MTV Home Entertainment

Background

MTV Home Entertainment (formerly MTV Home Video) is the home entertainment arm of MTV. The company's output was originally distributed by Sony Music Video and would soon be transferred to Paramount Home Video after MTV's parent Viacom acquired Paramount in 1994. Despite this, aside from Nickelodeon releases (which Paramount started distributing in 1996), Sony continued distributing MTV releases on VHS until 2000 (international releases were distributed by CIC Video until 2000 on VHS).

1st Logo (1994-1997)

Nicknames: "Big M", "The M-Box"

Logo: We see two dressed men pulling chains away from each other, causing a box to materialize and stretch in until it forms a square shape. We then cut to a wide shot of the two men and the box, revealing that the chains are actually connected to the ends of the box. The men continue pulling, causing the box to split and form the familiar MTV "Big M" logo. When it's completely formed, the stylized "TV" letters fade in on the right side of the "M" at the same time as "HOME VIDEO", which is seen below in Arial.

FX/SFX: Stop motion animation, the appearance of the words and letters.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of dragging are heard when the men are pulling the box and a loud, echoing thud when the logo is completely formed.

Availability: Rare. Seen on early Beavis and Butt-head videos such as "Work Sucks!" and "The Final Judgment", as well as The Best of Liquid Television and The Grind workout tapes.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1997-1998)

Nickname: "The James Bond Circles"

Logo: On a black background, we see a large white circle flash on and off. Then, we see a smaller circle move in from the left of the screen, leaving behind different colored copies as it moves, a la the James Bond gun barrel sequence. Another circle does the same from the right side of the screen. Once the latter reaches the middle, yet another circle appears much closer up on the screen. A red triangle pointing towards the right with a rounded lower section moves out of the circle, which slightly widens in the process and stops in full view. Then, a finger appears and pushes the triangle, causing it to turn green with the MTV logo appearing in the circle in black, which proceeds to pulsate (like a speaker) until the screen (along with the MTV logo) becomes white and the shapes become black. The black words "home" and "video" in a sans-serif typeface slide in from the left and right sides of the screen respectively. The end product fades out and the words "stick it in. press play." in an odd, computerized font fade in and out.

FX/SFX: The circles changing colors while moving, the triangle sliding in, the finger pressing the triangle, the pulsing, and the background changing.

Music/Sounds: A James Bond-esque piece of music that tenses throughout the logo and ends in a 9-note electric guitar theme. As "stick it in. press play" fades in, the sound of a VHS tape being put into a VCR can be heard.

Availability: Seen on later Sony releases of MTV shows before Viacom took over distribution rights. Was seen on the Australian version of The Ren and Stimpy Show VHS "Incredibly Stupid Stories" (which is shown before some MTV Home Video promos), which is odd, as the VHS is from Nickelodeon (however, this could be because CIC Video distributed MTV Video releases in Australia/UK at the time).

Editor's Note: This logo definitely suits its time period and can give some nostalgia for fans of James Bond.

3rd Logo (1998-2010)

Nicknames: "M(atrix)TV", "Futuristic MTV", "Computerized MTV", "Stick It In. Press Play."

Logo: On a black background, several green rings zoom in and move around, alongside a triangle and an oval. As the oval spins, numbers change on it, going from 5 to 1 like a film countdown. Once it reaches 1, the circle rotates one more time and reveals the pre-2010 MTV logo on it. The rings disappear as the triangle moves to its normal position near the circle, and the sans-serif words "home video" flip below the logo. The entire logo floats before a green flash occurs, causing the logo to sit still as lights move over it. It was then overtaken by green static before cutting to black.

Trivia: Despite the name change to MTV Home Entertainment in 2004, newer releases tend to continue using the "home video" banner for this logo.

Variant: On VHS releases, the logo changes colors throughout, appearing in purple, blue and yellow before ending in its normal green color. The ending static animation also differs from the standard DVD version, which features a solid green color throughout. In 2003, VHS releases began using the standard DVD version.

FX/SFX: The movement of the objects, and the static.

Music/Sounds: A heavy drum-and-bass theme is heard throughout, alongside a computerized female voiceover (supplied by the "Kathy" voice in the text-to-speech program on Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X) counting down from 5 to 1, a robotic voice (supplied by the "Trinoids" novelty voice in the same text-to-speech program, albeit transposed 3 semitones higher) quickly saying "MTV HOME VIDEO!", and a robotic male voiceover (supplied by the "Fred" voice in the same text-to-speech program) saying "Stick it in. Press play.", and finally a loud bit of static.

Music/Sounds Variant: Sometimes, a 80s synth hip hop-esque theme is heard instead. The voices remains the same.

Availability: Seen on VHS releases and DVDs of MTV shows such as Beavis and Butt-head: The Mike Judge Collection, Daria: Best Friends, Jackass, MTV Yoga, and Æon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection. Some DVDs, like Daria: The Complete Animated Series, and recent MOD DVD-R releases from the company, skip this logo altogether. This first appeared on some Sony-distributed releases in 1998 including Beavis and Butt-head: Hard Cash.

Editor's Note: The text-to-speech voices and the static may unnerve some younger viewers. Nevertheless, it's a really cool logo.