America Revealed (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	212:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Sabin Streeter Jesse Sweet Nic Young Jack Youngelson
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	David Schweitzer

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

America Revealed is a four-part documentary series from Lion Television and PBS which was broadcast in Australia through SBS. Essentially it is a program about logistics, examining through the use of technology how the vast United States of America functions. For viewers on the other end of the globe it is an interesting though not entirely successful viewing experience.

America Revealed is hosted by Yul Kwon who announces at the outset that he was a winner of one of the multitude series of Survivor. This might at first seem like a major impediment however Kwon is not only a reality star but also a graduate of Yale Law School and has a good deal of skill at presenting.

The byline for the series is-"the systems that keep the nation running".

• Food
• Energy
• Transportation
• Manufacturing

The titles are self-explanatory. Through the series Kwon takes us from micro level, examining crops on the ground, to the macro level, looking at farms by satellite. Whether it is food or flight path's or energy grids the series manages to explain how they all work and keep the country ticking over.

For the diehard documentary fan this series may be perhaps a little lightweight relying on superlatives and sometimes breathless delivery to prove a point. Further, Kwon engages in some activities that perhaps belong to the Survivor side of his career like jumping out of planes and donning a hard hat more times than I can remember.

Also, it must be remembered that this show was designed for the American market and anyone who is no big fan of Uncle Sam might find the superlatives a little draining. Finally, the logistics of, for example, food production might be magnificent to behold but the effect of these methods is rarely considered. Anyone who has seen the documentary Food Inc will probably react in horror to the huge stockyards with cattle being fed corn.

Leaving this aside the series is entertaining and each episode only just outstays its welcome. Worth a watch.

Video

America Revealed comes to DVD in a 1.78:1 transfer consistent with the original widescreen television aspect ratio. It is 16×9 enhanced.

The series was originally shot on high-definition digital video and there is no doubt that many of the scenes would have looked more spectacular on Blu-ray. However, this is still a good looking DVD transfer.

The image quality is quite sharp.

The flesh tones are accurate. The colours are bright and well defined.

There are no technical defects with the transfer.

There are subtitles in English for the Hard of Hearing.

Video Ratings Summary

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Shadow Detail
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Audio

America Revealed has an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack running at 224 Kb/s.

This is perfectly adequate for a show which consists of a combination of voice-over and interview footage. The dialogue can be heard clearly throughout.

The music is sprightly and dynamic.

There are no technical defects with the sound transfer.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

There are no extras.

This is an All Region DVD. It is also available on Blu-ray In Region A.

America Revealed takes the interesting approach of taking a macro look at the systems which keep America running and then focusing in on the smallest details which go into the bigger picture.

The DVD is of good quality both in sound and vision terms.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall