Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Background
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home entertainment distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, part of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was first established in November 1979 by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. as "Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment", to distribute films from Columbia Pictures on VHS, Beta, LaserDisc, and Super 8mm, with Warner Bros. titles being released by them on the latter format. It was later renamed as "RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video" (or "RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video" for international distribution, "RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts Video" (in conjunction with Hoyts) in Australia and "Gaumont Columbia RCA Video" (in conjunction with Gaumont) in France) in 1981 as a joint venture with RCA, "Columbia TriStar Home Video" on August 23, 1991, after acquiring RCA's shares from General Electric; in the same year, they moved its headquarters to 3400 Riverside Drive at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, in 1995, CTHV relocated its headquarters to the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, "Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment" in 1999 before the name was made official in 2001, and to its current name in 2004. It is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures library for home entertainment, mainly releases from Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, but also releases products from Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, Triumph Films, Destination Films, Stage 6 Films, Affirm Films, Revolution Studios, its television library, selected miscellaneous output from independent companies, the CBS Films theatrical releases co-distributed by CBS Home Entertainment, Morgan Creek Entertainment Group and Lionsgate. Since June 20, 2007, SPHE now handles the former Sony BMG kids label, Sony Wonder.

(November 1979-November 1982)
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Logo: The same as the Columbia Pictures "Sunburst" theatrical logo, but there is a video freeze at the end, with " Columbia Pictures " blacked out by the words:

COLUMBIA PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

written in white, in Cooper Black font, chyroned in below.

Variants:
 * There is a black and white version of this logo seen on classic Columbia movies and shorts in B&W.
 * The end will vary from video to video, with it fading to black in one version while another cuts to black.
 * The Bridge on the River Kwai and Easy Rider have a shortened version that starts with the sunburst, similar to the Columbia Pictures Pay Television logo and has the text more obviously chyroned in, in a white Helvetica font with a gray drop shadow.

Technique: Same as the "Sunburst" logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the regular theatrical version, though some releases have it distorted.

Availability: Rare.
 * Columbia TriStar Home Video kept this logo on the '90s VHS releases of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (in print as late as 2000), It's My Turn, Cat Ballou, and The Three Stooges Vol. 3: An Ache in Every Stake (making its appearances on all four after a Columbia TriStar Home Video logo), and it also made an appearance on the mid-'80s reprint video releases of those and many others originally released before 1983, including Midnight Express, Bye Bye Birdie, The Taming of the Shrew, And Justice for All, The China Syndrome, The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head, and The Three Stooges Vol. 2: Micro-Phonies, due to them using older tape masters.
 * You can also find this logo on the company's original '70s clamshell releases, including Midnight Express, Gilda, Born Free, The Taming of the Shrew, A Man for All Seasons, Breakout, The New Centurions, The Deep, Bye Bye Birdie, You Light Up My Life, and the original Fun with Dick and Jane. This logo also appeared on early to mid-'80s video prints of UPA's Gerald McBoing Boing and Mr. Magoo cartoons.
 * The black-and-white version appears on classic Columbia titles in black-and-white, including Knock on Any Door and Gilda among others. Starting in late 1981, videocassettes of Columbia Pictures films go straight to the logo used at the time (a practice that lasted until 1989).
 * There are also some sports specials and non-Columbia Pictures material that contain this logo, such as the 1982 VHS of The Batty World of Baseball.
 * The last videocassettes to use this logo include Hanover Street (itself a Columbia film), To Forget Venice, and the aforementioned Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * With few known exceptions (namely, Cat Ballou, The Three Stooges Vol. 2: Micro-Phonies, The Three Stooges Vol. 3: An Ache in Every Stake, and Easy Rider, the latter which plastered its own Columbia logo with the RCA/Columbia logo later on), this always plastered the Columbia Pictures logo on Columbia Pictures material where this appeared.

1st Logo (February 1983-October 1987)
Logo: On a black background, a white-bordered box appears. In it are two black rounded rectangles, with the first bearing the "RCA" logo in, and the second having the Columbia Pictures print logo in a arch-shaped border with "Columbia Pictures" below. "HOME VIDEO" is at the bottom of the white border, in black.

Variants:
 * Sometimes the RCA and Columbia logos flip in on a space background, then the white border "swings in" to surround it. This appeared on releases of films like Ghostbusters, Runaway, and Starman, and a promo at the end of The Slugger's Wife.
 * On Beany and Cecil Volume 1, the flipping animation is different and doesn't have a space background.
 * There is a variant on some releases where the border is chrome and "sparkling" effects are layered on. Sometimes at the end of post-credit coming attractions, a copyright stamp would appear below it. Seen on the post-credit coming attractions on Real Genius and Silverado.

Technique: Computer-generated animation for the first variant.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very rare.
 * Videos from this company have long been out of print, with most videos being re-released by Columbia TriStar (occasionally with the same RCA/Columbia-style packaging, with CTHV logos replacing any mentions of RCA/Columbia). All Columbia releases and the first few TriStar titles (such as The Natural, The Evil That Men Do, and Birdy) do not contain this logo as they go straight to the movie, and some Cinema 5 titles, such as One Sings, the Other Doesn't, use the 1981 Columbia logo as their home video logo instead.
 * It was used mainly on non-Columbia releases (TriStar Pictures, New Line Cinema, Crown International, Cinetel Films, and Regency Enterprises) such as Real Genius, Say Yes, The King of Comedy, Private Resort, Alone in the Dark, Critters, and Rock and Roll: The Early Days. Magic Window releases such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Rubik the Amazing Cube have this logo as well.
 * This logo has been spotted as late as the 1987 releases of About Last Night..., Blind Date, Armed Response, and My Demon Lover.
 * Its earliest known appearance is at the start of the Cinema 5 feature Jabberwocky.
 * This plasters the Columbia logo on Easy Rider and Ship of Fools.

2nd Logo (February 1986-December 18, 1991)
Logo: On a black background, we see a rotating cube, featuring the same logo as stated above on each side (either 1, 3, or 4 sides). The main difference to the logo, however, is that the border is now silvery, with "HOME VIDEO" etched in silver. A white sparkle appears on the side (lined up with the location of the torch in the Columbia logo) as it rotates.

Technique: Basic CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music/Sounds Variant: On No Holds Barred, the New Line Cinema logo is plastered by this logo, keeping the film's opening title music and sound effects (of a ring announcer and a cheering crowd) while this logo is playing. Strangely, this plaster is retained on a Showtime airing from December 1990 (presumably Showtime used a transfer of a video master in this case).

