Warner Home Video

Logos[]

1st logo (1980-1986)[]

June 1980-February 1981: We start out with a very big \\' logo (that is white with a blue "tube") that fills the entire screen. It then zooms back slightly. Then above the logo, the words "WCI HOME VIDEO" between two horizontal lines appear, followed by a much smaller \\' logo besides "A Warner Communications Company". The logo fades from black after the standard FBI warning screen and has a more grainy film-like quality to it. The \\' logo is slightly bigger than on the later version of the logo.
September 1980-January 1986: Same as before, but now the quality is improved, the "WCI" in "WCI HOME VIDEO" is replaced with "WARNER," and the warning now cuts directly to the logo. The \\' is a little smaller as well, and the film scratches are gone.

Variants[]

A variation exists in which the now-white logo is placed on a blue-purple background. The byline is in a different typeface as well.
On Australian Warner Home Video releases of United Artists films, the \\' is even smaller and is shifted to the top half of the screen, and on the bottom half is the "WARNER HOME VIDEO" text. The logo is completely still this time.
A Spanish version of this logo has the blue circle zoom away from the screen and each section of the "\\'" animates. An asterisk and the "WARNER HOME VIDEO" line appears (there is no fade in). The asterisk then refers to the phase: "Marca Registrada de Warner Communications Inc."
A French version of the logo has the original animation intact, but the text "WARNER HOME VIDEO" and the byline are smaller and in a different font.
On the 1981 VHS of The Prisoner of Second Avenue (one of the first tapes to be released under Warner Home Video, although it was produced as a WCI title), the logo cuts right to the 1972 movie logo right after "WCI HOME VIDEO" fades in.

2nd logo (1985-1999; 1985-2007 in Argentina)[]

Over a time-lapsed animation of clouds, the camera zooms out between the tops of some gold-colored letters and the bottom of a gold plank. The camera then zooms out and the logo turns towards us, revealing that it is the words "WARNER HOME VIDEO", with two lines above it and two lines below it. It then zooms out to the bottom of the screen, followed by a giant WB Shield logo appearing from the top of the screen, slightly tilted to the bottom, then rotating to face us. The Warner byline fades in at the bottom of the screen. "Sparkles" appear and white "reflections" appear on the logo.

Variants[]

There exists a rare still version of the logo, which can be found on certain Kidsongs videos and Batman Returns (though the UK release of the latter used the normal bylineless logo).
On some UK rental tapes, like Lost in America and Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, when the logo animation is finished, the logo splits in two horizontally down the middle, then the two sides compress up and down, respectively, revealing "COMING SOON" on the blue bqckground.
There is a prototype variant of this logo with a different time-lapse cloud background. Stills of this appeared on Warner Bros. trailers that used them to plaster the original WBP logo. If you look closely at it, you'll notice that the clouds seem to be unused footage from the regular version.
There is yet another different cloud background, which uses additional footage from the very source of the regular background. This can be seen on the home video trailers for Daffy Duck's Quackbusters, Lethal Weapon 2, Chasers, A Time to Kill, and Tin Cup.
There is a very rare promo variant where the giant WB shield rises up from the top and rotates to face forward, then zooms out slightly. In this version, there is no company name or byline. This can be seen on a June 1989 dealer preview tape and on a promotional feature on Batman Forever for its upcoming VHS release in October 1995. A slightly extended version was seen on a promo for Clint Eastwood movies on the original VHS release of The Dead Pool, and on various promotional trailers on its demo tapes, where the shield zooms out and disappears into the clouds.
On Australian videos from the 1980s, the logo fades away to a different cloud background. It has "At Home With The Hits" in cursive and arched, with the words "PREVIEW ATTRACTION" sandwiched between sets of two lines. All are gold and the cloud background eases back.
A grayscaled version can be found on B&W releases such as VHS tapes of Maverick (1957).
On Mexican Spanish tapes of The Never Ending Story II: The Next Chapter and Space Jam, we see the finishing logo (with the Time Warner byline, strange for the latter film), except the shield animates like the reversed promo variant. This can also be seen on some film promos on their demo tapes.
A CGI demo reel from 1997 shows a shiny version of the shield on a dark marble background. The words flip into place from the sides and center, and then the lines slide in from the sides.
On later Mexican videotapes, like Amadeus and Conspiracy Theory, the logo fades in fully formed and fades out a while later.
On a 1993 Japanese VHS of Unforgiven, the logo doesn’t fade in until after the first note of the music.
At the end of a 1993 "Hot 10" promo reel, send on the demo tapes of Under Siege and Pure Country, a somewhat desaturated, frozen-in-progress version of the logo appeared.
On a promotional trailer for Pure Country, which appears on its 1993 demo VHS, the logo is intercut with scenes of Dusty Chandler (George Strait) walking on stage.

3rd logo (1990-present)[]

Against a backdrop of clouds, a clear WB shield with a wordless banner slowly fades into view. Then the words "WARNER HOME VIDEO" are wiped onto the banner as the colors slowly appear on the shield.

