# 2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs - DVD Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=86938[/img] 
*Title: 2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs* 

*Movie:* :4stars:
*Video:* :4stars:
*Audio:* :4stars: 
*Extras:* :1star: 

*HTS Overall Score:*74







[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=86946[/img]*Summary*
They say that a broken clock is right twice a day. I’m not going to say that the Chicago Cubs are a broken clock, but that most native Chicago residents had almost given up on their baseball team ever winning a World Series championship ever again. It’s about as much a joke being a Cubs fan as being a Red Sox fan. People are fiercely loyal to the underdogs, but no one has expected them to win a World Series for quite some time. In fact, the last time venerable Cubs had won was back in 1908. Over 108 years ago. That is until October 2016 when they finally were able to scrape together a team that could defy the long standing “Cubs curse” that had plagued them for generations. 

Ironically, the Cubs were the predicted winner on paper since the season started. The pundits had stated the Cubs were a force to be reckoned with since before the season had even started. The Cubs had a fantastic line up and they had a coach who was willing to take them to the top. I’d say the biggest detractors from the Cubs even making it TO the World Series was the baseball fans. We had seen so much disappointment over the years that bitterness and cynicism had set in. However, things played out EXACTLY as the pundits and projectionists claimed. So much so that it seemed eerily prophetic. Besides a few hiccups during the first quarter of the season, the Cubs made a beeline for the plate.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=86954[/img]This set by Shout Factory is a great 8 disc DVD (and an 8 disc Blu-ray set as well) boxset that gives us all 7 World Series games against the Indians, as well as the NLCS game 6 “clincher” game that got them TOO the world series in the first place. There’s not much to describe here like a feature film, but needless to say it’s all of the games in entirety with 4 different audio experiences in DTS-HD MA 2.0. The first being the Television broadcast, the 2nd being the Cubs radio announcers, the 3rd being the Indians radio announcers, and the final one being a Spanish audio track. This allows for a robust and multi viewing experience where you can listen to the game the rather blaise Joe Buck track, the elation of the Cubs radio announcers, or the pain and suffering of the Indians announces. 





*Rating:* 

Not Rated by the MPAA




*Video* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=86962[/img]Sadly I didn’t get to review the Blu-ray to see how the physical disc compares against the HD broadcast, but the 480p DVDs from Shout Factory are quite pleasing to look at. The games have that glossy “sports” look that is so famous, and shows minimal artifacting. Since the games are given their own discs compression is at a minimum and besides some small digital “wavering” that is part of the actual filming, the discs look amazing. The bright blue and red of the Indians uniforms are saturated extremely well and the deep green of the ball field shows up as a nice contrast. Fine detailing is very solid for a DVD, although some natural softness creeps in due to the 480p nature of the show. Skin tone are very accurate, and because of the filming style you get that "through a crystal clear window" type of image that is startlingly lifelike. 








*Audio* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=86970[/img]The audio is actually one of the most fun parts about the 8 disc boxset. We have FOUR choices to choose from and each has their own advantages and disadvantages in the presentation (not in the audio quality sort of way, but in the fact that each one has its own announcer and different take on the game’s description. Especially in the final games). Audio fidelity is about what you’d expect from a 2.0 baseball game, as the announcer gets front and center status while the sounds of the actual crowd etc are recorded a bit lower to allow for the narration to be crystal clear. The vocals for each of the announcers are recorded excellently and I hear not scratches, hisses or imbalances with the background game itself. A solid 2.0 Dolby Digital experience to round out the whole package.








*Extras* :1star:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=86978[/img]
• Sleevestats and inserts that contain the stats of each and every game











*Overall:* :3.5stars:

Hardcore sports fans will want to check out the game time and time again, and this is the perfect way to commemorate a World Series that was over a century in the making. Shout Factory does a great job on these commemorative box sets and this one is no different. The set allows you to choose your audio narrative of choice and gives a full disc to each game, which allows for a great looking 480p image. I personally would have liked this boxset to have included the documentary on the World Series Championship that was released last week (review to follow on that shortly), but I guess they wanted to keep both the games and the documentary on separate editions. For those of you who missed the actual games, or just want to revisit this thrilling win time and time again, then rest assured. This 8 disc set is superlative in its presentation and replication of the games. Definitely a must own for sports fanatics.


*Additional Information:*


Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG2
Audio: English: DD 2.0, Spanish DD 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 1020 Minutes
DVD Release Date: December 13th, 2016



*Buy 2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs On DVD at Amazon*



*Recommendation: Good Watch for Sports Fans​*







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