Availability: Uncommon, bordering on rare.
 * This logo is slightly easier to come across, seeing that it is more recent. However, this logo was only used in the United States and Canada. Again, Columbia releases go straight to the movie until 1989 (the last release of a Columbia film on VHS that lacked this logo was Ghostbusters II). Also, from 1986 to 1987, this logo was restricted to the coming attractions part of the releases.
 * Releases that had this logo include True Believer, Casualties of War, Glory, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Relentless, Out of the Dark, Fast Getaway, Bad Influence, Who's Harry Crumb?, The Freshman, Flatliners, Family Business, Look Who's Talking and Look Who's Talking Too, Troop Beverly Hills, and many more.
 * Some of the last releases to include this logo were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Toy Soldiers, City Slickers, earlier prints of Men at Work, Critters 3, Alligator II: The Mutation, Rich Girl, and the screener VHS of Boyz N the Hood; here, the logo fades out earlier than usual.
 * The earliest prints of Another You have RCA/Columbia on the box and on the video label, but the video itself has neither this nor the first Columbia TriStar Home Video logo, though later prints feature the latter.
 * Columbia TriStar Home Video retained this logo on their 90s VHS reissues of Family Business (in print as late as 1998).
 * It also appears on the screener VHS of Relentless 2: Dead On, while the regular VHS uses the Columbia TriStar logo.

1st Logo (1982-1991?)
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Logo: On a colored background (normally a white background), the same box from the 1st RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video logo, in 2D, fades in. "HOME VIDEO" is replaced by "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO". Sometimes, the box has a black border, other times, it doesn't have one.

Variants:
 * On PAL tapes in Germany, the logo is against a sky blue background, after its warning screen has finished scrolling. Spanish PAL tapes have the same variant as well, but without the same warning screen.
 * There is a variation with a dodger blue background, at least on PAL tapes from Italy.
 * Some UK tapes have a variation with a crimson background, while others (including a tape of Jabberwocky) have this with a white background.
 * Japanese tapes would use a dark gray background.
 * Another variant has a redrawn (slightly plain) box, that has "Pictures" smaller than "Columbia", and a larger Torch Lady and RCA logo, all appearing on a black background. On Argentinian releases from Videomega Entertainment and LK-Tel Video, the logo would usually coast down from the center and cover the screen.
 * Some tapes use the 5th variant, but with a white background, and everything in the large box (Columbia print logo and text) is and black rather than blue and white. There is also a  background version that was seen on some Australian VHS tapes, like The Deep.

Technique: None, unless one counts the fading.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Common outside North America. Despite it being used for nearly ten years, it is hard to come across in North America, and was seen mainly on such international releases as The Amazing Spider-Man, The Real Ghostbusters, and Annie. However, if you have an NTSC tape from (at least) Mexico, Brazil, or Japan, or even a SECAM tape from France or Russia, you'll probably find this logo. Also seen on UK rental releases of Macbeth and D.A.R.Y.L., in addition to Australian releases prior to RCA/Columbia's joint venture with Hoyts in 1983.

2nd Logo (1985?-1992)
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NOTE: In the 6th video, skip to 0:23 for the logo

Logo: On a black background, a 3D cube comes up from the screen. It has the RCA logo in red at the top and "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO" at the bottom. Then the Columbia Pictures print logo in blue and white swoops up from the bottom. The cube spins once and settles down, facing the viewers.

Variants:
 * On some PAL tapes, the animation takes place on a light marble background. When the logo has finished animating, it "ripples" out and the whole thing transitions to the warning screen.
 * On releases from Contacto Video in Colombia, the RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video logo shrinks down to the lower right of the screen. Then the Contacto Video logo animates, then it shrinks and moves to the upper-left of the screen.
 * On the 1990 PAL tape of Radio Days, at the end, there is a flash and the logo turns into the silvery print logo, which shines.
 * On PAL tapes from Germany, after the logo is finished animating, it goes straight to the warning screen (in German).
 * The RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts Video Pty, Ltd. logo is a variant of this logo.

Technique: CGI animation done by Ed Kramer at DESIGNefx in Atlanta, GA on an SGI 4D/70 computer running Wavefront software, and animated at 30p.

Music/Sounds: A catchy dramatic '80s-sounding synthesized fanfare, complete with a whoosh sound effect when the Columbia logo rises from the bottom and a reverse cymbal when the cube settles down. Rarely, it is silent.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * The German PAL version uses a completely different theme with a synth sounder similar to a North American police car or ambulance siren at the beginning.
 * Japanese tapes use a creepier-sounding whispering synth tune, with a bong, a whoosh for the Columbia Pictures logo swooping in, and a drumbeat.

Availability: Rare. It was only used on video releases outside the United States and Canada, and for the most part, appeared on Latin American and European releases of Columbia and TriStar movies on video from the late 80s/early 90s. However, if you have an NTSC tape from (at least) Mexico, Brazil, or Japan, or even a SECAM tape from Russia, you'll probably find this logo or the first one. However, French SECAM tapes have the 1st or 2nd Gaumont Columbia Films RCA Video logo appear instead (which is completely different from this one). The normal variant appears on UK releases of Flatliners and the first two Ghostbusters films, while the marble background variant appears on Hope and Glory. Australian tapes simply use the 2nd RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts Video Pty. Ltd. logo (which is very similar and even uses the same music as this logo). The standard variant was also spotted on UK VHS tapes from Watershed Pictures, which had a distribution deal with RCA/Columbia (and successor company Columbia TriStar) until 1994 when it switched distribution to PolyGram.

1st Logo (3rd logo placeholder) (December 1991-September 9, 1992 [1993 in select international countries])
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Logo: On a black background, we see a split rectangle. On the left side, we see the '80s Torch Lady (print version with the sunburst intact behind her), and on the right, the TriStar "Pegasus Over Pyramid" logo (print version too, but without the word "PICTURES" at the bottom). Above, we see the stacked words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" in Bank Gothic MD BT font that's a bit stretched up by height, one above the other, and at the bottom, we see "HOME VIDEO" below.

Variants:
 * On Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (both the original 1992 RCA/Columbia release and the 1994 CTHV reprint, under license from New Line), The Spirit of '76, Driving Me Crazy, a 1992 VHS reissue of Metropolitan, a 1992 VHS reissue of Silverado, a 1992 VHS reissue of Warren Miller's Extreme Winter, and a 1994 VHS reissue of The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head, the logo doesn't fade in or out.
 * On Australian rental tapes with this logo, it would fade into the "COMING ATTRACTIONS" text seen in the RCA/Columbia/Hoyts logo.
 * On releases from LK-Tel Video, the logo would coast down from the center of the LK-Tel Video logo before sliding down.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On international releases (except for Australian releases), a short guitar/bass note was heard.
 * On tapes from Australia, one tape from Spain, and a Swedish VHS of A League of Their Own, the theme from the RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video logo is heard.
 * At least one foreign tape (badly) loops the RCA/Columbia International music for an extended period, continuing into an anti-piracy warning.

