Surround Sound

(1996-February 21, 2006)


Logo: On a black background, we see three sets of spherical lights curving together and combining to form an "S" made out of lines. Then underneath that, the words "SURROUND SOUND" appear in a thin font.

Variants: On some tapes, the logo and the music cuts off earlier than usual, or alternately, when the logo cuts off, the music remains (in particular, the handful of Columbia TriStar VHS releases that are THX-certified contain the latter variant due to it immediately proceeding the THX "Broadway" logo).

Trivia: This logo, created by Rod Dyer Design, was intentionally designed alongside Sony's "Maximum Television" ad campaign, which featured a similar logo, animation and music; one of these ads can be seen on the 1996 VHS of Jumanji (which, ironically, lacks this logo).

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Music/Sounds: A triangle ding, a faint sweeping sound, then a "CLANG!" and an echoing female choir.

Music/Sounds Variant: On monophonic VHS tracks (ironically enough), some of the sounds, such as the sweeping sound, are omitted.

Availability: Fairly common.
 * Seen on most Columbia TriStar/Sony Pictures VHS tapes of movies made starting from 1996 that are compatible with Dolby Surround, such as Big Daddy, Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Muppets from Space, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and Kermit's Swamp Years. This was used all the way until Sony's final tapes in early 2006, with the latest known releases from them on the format being Zathura and Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild.
 * It was not seen on the 1996 Jumanji VHS (see above), but a print version exists in the back cover. It was also absent from the VHS of Spanglish.
 * While this doesn't usually appear on promotional tapes, it does appear on the demo VHS versions of As Good as It Gets and Gattaca.
 * DVD releases generally did not use this logo, but the print logo can be seen on some early releases from the time.

Legacy: This logo has been fairly popular among Sony fans.