Surround Sound

Logo (1996-February 21, 2006)

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

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

Variant: On some tapes, the logo cuts off earlier than usual.

Depending on the release, when the logo cuts off, the music cuts off as well or keeps playing (in particular, the handful of Columbia TriStar VHS releases that are THX-certified (e.g. Men in Black) contain the latter variant due to it immediately proceeding the THX "Broadway" logo, as does the VHS release of Matilda, a non THX-certified release).

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A triangle ding, a faint sweeping sound, then a "clang" and an echoing female choir.

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

Availability:

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 last releases from them on the format being Zathura and Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild.
It was absent from the 1996 VHS release of Jumanji (see above), but a print version can be found on 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.