Availability: Very rare. This is a placeholder logo, created for temporary use while the next version was in development, but wasn't ready for use.
 * Among the releases with this logo are original prints of My Girl, Cast the First Stone (at least the screener VHS), The Taking of Beverly Hills, Men at Work (earlier prints have the RCA/Columbia logo), Hook (both the original 1992 release and a 1995 VHS reissue), the infamous Troll 2, Misery (1992 prints), The Prince of Tides, Alan & Naomi, The Villain (1979) and Severed Ties.
 * City Slickers has this with the RCA/Columbia print logo on the tape and box, although original prints do have the RCA/Columbia logo on-screen.
 * This was also used on reissues of From Here to Eternity, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (as reissued in 1992 and 1993), Annie (1982), Steel Magnolias, Stripes, The Bear, Look Who's Talking Too, Christine, A Passage to India, The Adventures of Milo and Otis and Bye Bye Birdie.
 * The international version is on VHS releases outside North America, including a Spanish VHS of In the Line of Fire.
 * This appears on many reissues of RCA/Columbia releases; some were in their original RCA/Columbia packaging, including print logos. Others were modified to varying extents. For example, a reissue of A Man for All Seasons, in print as late as 1995, features this logo on-screen, the following print logo on the box and tape, and even features the characteristic red border and text designs of RCA/Columbia releases, perhaps one of the first times a home video label had done such a thing.
 * Late RCA/Columbia releases during early 1992, such as Oscar's Greatest Moments: 1971-1991 and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (released under license from New Line), as well as original prints of Return to the Blue Lagoon, Double Impact, and Bingo, use this logo.
 * One of the last new releases to include this logo was Mississippi Masala. Although Columbia TriStar continued to use this as a print logo until early/mid-1993 on the packaging of titles such as Candyman, the next logo appears on-screen.
 * It also appears on the original VHS release of Relentless 2: Dead On (despite being an SVS/Triumph release).
 * This is also seen on 1994 VHS reissues of The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head and The Three Stooges Vol. 3: An Ache in Every Stake and the 1996 Columbia TriStar Family Collection release of Bye Bye Birdie, instead of the 3rd logo, due to usage of older tape masters.

Legacy: While this uses the 1980s print logos for Columbia and TriStar, this marks the debut of the long-standing "box" motif.

2nd Logo (3rd logo placeholder) (August 26, 1992-1995)
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Logo: On a white background, we see two boxes outlined with a black border. On the left is one featuring a newly-done Torch Lady, and on the right is a newly-done Pegasus on a Columbia-like cloud background. Above the boxes are the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR", with each word positioned over its respective logo. "HOME VIDEO" is seen below.

Trivia: The Columbia Torch Lady seen on the left was painted by Michael J. Deas and the TriStar Pegasus seen on the right was painted by Alan Reingold.

Variants:
 * There is a variant with an inverted background. The background is black, the letters and the outlined boxes are both white, and both respective logos are a bit close up.
 * The inverted logo variant appeared on a children's video promo seen on UK VHS releases in 2000. The text is in the Bank Gothic font and both respective logos are brighter. Light rays shine on the logo when it fades in before they disappear after a second.
 * On the Italian VHS of Hook, the logo is boxed in square black lines.

Technique: None, unless one counts the fading.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1st logo.

Availability: Very rare.
 * This is a placeholder logo, but this time they've actually designed the new logos. This is one of the first appearances of the new "Sony Logos" for each company, along with Columbia and TriStar's respective television divisions.
 * Titles with this logo include A League of Their Own, Steel Magnolias, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Waterdance, Aces: Iron Eagle III, Mo' Money, The Lawnmower Man, Candyman, City of Joy, Hero, The Snowman, Married... with Children: It's a Bundyful Life, Falling From Grace, Weekend War, a 2000 reprint of Hook, the early John Wayne film Two-Fisted Law, starring Tim McCoy, Shootfighter: Fight to the Death, the 1994 VHS reprint of Return to the Blue Lagoon, the 1994 VHS reissue of Bingo, the 1995 demo VHS of the U.S.-released The Indian in the Cupboard (seen after the next logo), and the 1996 Columbia TriStar Family Collection release of My Girl.
 * The inverted variant is rare and it has been spotted on an Italian VHS of The Addams Family. This has also been seen on some LaserDiscs, including the 1993 Criterion release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Wrecking Crew (1968).
 * Among the first VHS releases to have this logo were The Lawnmower Man, Does This Mean We're Married?, and The Best of John Candy on SCTV.
 * Early videos with this logo would use the print version of the previous logo.

Legacy: One of the first appearances of the newly redone Columbia and TriStar logos, about a year before the animated versions debuted.

3rd Logo (May 19, 1993-March 27, 2001)
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Logo: We see a screen full of clouds forming, tossing about. Then, "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" in yellow zooms out from above, and "HOME VIDEO" in the same color shrinks out from below as we see the clouds zoom out, as part of a golden-bordered box on a -black gradient background. The box then splits apart to reveal the Torch Lady on the left (in the same style as before), and the Pegasus on the right (again, the same style as before), as the wording takes its position. The text shines for a few seconds after the logo is formed.

Trivia: This logo was used as the basis for the first Columbia TriStar International Television logo, and the first Columbia TriStar Television logo was patterned on it to an extent as well.

Variants:
 * A still logo was found on early Columbia TriStar Home Video releases on DVD, as well as Mexican videotapes from 1997-99.
 * There is also an abridged version for some New Line Home Video releases.
 * On a home video TV spot for Amos and Andrew, it's placed on a black background alongside the 1991 New Line Home Video logo.
 * On some later tapes, such as Universal Soldier: The Return, the 1999 Collector's Edition VHS of Taxi Driver, The 6th Day, and the first 6 VHS releases of Dragon Tales, the logo fades in.
 * On some (mainly earlier) DVDs, such as The Adventures of Milo and Otis, the logo is darker and there's a visible dot crawl on the right side of the screen.
 * An rare variant exists where there are bars featuring small CTHV print logos on the sides of the logo. This version is seen on early DVDs and widescreen edition LaserDiscs.

Trailer Variants: Many times, from 1993-1996, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, the blue background would fade out to the moving clouds and one of the following phrases would zoom in from the center of the screen:
 * COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU
 * COMING SOON TO HOME VIDEO

Afterward, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. Beginning in 1997, the 6th logo's trailer variants were used instead. On Australian tapes, the logos would fade out and one of these:


 * COMING SOON
 * NOW AVAILABLE

would slide in from the top and bottom respectively (weirdly, "COMING SOON" was written in the same Bank Gothic font as the logo, but "NOW AVAILABLE" was in a different font).

