Giant TV at Washington Monument fails as inaugural ceremony starts Just as the heart of the presidential inaugural events got underway Monday, at least one of the massive television monitor upon which most of the crowd depended for their views of the ceremony failed. Murmured boos and groans sounded throughout the massive crowd gathered on the Washington Monument grounds as the TV grew suddenly garbled and pixilated during the opening remarks delivered by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). The screen went black, blinked back to life, then went dark again - flashing only intermittent images and bursts of sound at an increasingly disgruntled crowd. "Boooo!" shouted several people standing along the fenced perimeter of the monument. "Ugh - are we going to have to go watch this in Starbucks or something?" one woman groaned. The once-boisterous crowd gathered at the Washington Monument had fallen into a glum quiet, punctuated only by groans and boos, as the TV monitor continued to broadcast a garbled and disjointed sound and image as Vice President Biden took his oath of office. There were cheers nonetheless when Biden's swearing in was completed - followed by more groans and laughter as James Taylor's rendition of "America the Beautiful" was hopelessly distorted. The malfunctions were not fixed in time for Obama's oath - but, finally, Schumer's introduction of Obama came through loud and clear. The crowd screamed and cheered, and chants of "Obama! Obama!" sounded from across the grounds. But video and audio continue to cut out, and there is about a 5- to 10-second delay between audio and video. The president's speech is difficult to understand. The Presidential Inaugural Committee could not be reached for an explanation. Caitlin Gibson and Alex Rudansky contributed to this story.