Arcade Video

NOTE: Not to be confused with Arcade Pictures.

Background
Arcade Video is a video distribution unit of Arcade Records, a British record company specialized in multi-artist compilation albums (often in the midprice or budget price ranges), founded in 1972.

1st Logo (1980s)


Logo: We see several stars shoot forward on a black background. Then, a light blue grid shoots forward, and "Arcade video" (in blue, and with "Arcade" in an old-fashioned font) emerge from the bottom and zoom forward. Then, a white rectangle with a blue frame and "HiQu" (also in blue) flip up toward the screen. It then flips over a few times to show a color bar test pattern, some audio waves from an oscilloscope (a device used to measure audio waves), and a blue print of a cassette with "TRACKING" below in yellow. The rectangle then zooms up a bit and flips out of view, some yellow lights flash in the distance, and "Arcade" from before emerges from the grid, (now rainbow-colored backwards), followed by "video" (still in blue) zooming up from the bottom. The "HiQu" rectangle zooms out at an angle and stops below the logo. The colors in "Arcade" glow a bit.

Trivia: "HiQu" stands for "High Quality".

Variant: On Laserdisc releases, the "Tracking" part has been removed and the oscilloscope part plays thrice, resulting in jump cuts.

Technique: All the animation, which is good quality CGI for the '80s.

Music/Sounds: An '80s electronic tune with laser zaps and a high-pitched synth arpeggio-driven fanfare when "Arcade Video" appears.

Availability: Ultra rare; seen on old tapes and Laserdisc released in Germany and Netherlands.