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A rather dramatic synth theme with beating drums and cues of a piano. The last note of the theme is held out for the rest of the logo.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On the clip-on variants, the music is more orchestrated and a male announcer announces the clip-on.
 * On later prints of the original VHS of As Good as It Gets, the logo is silent.

Availability: Very common, even today.
 * Seen on the majority of VHS, LaserDiscs, and DVD releases from Columbia TriStar Home Video, starting with the May 1993 home video release of A River Runs Through It.
 * The abridged version can be found on most New Line Home Video releases such as National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Time Runner, Surf Ninjas, Three of Hearts, Needful Things, Malice, Man's Best Friend, Who's the Man?, Excessive Force, Chained Heat 2, Relentless 3, Relentless 4: Ashes to Ashes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and the unrated version of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
 * This also appears on later DVD repressings of titles such as The Deep, The Big Hit, Big Daddy, Spice World, Look Who's Talking, Anaconda, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Jason and the Argonauts, Night of the Living Dead (1990), Oliver!, and Muppets from Space.
 * Also seen on some Canadian tapes released by Astral Video after the Astral logo during the mid-1990s, including Demon Possessed and Conflict of Interest. Surprisingly, on the 1997 VHS of Double Team, as well as the 1998 demo VHS of Spice World and 1999 reprints of Immortal Beloved and Fools Rush In, both this logo and the 1997 logo appeared.
 * This also makes a surprise appearance on the 2002 VHS of Stuart Little (released to coincide with Stuart Little 2), in the place of the 8th logo.
 * The trailer variants can be seen on rental copies of Bad Boys, The Net, Jury Duty, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
 * This never appeared anywhere on the 1994 VHS of Red Rock West; it just goes straight to the 1982-2004 warning screen.
 * Also appears on some prints of tapes from the Columbia TriStar Family Collection (some used the 4th logo), such as Ghostbusters, The Indian in the Cupboard, Willow, The Babysitter's Club and Care Bears Movie 2: A New Generation; a 2003 reprint of the last one retains this logo.
 * This also appears on the Special Edition 2005 VHS of Matilda, likely due to it using a tape master from the original 1996 VHS.
 * Also appears on the 2003 VHS of Annie, as well as a 2006 reprint, also because of the reuse of tape transfers.
 * The last VHS tapes to use this logo (barring reprints) were Charlie's Angels (the 2000 film) and The 6th Day.
 * Also appears on some Canadian VHS releases such as The Wrong Woman and Canadian VHS releases from Motion International and TVA International such as Out of Control (1998), Someone is Watching, Little Men (1998), and Stranger in the House, among possible others.
 * It does not appear on international DVDs of the period, as they'll plaster it with the music version of the 6th logo (with some exceptions, eg. the 2000 Australian DVD releases of Total Recall, Terminator 2, Universal Soldier, Lock Up, and an old French PAL DVD release of Cliffhanger).
 * It makes a surprise appearance at the end of the 2002 UK DVD release of The Very Best of The Muppet Show, due to it using the same master as the original 1999 VHS. The DVD release of Volume 2 removes it.
 * This appeared on international releases from 1993-1998, although it continued usage on UK VHS releases until 2001, some of the last Australian VHS tapes to use this were the 1998 Australian VHS releases of Jerry Maguire and Men in Black.

Legacy: This was used longer than any other Columbia TriStar logo.

4th Logo (April 2-June 11, 1996)
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Logo: We start out against an antique fabric background. Then a square with the footage of the 1993 Columbia Torch Lady in it fades in, and slides to the left, revealing a box with the footage of the 1993 TriStar Pegasus (but the background is changed into a similar cloud background from the Columbia logo, but a bit shorter and darker), which slides to the right. The words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" appear above the boxes and "HOME VIDEO" on the bottom with "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company" below everything else.

Trivia: The cloud variant was used for the second Columbia TriStar Television logo.

Variant: On some releases, the background is replaced with a background of tossing clouds (from the 3rd logo) and the name and byline are navy blue.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A chorus singing "TAKE HOLLYWOOD HOOOOOOOOOME!" with dramatic synth music, or the opening theme of the trailer.

Availability: Very rare. It was used only on some tapes released by the short-lived Columbia TriStar Family Collection, such as Real Genius, Willow, Ghostbusters (only some printings, others use the 3rd logo), The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., and The Adventures of Milo and Otis. The variant was seen on several domestic and international promos of home video releases by CTHV. Other tapes with this logo include Persuasion and Money Train.

Legacy: This is the first Columbia TriStar Home Video logo to have their respective animated logos in the boxes.

5th Logo (1996-1998)
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Logo: On a taupe brown background, we see a row of print logos of the Torch Lady and Pegasus in boxes at an angle. The Columbia and TriStar boxes (in their similar styles from the 4th logo, but this time, they are still and not animated), then lift out of two of the boxes in the center as the row of boxes tilts to look towards the screen. The 3-D words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" and "HOME VIDEO" in gold, fade in above and below the boxes, respectively with a shining wipe effect.

Trailer Variants: Many times, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, and one of the following terms, in script, would zoom in from the center of the logo:
 * Garamond
 * Garamond
 * Garamond

Afterward, a trailer with one of the following features would be played.

Variants:
 * There is a shorter version that does not proceed into a trailer bumper.
 * Just like the 3rd logo, a variant with bars featuring small CTHV print logos on the sides of the logo exists. This version is seen on early DVDs and widescreen edition LaserDiscs.

Technique: Simple animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as above, but the chorus is less jolly and the music is orchestrated.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On some trailers, like both versions of the Family Collection trailer, the exact same music from the last logos is used.
 * On the trailer variants of this logo, a 6-note piano jingle is added at the beginning. Also, as the clip-on zooms in, Tony Clarkin says the text on-screen as a brief string theme is heard.
 * The 2nd version of the Family Collection trailer has a version similar to the one mentioned above, except the piano jingle is shortened to the last 4 notes.

