Surround Sound

(1996-2007) Surround Sound (1996)

Nicknames: "The Blue S", "S from Purgatory", "Blue S of Doom"

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

Trivia: The logo was created by Rod Dyer Design. It 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 VHS of Jumanji (which, ironically, lacks this logo).

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 Sony VHS releases that are THX-certified contain the latter variant due to it immediately proceeding the THX Broadway logo)

FX/SFX: The two lines combining to form the S, the words "SURROUND SOUND" appearing underneath the S.

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

Music/Sound Variants: On monophonic VHS tracks (ironically enough), some of the sounds such as the sweeping sound were omitted.

Availability: Seen on most Columbia TriStar/Sony Pictures VHS tapes of movies made from 1996-2007 that are compatible with Dolby Surround, such as Big Daddy, Close Encounters of The Third Kind, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, and Thomas and the Magic Railroad. It was not seen on the Jumanji VHS, but a print version exists in the back cover. It was also absent from the VHS of Spanglish. Also seen on a few DVDs from the time, mostly from the logo's early years.

Editor's Note: This logo has been fairly popular among Sony fans, but has also been known for it's eerie audio scaring some.