Variants[]

A full-screen version exists on VHS releases from late 1996 through 2006, and full-screen DVD releases from 1997 through mid 2010. The clouds toss about, just like on the AOL Time Warner version, and as the shield brightens, it completely covers the clouds, and the shield is gigantic.
A widescreen version exists on widescreen DVDs starting in 1997 through mid 2010 (except for Tango & Cash, which uses the 4:3 variant on both its full-screen and widescreen sides. The first three volumes of Ben 10: Alien Force, and all DVDs of Bakugan Battle Brawlers uses the 4:3 variant as well.). The shield is slightly smaller, but still big, the cloud background is a little different, and the clouds are more spread out, and as the shield brightens, they pass by and get puffier. The remaining six volumes uses this variant, starting with Ben 10: Alien Force: Volume 4.
In 1998, as with other Warner labels, a 75th Anniversary version was used. This contained a smaller shield with the banner reading "WARNER BROS.", and featured a giant "75" behind it. "YEARS ENTERTAINING THE WORLD" is seen below with "YEARS" a bit bigger and in spaced-out letters. This logo appeared at the front of tapes from the year and some home video trailers (after the previews, the regular logo was used, though What's Up, Doc? only used the 75th Anniversary variation).
A rare version had a still logo in the style of the 1992 WB logo with the Warner Home Video banner replacing the Warner Bros Pictures banner and the Time Warner Entertainment byline below that. It appeared on an ad for Cats Don't Dance which was used on the VHS releases of Shiloh and The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain, and was also seen on the trailers on the VHS releases of Lone Star, The Spitfire Grill, and Extreme Measures.
On some late-2000s home video trailers, a similar variant to the above was used, with the 2003 Time Warner byline, the actual WHV logo, and a darker version of the 1998 Warner Bros. Pictures logo's cloud background.
- A home video trailer for Body of Lies features the original trailer's variation, but with the banner instead reading "WARNER HOME VIDEO."
Some early releases in late 2001 with the AOL Time Warner byline have the byline sloppily chyroned in over the standard variant (this is actually the 1997 widescreen variant with a byline added). Also, the byline's fade out is also out-of-sync with that of the video behind it in this version. This can be seen on Uprising.
There is a full screen version of the AOL Time Warner variant, with wide angle lens, which can be spotted on the 2004 DVD of Leapfrog presents: Math Circus, as well as VHS releases.
A widescreen version with AOL Time Warner byline can be seen on widescreen DVDs from 2003-early 2004.
Another full screen AOL Time Warner variant had the logo cropped to 16:9 then 4:3, seen on many fullscreen DVDs from 2003-early 2004.
On all Blu-ray, HD-DVD, and 2010-17 DVD releases, the sky background is zoomed in by 20%. For Blu-ray, HD-DVD, as well as 2010-17 fullscreen DVDs, the Warner Home Video shield is zoomed out 10%. Most Blu-ray releases from 2006-09 have the aspect ratio in 2:35:1.
On some retailer promo reels, the logo is superimposed over a random shot from any movie in a given promotion. For example, on the 2000 demo VHS of Liberty Heights, the "Warner Power Lease June" promo features the logo superimposed over a prison shot from The Green Mile, which was being advertised in the reel. (The standard logo appears twice throughout the reel.)
On a home video trailer for Constantine, the logo is tinted in dark orange.
On a home video trailer for Matchstick Men, which can be found on the 2004 VHS of Grind, the AOL Time Warner variant is presented in scope. It then peels away.
On a home video trailer for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the logo is tinted in aquamarine.
On a home video trailer for Million Dollar Baby, the logo is in black and white.
On a home video trailer for Mama's Boy, the logo is set against a black background.
On a home video trailer for Batman Begins, the logo is tinted in brown.

4th logo (2017-)[]

Same as the 3rd Warner Home Video logo, except the sky background is different, and the logo seems to be in a more 3D look with the colors looking more solid along with the text on the banner being replaced with "HOME ENTERTAINMENT".

Variant[]

An open matte version exists.

5th logo (2021-; upcoming)[]

TBA.

Music/Sounds[]

1st logo: None.

Music/Sounds Variants[]

On the 1981 VHS of The Wanderers, the film's opening theme begins a second before the byline fades in.
On the 1985 VHS of The Exorcist, the film's opening music starts to play as the logo fades out.
A Canadian VHS of Casablanca has the second half of the United Artists "Turning UA" music playing over the logo, whilist the first half plays late in the preceding INTERPOL warning screen.
On some UK tapes with previews, the logo has music and a stoic, oddly American man. Before the first trailer, the man says "Some other great titles from the small screen. From Warner Home Video." After the last one, he says "The titles you have just seen are available on VHS and Betamax. Ask your local stockists for details. Warner… Home Video."

2nd logo: A proud, bombastic synthesized rendition of the 1937 Warner Bros. fanfare, which really fits the logo. As a side note, a lusher orchestrated version was briefly used as the fanfare for the movie WB shield when it returned to usage in 1984. Silent for the still and Mexican versions.

Music/Sounds Variants[]

On the 1990 Laserdisc of S.O.B., it is silent.
Home video trailers have their own audio playing over it.
On a 1994 French Canadian VHS of Creepshow, the movie's opening theme plays over the logo.