Availability: Rare. It was used for only two years. Sometimes it was alternated with the 1993 blue background logo, so as always, keep your eye out.
 * The best source for this logo would be the company's earliest DVD releases (circa 1997-1998) such as Philadelphia, Little Women (1994), Fly Away Home, Screamers (1995), and A League of Their Own. It also appeared on the VHS releases of Money Train, Bottle Rocket, The Craft, Heavy Metal, Multiplicity, The Cable Guy (only some prints, others just used the 3rd logo), Matilda, Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Fan, Fly Away Home, later copies of Bad Boys, The Net, Magic in the Water, High School High, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Fools Rush In, Beverly Hills Ninja, Buddy, and the 1997 reprint of Who's Harry Crumb?.
 * The shorter version appeared on Jumanji (there was an ad for Sony Maximum Television sets, followed by a trailer bumper immediately after) and Jerry Maguire (only some prints, others used the 3rd logo instead). The widescreen version appears on the 1998 DVD of Immortal Beloved and the letterbox LaserDisc editions of The Indian in the Cupboard, Lost in Yonkers, and The Cable Guy (including the 1997 DVD).
 * This version also appears on the 1997 DVD of A League of Their Own (the same master was used for a 2004 bargain bin reprint and a 2009 double-feature repackaging with Sleepless in Seattle [the DVD label specifies a 2004 copyright, indicating the repress]).
 * No logo appears on the 1997 DVD releases of Jerry Maguire, Last Action Hero, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Awakenings, and First Knight.

6th Logo (July 22, 1997-April 3, 2001)
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Logo: On an ethereal background, we see filmstrips crisscrossing the screen, with each frame in each filmstrip featuring the C-T box logo. We see a filmstrip in the center of the screen and then pan toward it, seeing the boxes in each frame and the endings of their respective movie animations playing out within them. As the final frame reaches the screen, the background turns white with several areas in each corner as the boxes (with the footage of the Torch Lady from the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo on the left and the footage of the Pegasus from the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo on the right) go into position. Then the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" and "HOME VIDEO" fade in above and below the boxes, respectively. The animation inside the boxes begins to stop as the logo ends.

Trivia: This logo was later used for the third Columbia TriStar International Television logo.

Variants:
 * A squished widescreen variant exists on VCDs.
 * On VHS releases that contain the "Home Entertainment" variant of the 8th logo, "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" replaces "HOME VIDEO" on the trailer variants.
 * There is an extremely rare variant with the music in which after the logo forms, the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME VIDEO" fade out, and the words "COMING SOON" appear on the bottom of the screen.

Trailer Variants: Many times, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, and one of the following phrases, in a script font, would zoom in from the center of the logo:


 * Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
 * Now Playing in Theaters/Coming Soon to Home Video (w/ slightly different font)
 * Coming Soon to Home Video
 * Now Available on Home Video
 * Now Available (w/ slightly different font)

Afterward, a trailer with one of the following features would be played.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On international releases, a Madchester breakbeat accompanied by a faint choir and ending with an orchestral hit was used.
 * On The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo, it uses the music from the 5th logo (the screener VHS used the extended jingle over the normal logo by itself, while the retail copy used the shortened version at the beginning of a promo for Annie).

Availability: Common on VHS, but relatively rare on DVD.
 * During the beginning of its existence, it was very easy to spot. However, around 1998, this logo was inexplicably no longer used as their standard logo, with the 1993 logo supplanting it. The trailer variants, however, continued to be used until the 9th logo's introduction in 2001. This logo was used for most international releases during this time, and was used on international DVDs from 1998 until 2000.
 * Tapes with this logo include The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo, Booty Call, the Broadway Tribute Edition VHS release of Annie, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, Anaconda, The Fifth Element, Men in Black, My Best Friend's Wedding, Air Force One, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Big Hit, Slappy and the Stinkers, Seven Years in Tibet, Gattaca, Wild Things, early prints of As Good as It Gets, Animorphs: The Invasion Series, and the infamous movies 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain and Baby Geniuses.
 * It has also been seen on the UK DVD releases of Das Boot, Dick, and Muppets from Space as well as the 2001 DVD of The Muppets Take Manhattan complete with the jingle.
 * It also appeared on a mid-2000s UK DVD of Ghostbusters, a 2003 UK DVD of The Cable Guy, and a 2004 UK DVD of Cruel Intentions, all of which may have been reprints of earlier DVDs. It also appears on the 2014 Australian Region 4 DVD SPHE reprint of Godzilla, and a Mid 2010's Australia Region 4 SPHE DVD reprint of Ghostbusters, most likely due to being reprints of earlier releases from 1998 and 1999 respectively.
 * On the 1997 VHS of Double Team, as well as the 1998 demo VHS of Spice World and 1999 reprints of Immortal Beloved and Fools Rush In, both this logo and the 1993 logo appeared.
 * The "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" trailer variant version is rare and seen on a handful of tapes that are post-2001 printings of CTHV releases, such as Blue Streak, Love Stinks, The Winslow Boy, the Special Edition VHS of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Grey Owl. See the availability section for the next logo for more information.
 * One of the last International DVD releases to use this logo was the 2000 Australian DVD release of About Last Night...
 * The last tape to use this was Circus.
 * This is retained on the mid-2010s Australian DVD reprints of The Swan Princess, Sense and Sensibility, As Good As It Gets, Stepmom, St. Elmo's Fire and Run, Lola, Run with the jingle (on The Swan Princess, the logo plays after you select "Play Movie", which is most likely to happen on other 1998 Region 4 DVD's from CTHV, such as Sense and Sensibility).
 * The rare variant with music, in which coming soon fades in after the CTHV text fades out after the logo is formed can be seen on the 2001 Aussie VHS Release of 28 Days.
 * The logo makes a surprise appearance on the both 2002 UK DVD of Fortress (which has the CTHE print logo) and a 2003 Italian DVD of Escape from Absolom.

7th Logo (November 25, 1997)
Logo: Up against a royal blue background with many faintly visible CTHV print logos on it (just like the 3rd and 5th logos), we see the standard C-T boxes outlined in white with the white text "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" above and "HOME VIDEO" below the logo respectively.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo.

Availability: Extremely rare. This was seen on the widescreen side of the first DVD releases of The Net, The Fifth Element, Johnny Mnemonic, and Happy Birthday to Me; all of which released on the same day (it doesn't appear on the international DVD releases of the former three films as they will most likely use the music variant of the previous logo). Shortly after this, Columbia TriStar began using the 3rd logo on their DVDs starting with the late 1997 DVD releases of Fools Rush In, Annie (1982 version), and Look Who's Talking.

8th Logo (1999-2002)
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Logo: On a screen filled with clouds, the words "COLUMBIA" spelling itself standard, and "TRISTAR" spelling itself backward letter-by-letter, handsomely done in shining silver text, tumble onto the screen, "COLUMBIA" coming from the upper right and "TRISTAR" coming from the lower left. The clouds clear, revealing a nice backdrop of clouds and two white, glowing boxes. As the light in the boxes die down, the Torch Lady (in her similar style from the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo) zooms in towards us in her left box, and we see the Pegasus (in its similar style from the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo over a backwards flipped Columbia-like cloud background), stretch its wings in its right box, as its wings cross over to the Columbia box. The words "COLUMBIA" and "TRISTAR" later change to gold lettering and position themselves under the boxes, and "DVD" zooms out from the top, at warp speed, landing below the C-T text, causing the phaser effect to appear around it, which suddenly disappears.

