In contrast, the close ups show surf slamming into rocks far below or offshore. This is not very relaxing. The problem with the Letterbox Format here is that after a while of not seeing the open horizon and sky, I began to feel a little seasick from all the turbulent waters. Luckily, the video changes views every 20 seconds or so.

If the sound wasn't so irritating, the waters less turbulent, and the sky sunnier, this might have been a soothing experience. Overall, it is not. It's quite disappointing that this video does not capture the true color, sounds, and beauty of the west coast.