Soundoff U.S.A. – Volume One
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Main Program: C+
How many ways can you sell titles on customized eco-cars
ala The Fast & The Furious as special interest titles? The latest entry is the double DVD-Video set
Soundoff U.S.A., which takes this lucrative world seriously enough, but
does not offer much new except some vehicles die hard fans may not have seen
before. Though this is a double set,
the main program that last an hour more or less, depending on what you consider
a supplement on the first DVD, is not very long either way.
After breaking the shows down into categories and even
some basics, there are not so well thought out segments on music and certainly
not enough about the models or why the participants spend so much money to
customize these vehicles. With that
said, there is a certain phoniness about the whole thing that does not ring
with the truth or imagination customized vans and cars in the 1960s and 1970s
did, as if al the test marketing and surveys pushed true creativity into a
corner. Most of the additions are not
handmade by their owners, so anyone with the right amount of money can snap one
of these vehicles together as easily as one would a Lego set.
Even more annoying is that DVD 2 is simply a post-1960s
pseudo-psychedelic piece that has the same designs playing in a choice of
various colors for future car events, which also seems contrived and could have
fit onto the first DVD. This is one of
the most overrated extras DVDs we have seen to date and shows that Soundoff
U.S.A. – Volume One is more style than substance, like many of the
forgettable cars shown throughout.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image is shot on video and has the
usual limits for NTSC, even if it is digital-based. Odder still is the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, which is very loud
and full, but has no Pro Logic surrounds whatsoever and has some sense of
distortion on certain louder levels that the buyer should be aware of. When all is said and done, this is a very
disappointing set.
- Nicholas Sheffo