Variants: "HOME VIDEO" or "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" may replace the "DVD" text at the end.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: Whooshing sounds as the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" move into position. An ethereal humming noise is heard as the boxes are revealed and animate. As the TriStar Pegasus unfolds and stretches its wings, we hear a low whoosh sound. Lastly, a phaser sound plays as the bottom text moves into place, followed by faint chime sounds.

Music/Sounds Variant: There is a 5.1 Dolby Digital version that enhances the phaser sounds. It can be found on the 2000 DVD of Look Who's Talking Too, the 2001 Collector's Edition DVD of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the 2002 PAL DVD release of Evolution.

Availability: It's seen on most DVD releases of the time; prior to this, they used the 1993 logo (international DVDs used the 1997 logo with music before this logo debuted).
 * The "HOME VIDEO" version can be found on the VHS releases of Random Hearts, The King of Masks, Crazy in Alabama, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Gen-X Cops, Velocity Trap, Fortress 2: Re-Entry and most notably, Stuart Little.
 * The "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" version can be seen only on the 2000 VHS of Blue Streak, the 2000 VHS of Love Stinks, the 2002 DVD of the Japanese anime Metropolis (possibly some pressings, others use the 2001 CTHE logo with DVD music), the 2000 VHS of The Winslow Boy, the 2000 DVD of Jill the Ripper, the 2001 DVD of Jackie Chan is the Prisoner, the 2000 Special Edition VHS of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and the 2000 VHS of Grey Owl.
 * The "DVD" version can be found on all 2000-2002 DVDs such as Girl Interrupted, Dogma, Fly Away Home (retained on its 2006 SPHE repress), Steel Magnolias, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (The Collector's Edition), the first three Muppet movies, Little Women (1994 version), Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams, The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, Stuart Little, Look Who's Talking Too, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, The Karate Kid Part II, Hook, Stand by Me, Joe Dirt, The Patriot, Snatch, the European DVD release of Evolution, and the first UK DVD release of The Karate Kid.
 * This logo makes an appearance on the 2002 Deluxe Edition DVD of Men in Black.
 * One of the last releases to use this was the DVD release of See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
 * This logo does not appear on international VHS releases, as they use the 1997 logo with music while UK VHS releases mainly used the 1993 logo.
 * This was retained on various reprints of a few older DVDs, including the 2003 reprints of Eye of the Beholder, Cruel Intentions 2, and Snatch, the 2005 reprint of The Next Karate Kid, the 2007 reprint of Murder by Death, and the 2014 Australian DVD reprint of Stuart Little.
 * It was also seen on early Bear in the Big Blue House and Dragon Tales DVDs as well.
 * This appears on the DVD of Thomas and the Magic Railroad but not the VHS, on which the 1993 logo was used instead.
 * Also intact on the 2016 Australian DVD repressing of Almost Famous (a repress from the original 2001 Australian DVD) which is strange, as the Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment print logo is featured on the front cover, back cover, spine, and disc (it could mean that this logo was used in tandem with the 1st music variant of the next logo below in international regions). It also appears on the 2009 SPHE Region 4 DVD release of Funny Girl, due the master being recycled from the original 2003 The Barbra Streisand Collection DVD release.
 * This also shows up on the 2003 Australian DVD of Annie (1982 version), and its 2012 repress; like the Almost Famous example, the packaging was not changed to reflect the current identity of the company (though it could also mean that the DVD was going to be released earlier, but pushed back to 2003).
 * Some of the first known region 4 DVDs to contain this logo are Baraka, Girl Interrupted, Sleepless in Seattle: Collector's Edition, Steel Magnolias and Erin Brockovich (the logo is intact on the mid-2010's DVD repressings of the latter three films).
 * Also seen on the 2003 Region 4 My Best Friend's Wedding Collector's Edition DVD release (this might be due to the fact the DVD was supposed to be released in 2001, but its release was delayed to 2003). Also appears on the UK DVD of G.I. Jane.
 * It also appears on the 2012 Region 4 SPHE DVD release of Fly Away Home (alongside the late 1990's Sony Pictures DVD Center logo and Dolby Digital "City" trailer), possibly because the DVD master was originally prepared for an early 2000's release.
 * It also shows up on the 2004 Region 4 CTHE Collector's Edition DVD release of Little Women (1994) and its 2010s DVD repress (this may be due to the fact that the DVD master was prepared in the early 2000s).

1st Logo (April 3, 2001-June 14, 2005 [April 2006 in UK & Ireland])
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Logo: Over the usual cloud background, we pan past an extreme close-up of the Torch Lady's legs and feet (covered in the robe, of course.), then dissolve into a pan of the TriStar Pegasus (in the print artwork style except for the body and the legs, which are in the 1993 movie logo style, but in the same color as the Pegasus' face and wings) unfolding its wings. The pan then quickly dissolves into a shot from the center of the Pegasus unfolding its wings, albeit in a close-up way, and then a dissolve to the Torch Lady zooming out from her face. The logo then dissolves to reveal the Torch Lady and Pegasus side-by-side on a cloud background in their print artwork styles, with "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" slightly sliding in with "HOME ENTERTAINMENT", in a smaller font, fading in letter-by-letter and the logo disappears after two light streaks in a straight horizontal fade out completely at the end.

Trivia:
 * This is notable for being the last logo using the "Columbia TriStar" brand after Columbia TriStar Domestic/International Television's rebranding in 2002.
 * On the demo VHS of Kermit's Swamp Years, the logo was followed by a 2nd blue FBI Warning before the Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo. This is most likely due to an editing mistake. However, this was corrected on the release tape print.

