Obama: All Access – 60 Minutes (CBS DVD) + ABC
News Presents The Inauguration Of Barack Obama (MPI DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D/C+ Main Programs: B-
Barack Obama’s presidency was historic and already has the
makings of a whole new era of progress and rebuilding after so much of the
country has been trashed since the 1980s.
Though we have High Definition video, no Blu-rays of Obama’s arrival
have been issued, but two DVDs involving the Inauguration have. One is from CBS from their 60 Minutes series, the other from ABC
via MPI, all on DVD.
The footage is the same and this is how it should be,
available on DVD and all. Though the
Chief Justice got the words mixed up, Obama would be president by Jan. 20th
whether he took the oath or not by law.
However, his personality shined through and so far, he has delivered
early on through his intentions. I liked
both takes on events, with the 60
Minutes discs having the advantage of all the segments the show did from
way back when his arrival seemed like a longshot.
The MPI/ABC disc adds a Barbara Walters interview, Bob
Woodruff with Michele Obama and the oaths of the past nine presidents that CBS
should have dug up to include. All in
all, I liked both discs and they do a nice job making their releases
collectible. The 1.33 X 1 full frame images
on both may have been shot in HD, but this is analog footage and in both cases,
looks good but could be a bit better. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 is simple stereo at best and sometimes monophonic on both discs. The only reason we count the MPI DVD as
having extras and CBS not is because the CBS is deeply integrated into the main
program, while the MPI’s extras are outside of the event.
- Nicholas Sheffo
