Cruising America's Waterways: The Erie Canal (Albany to Buffalo)

Rating:
Summary: They need to learn how DVD works.
Review: The DVD for this video was taken directly from VHS - the menus are crude and there is no scene selection. So if you stop in the middle of an episode, you'll need your DVD player's memory feature to pick up where you left off. The extra feature on how locks work is good, but the photo gallery of 19th century pictures of the canal has no captions - you don't know what you're looking at. Plus, there is no way to navigate from picture to picture. Whoever transferred this from the video needs to learn how to design DVD menus.
The material wasn't bad - it's not a history of the canal, but shows you what goes on the canal today, which is mostly recreation. They tried to keep a balance between showing neat technological features like locks, aqueducts, raised bridges, etc. and highlighting sites to visit along the canal. They feature cultural and historical attractions, but seem to think food is a cultural item -- a couple of "interviews" with restaurant chefs were practically infomercials. I would have liked to see more of the canal in this video, but they do a decent job of giving you an idea of what's available along the canal.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Image of the Canal
Review: The picture quality and audio on this DVD is excellent, clearly from a digital original. It's great to see what the Erie Canal has to offer today for people who travel by hire boat, in their own boat, or on a cruise vessel. The towns along the route are charming, and the brief history makes one appreciate what a special waterway this is for all Americans. This is definitely the best video presentation I've seen dealing with the Canal System