Variants:
 * On some 2002 VHS prints of Stuart Little, there is a promo for Little Secrets that features this logo without "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" below.
 * The VHS version of the logo usually cuts to black at the end on U.S. VHS tapes without trailers (and on demo VHS tapes after the Hi-Fi Stereo logo before the FBI Warning); this also applies to VCDs and DVDs where this variant is used. The cut to black version of the first music variant occasionally pops up before the shortened widescreen trailer version of the logo on 2004-2005 tapes, such as The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss video The Cat's Musical Tales. In the United Kingdom, almost every VHS tapes have the logo fading out at the end, but a few of them have the VHS logo that cuts to black; one example video is Bear in the Big Blue House: The Summer of Love. It also appears on the retail VHS of Soul Assassin (containing previews) which cuts directly to the Winchester Films logo before the film.
 * Bear in the Big Blue House LIVE! has the DVD version of this logo with extra black borders on the vertical sides which should have been cropped off.
 * After the trailers on demo VHS videos, a shortened version of the logo is played.
 * The short version of the first music variant is seen on demo tapes after the previews and before the FBI Warnings such as Kermit's Swamp Years.
 * On the first trailer of Kermit's Swamp Years, the logo is identical to the DVD variant except that the saturation matches the VHS variant and with a bobbing effect from the bob de-interlacing filter.
 * On most Columbia TriStar DVDs from 2002-2005, the logo is in warp speed.
 * The print logo has the typical boxes, with "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" above and "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" below; it's all on a white background. This logo appeared on the Comedy TV Preview found on Married... with Children: The Most Outrageous Episodes and was never used on general releases. This can also be found on certain promos of TV series by Sony Pictures Television.
 * On VHS releases from 2004-2005, it has a shortened version of this logo with a trailer bump, but with the DVD music. Seen on Spider-Man 2, 13 Going on 30 (non-reprint copies only), White Chicks, Christmas with the Kranks, The Forgotten, Left Behind: The Movie, and Fahrenheit 9/11.
 * Due to a video processing error on the demo VHS of Love and a Bullet after the HiFi Stereo logo, the beginning of the logo up to the horn section is edited out.
 * There is a 2.35:1 scope version of the first music variant seen on the 2001 UK DVD release of Dirty Dancing.
 * On some VCD prints, the 16:9 cropped version of the first music variant is present on the disc.
 * A Brazilian website promo has a variant with a URL.

Trailer Variants: Many times, letters would appear on top of the screen via a "blurring" effect in an orange font. With an announcer (Greg O'Neill), stating the following (on some VHS promos, the bumper text appears over a section of the logo playing in letterbox format, with the words within the top bar):
 * Coming Soon to Theaters
 * Now Playing In Theaters
 * Coming Soon to Home Video
 * Coming Soon to VHS and DVD
 * Coming Soon to DVD
 * Now Available on Home Video
 * Now Available on VHS and DVD
 * Now Available on DVD

Afterward, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. On demo VHS tapes, the letters do not fade in above the trailer version of the logo at the beginning of the tape before the trailers.

International Trailer Variants: On early Australian releases the logo plays normally and in the top right of the screen letters appear spelling "COMING SOON". So far this has been spotted on 2001 Aussie VHS releases of Charlie's Angels, Almost Famous, and Wicked.

Technique: What's mentioned in the description doesn't cover the entire logo. Throughout the animation, the logos are artistically stylized, with mosaic and pixelization effects being used through the logo and a scrolling Matrix-like wall of typography appearing throughout. Also, the designers of the logo, Montgomery/Cobb, retouched the face of the Torch Lady and the wings of the Pegasus to make them look more realistic. The dissolves are done gradually, almost like wipes, and the logo seems to be divided up into five sections during the animation, before coming together as an actual logo at the end.

Music/Sounds: There were two variants:
 * VHS (and early VCDs and DVDs): Composed by Machine Head of Venice, California, a pin drop-like sound is heard, then a wonderful, majestic synthesized fanfare with horns playing throughout the logo.
 * DVD (and later VCDs and VHS): A shorter acoustic guitar tune that rises into a triumphant theme with bells, strings, and a small chorus. The animation plays slightly quicker here.

Music/Sounds Variant:
 * On the VHS trailer version of this logo, the pin drop sound is not heard.
 * A 5.1 synthesized version of the first music variant exists. This audio variant can be heard on certain DVDs like the original UK DVD release of Charlie's Angels.
 * On UK and Australian releases of Kermit's Swamp Years, along with the Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo and the film itself, the audio is high-pitched. The logo itself also appears to have been very slightly sped up.
 * On Boa VS. Python, the film's opening theme plays over the logo.
 * At the end of most 2002-2006 UK videotapes without previews with this logo, a split-second of the BBC Radio pips can be heard loudly accompanied by a single beep in the style of the UK VHS phone dial sound alongside the very beginning of the VHS variant's music.

Availability: Common on VHS and DVD releases from the era. Some of them are still in print.
 * The first VHS to have this logo was Circus, but that tape still used the Columbia TriStar Home Video trailer bumpers. The CTHE trailer bumpers were introduced on Finding Forrester. A few of the releases that include this logo are Underworld, Advertising Rules!, Slackers, Hellboy, the first two Spider-Man films, and the first few releases of the complete seasons of The King of Queens, Seinfeld, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and All in the Family, among others. Tapes of this logo without the clip-on at the top include Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Fun to Learn and Jay Jay the Jet Plane: New Friends, New Discoveries, along with some prints of The Animal, Snatch, Not Another Teen Movie, Black Hawk Down, A Knight's Tale, Daddy Day Care, and 50 First Dates.
 * The first music variant is rare on DVDs, but has been spotted on the R1 DVD of the Jeffrey Blitz documentary Spellbound and also seen on the UK DVDs of Charlie's Angels (2000), Cromwell (being one of the DVDs to have the 16:9 version with the pin-drop noise unedited, and is intact on the 2018 HMV slipcover reprint), The Princess Bride, and all three volumes of the UK-exclusive The Very Best of the Muppet Show. Also appeared on the Region 4 DVD of Postcards from the Edge (and is intact on the 2017 Region 4 DVD reprint), Van Damme's The Order (2001), the DVD of The Wombles: Orinoco and the Big Black Umbrella and Other Stories, some The Worst Witch DVDs, the region 4 DVD of Blind Date (and it's Region 4 DVD reprint) the region 4 DVD of China Moon, as well as the German DVD of Dark Blue World (aka Tmavomodry Svet) distributed by Helkon Media.
 * The VHS version of the first music variant can be seen on VHS tapes from the era, with The Wombles: Bungo Up A Tree and Other Stories being one of the tapes to have this variant of the logo.
 * The widescreen variant of the first music variant has been spotted on the R4 DVD double feature of Born Free and Living Free and the United Kingdom DVD releases of Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different and Van Damme's The Order.
 * A scope variant of the first music variant was spotted on the 2001 UK DVD release of Dirty Dancing (1987).
 * An excerpt of the VHS variant can be seen on the promo of Matilda on the DVD release of Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.
 * The first music variant can also be found on early VCDs, such as Snatch and the widescreen variant can be found on some VCDs like the Thai copy of Legends of the Fall. The first music variant doesn't appear on early U.S. DVDs, using the 9th logo instead. In Australia, the 1st music variant logo was used in tandem with the previous logo.
 * The second music variant on VHS can be seen at the end of Jay Jay the Jet Plane VHS releases, Bear in the Big Blue House LIVE!, retail copies of Kermit's Swamp Years, later international VHS releases, such as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as well as a 2005 Demo VHS of Are We There Yet?.
 * This logo was not seen on the 2001 VHS releases (containing trailers) of The Animal and A Knight's Tale; it just goes straight to their widescreen "Coming Soon to Home Video" bumper. Even though it wasn't seen on the Cloud Ten Pictures DVDs from 2004, it appeared on the 2005 reprint of Judgement.
 * The trailer variants make a surprise appearance after the logo below on the VHS releases of Are We There Yet?, Boogeyman, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, and D.E.B.S.. The second variant of this logo appears (with the 2002 Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo) on TV airings of Kermit's Swamp Years.
 * It also appears at the start of the film on the DVD release of Kermit's Swamp Years; as a result, it appears twice on the same DVD. The one at the start of the film for the PAL version is noticeably higher pitched than the one before the menu. The logo was preserved on the German Blu-Ray release of Kermit's Swamp Years.
 * It also appears on later tapes from TVA, including Operation Delta Force 5: Random Fire.
 * This makes an appearance on the 2008 Matilda Deluxe Edition Region 4 DVD (and its mid-2010s reprint), even though the next logo is seen on the back of the cover and disc, this might be due to the fact that the DVD master was prepared and supposed to be released in 2003, but it was aborted.
 * The 2002-2005 DVD variant was intact on the 2018 Australian DVD reprint of America's Sweethearts.
 * The website promo containing the Brazilian URL can be seen in the Brazilian VHS of The 6th Day.
 * This (or the 8th and the 7th logos for that matter) does not appear on Region 2 and 4 DVD releases of Universal Pictures films that they released on DVD; they will either go straight to the movie after the Universal warning screen of the time or use the Universal Pictures Home Entertainment logo of the time.
 * However, VHS releases in UK and Ireland still used this logo until April 2006.
 * Digital prints and TV airings of Soccer Dog: European Cup, Boa VS. Python, Frankenfish and Cruel Intentions 3 retain this at the start.
 * Some of the first DVDs to use the 2002-2005 warp-speed variant were the Australian Region 4 DVD releases of Evolution and The Animal.
 * On UK videotapes, titles with previews as well as the end of titles without previews have the VHS version appear before the warning screen, followed by the 2002 FACT "The Pirates are out to Get You!" PIF, while titles without previews have it afterward.

