Diamond Entertainment Corporation

Background
Diamond Entertainment Corporation, doing business as e-DMEC, is a video distributor based in Walnut, California. Founded in 1985 as Trans-Atlantic Video (also known as TAV/ATI), the company originally sold classic cartoons and black-and-white movies. After changing their name to Diamond Entertainment Corporation, they shifted their focus further towards children's programming. It was not until 1997 that DEC started selling DVDs. Their subsidiary, Jewel Products International, manufactures and distributes general merchandise, children's toys, and other sundry items, marketed towards mass merchandisers, department stores, drug stores, supermarkets, and other retail outlets. On May 4, 2007, the company was bought out by then-recently-founded Rx for Africa, Inc., which sells generic pharmaceutical products to Sub-Saharan Africa, in a reverse-merger transaction. While the company has stopped distribution of films after the takeover, they are still (legally) active, currently housing 12 employees in their California headquarters.

(1985-1987)
Logo: We see a blue and red line on top says: PRESENTED BY TAV/ATI On the bottom says: FOR A CLEARER PICTURE ADJUST VCR TRACKING

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on some LP VHS tapes.

1st Logo (1990-1998)


Logo: On a starry sky background, we see a "DEC" in 3-D. Then we see the words "DIAMOND ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION" shifting from the "DEC" to under it.

Variant: There's also a more common still version.

Technique: The moving of "DIAMOND ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION".

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be seen on tapes of TV shows and public domain cartoons, as well as the infamous video The Kids' Guide to the Internet.

Legacy: Some might be surprised to know that this is a '90s logo, because of its simple animation and retro font; this could easily pass for a late-'70s/early-'80s logo. It's also a challenge to find this logo in decent quality, as most of DEC's tapes were duplicated in EP mode.

2nd Logo (1996?)


Logo: On see a space background, we see a starry sky with a large shimmering star in the center, and a grid-like foreground. A second later the white words "DISTRIBUTED BY" (intended to be read from bottom to top) zooms in from the star and places itself onto the foreground. Shortly thereafter, a diamond wipes in in front of the star. The diamond contains the large words "DIAMOND ENTERTAINMENT" in and a small "CORPORATION" in yellow.

Technique: The zooms and the wipes; simple animation.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic synthesized fanfare.

Availability: Very rare. It appears on the Learning Treehouse videos from 1996, but it is currently unknown if it appeared on anything else.

Legacy: Again, this might be surprising for those who think this is an early-'80s logo instead of the mid-'90s. It also might surprise those who didn't know DEC had another logo due to its scarcity.

3rd Logo (1998-2004)


Logo: On a black background, we see a still logo, with a gemstone on a diamond, and under that are the words "Times New Roman". The logo sparkles, and zooms out.

Technique: The logo sparkling, and zooming out.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: A bit more wider in distribution than the first. Seen primarily on DVDs, including edited and/or full frame versions of films such as The Demon, Pieces, Slave of the Cannibal God, House by the Cemetery, Seven Doors of Death, Creature, The Black Six, Death Rides a Horse, Messiah of Evil, and The Black Gestapo, among others. This also made an surprise appearance on a Three Stooges DVD, released by TGG Direct.