Legacy It's a popular logo, with many deeming it a worthy successor to the "Split Boxes" and a great finale to the Columbia TriStar name, due to the fanfare, concept and animation.

2nd Logo (2001-2002)
Logo: Same as the 2nd Columbia Tristar Home Video logo, but the background is black and the text is thinner, with "ENTERTAINMENT" replacing "VIDEO"

Variant: On a 2002 promo for DVD releases of TV shows in Sony's library, the background is white and the text is black.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening of the promo. For the 2002 variant, none.

Availability: Extremely rare. Only seen on two promos, which are a 2001 promo for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and a 2002 promo for DVD releases of TV shows in Sony's library.

Legacy: This logo is wasted as it appeared on only two promos. It also lasted about a year, which makes it short-lived. It also pays homage to the 2nd Columbia Tristar Home Video logo.

(March 24, 2005-)
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Logo: Over a set of purple clouds, we see a bright light with rays shooting outward which start to create some lens flares. A set of white lines of light appear and zoom out to solidify into the 1991 Sony Pictures Entertainment logo, which gives off rays of light. As this happens, the background turns black. The rays die down and we see "Times New Roman" in the Sony font appear below the Bars, a line is drawn underneath that, and "Times New Roman" appears underneath.

Trailer Variants: On 2005-2006 VHS releases by SPHE, one of the following phrases would fade in during the clouds portion of the animation with a male announcer (Nick Tate) saying the phrase. Afterward, the rest of the animation plays as normal.


 * Coming Soon to Theaters
 * Now Playing in Theaters
 * Coming Soon to DVD and Video
 * Now Available on DVD and Video

Afterward, a trailer with one of the following features would be played.

Variants:
 * On all Blu-rays until 2017 and some DVDs from December 26, 2005 to late 2011, the logo is much more contrasted.
 * On Flight of Fury, the logo has a slightly dark blue tint.

Technique: CGI animation by Brian Castleforte and Sean Koriacan for Imaginary Forces.

Music/Sounds: Two timpani drumbeats, followed by an uplifting horn/string arrangement. Composed by Lee Sanders.

Music/Sounds Variants:


 * Sometimes, the theme is played in a low tone.
 * On the double feature set of Annie/Annie: A Royal Adventure!, disc 1 (Annie), on both sides, has this logo with the music from the 3rd CTHV logo. That disc is likely a modified reprint of the original 1997 flipper DVD that has both widescreen and full-screen versions, which may explain this plaster oddity.
 * On the U.S. DVDs of The Fog (Full Screen Theatrical Version) Zathura, The Squid and the Whale, and most PAL releases, the theme is in a high tone.

Availability: Very common and current. Can be found on all videos released by the company from 2005 onward.
 * The print SPHE logo goes back to November 2004, and those early SPHE releases (including reprints) still have either the 1993 CTHV logo, the 2000 CTHV logo, or the 2001 CTHE logo.
 * The animated SPHE logo made its debut on the PSP UMD of Spider-Man 2 in the spring of 2005. The first DVD to have this logo was Are We There Yet?, released on May 24, 2005, and this has been present on every single Blu-ray released by Sony going back to the launch lineup on June 20, 2006.
 * The trailer variants can be considered very rare, as this logo debuted shortly before SPHE discontinued releasing titles on VHS, but they appear on VHS releases by SPHE that were released between 2005-2006, such as Guess Who, Zathura, Into the Blue, Bewitched, Layer Cake, The Amityville Horror (2005 remake), Stealth, The Marksman, Are We There Yet?, Hitch, Lords of Dogtown, The Fog (Widescreen Unrated version), Boogeyman, The Gospel, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Man of the House, xXx: State of the Union, The Legend of Zorro, Madison, Submerged, Man of the House and The Berenstain Bears VHS releases from 2005-2006 and made their final appearance on Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild.
 * However, SPHE continued to release VHS releases in South Korea until late 2010, as seen on the South Korean VHS releases of Open Season, Casino Royale, Surf's Up, Angels & Demons, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, 2012, and Salt.
 * This logo appears on TV airings of Open Season 2 and Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild and many direct-to-DVD releases on any television network.
 * It's absent on the 2017 DVD releases of Morgan Creek films.
 * It surprisingly appears at the end of Easy A if aired on any Corus Entertainment network, like Slice.