3rd logo: A quiet piano tune with two instrument ending types:

Acoustic strings: This is used for all VHS releases as well as Laserdiscs and UMD Video releases. It was used on most stereo DVDs, but some 5.1 DVDs like Scooby-Doo (2002) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone use this variant. It also appeared on television releases like DVDs of all six seasons of The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Ben 10. It also appears on certain PBS Kids VHS and DVD releases, as well as the earliest Peanuts DVDs released under Warner. Some DVDs of vintage movies, like Hero At Large, Deliverance, Bloodsport, Fingers, True Romance (movie and special features discs) and Bronco Billy use this variant, though some vintage films like Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, and The Wizard of Oz use the synth strings variant. The acoustic strings version can also be heard on the special features discs of films like 300, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Amadeus, Dirty Harry, The Phantom of the Opera, and Natural Born Killers: The Director's Cut (the movie discs use the synth strings version), though on the 2005 release of Heat and more recent 2-disc releases such as Mad Max: Fury Road and Creed, both discs feature the synth strings version. The acoustic strings version can also be seen on some DVDs of Hanna-Barbera TV movies like Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, and A Flintstones Christmas Carol. It also was found on all four Atomic Betty volume DVDs, released in 2005 as well. DVDs of Ben 10: Alien Force uses this variant on the logo
Synth strings: All 5.1 DVDs and Blu-ray releases use this variant. On North American releases, it sounds more dual. The dual is sometimes used on DVD's that have the format screen after the logo. The dual synth strings version appears on Harry Potter DVDs (except The Sorcerer's Stone, which uses the acoustic strings, and The Chamber of Secrets, which uses the low tone AOL Time Warner Company acoustic strings) and can also be seen on titles such as The Polar Express, The Phantom of the Opera, 300, March of the Penguins, The Ant Bully, Happy Feet, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Clifford's Really Big Movie, some DVDs of Hanna-Barbera TV movies like Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, Scooby-Doo Pirates Ahoy, Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster and Chill Out Scooby-Doo!, 2001: A Space Odyssey, later DVDs of Peanuts, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry and Scooby-Doo, as well as the Blu-ray complete series set of Friends, and the DVD release of Friends: The One with All the Parties.

Music/Sounds Variants[]

Sometimes on the NTSC AOL Time Warner version, the acoustic strings theme is in a lower pitch. This can be found on such VHS and DVD releases as Uprising, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, A Walk to Remember (VHS only), Scooby-Doo (VHS only), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, A Mighty Wind, Space Jam (2003 DVD only; retained on a 2010 reprint), Kangaroo Jack, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, South Park: The Original Unaired Pilot, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as well as the first Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set and Looney Tunes: Stranger Than Fiction, and some PBS Kids releases like Teletubbies: Silly Songs and Funny Dances, Caillou: At His Best, Caillou: Big Brother Caillou, and all Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat releases, which is immediately followed by the "kidsvideo" variant of the PBS Kids logo.
On screener tapes of The Replacements and Mickey Blue Eyes, and the 1997 Warnervision Entertainment release of The Chain (1996), which Warner Home Video released, the full screen logo is used with the low tone acoustic strings theme.
On the 2003 DVD release of Dennis the Menace, the widescreen 2002 AOL Time Warner byline version uses the regular pitched acoustic strings theme.
On the 2003 DVD of Caillou's Holiday Movie, the full screen AOL Time Warner variant also uses the regular pitch acoustic strings version, at the beginning after the FBI warning, and at the end after the Cinar logo.
On a small number of Blu-rays, such as Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, and Contact, the theme is off-sync. It's also like this on the 2007 "Complete Collector's Edition" Blu-ray of Blade Runner, where discs 2 ("Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner") and 4 ("Enhancement Archive") feature an off-sync theme as well. Coincidentally, both discs are DVDs, featuring bonus material. (The other three discs, all Blu-ray discs featuring different versions of the movie, have the theme play normally.)
On the 2004 BBC Video release of A Room With a View, the acoustic strings theme warps in the last second.
A silent version appears on the DVD release of The Big Red One (exact version unknown).
On an European DVD of Friday After Next, the music appears to be a hybrid of acoustic and synth strings.

Descriptive Video Service VHS Voiceover Variants[]

A DVS narrator describes the logo: "In a logo, clouds swirl in a blue sky. The letters WB appear in a golden shield. Warner Home Video."
- For AOL Time Warner era releases, however, the narrator adds "An AOL Time Warner Company" to the description.
- Examples include Rena Baskin on Driving Miss Daisy, Kria Sakakeeny on The Wizard of Oz, Peter Haydu on The Matrix, Nick Mills on Unforgiven, Miles Neff on Scooby-Doo, The Matrix Reloaded and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Wendie Sakakeeny on The Color Purple, and Pat Lentz on Two Weeks Notice.

4th logo[]

A "remastered" version of the NTSC AOL Time Warner variant of last WHV logo. Some releases use the regular pitch.

5th logo[]

TBA.

Scare Factor[]

1st logo[]

Minimal to low. The fade-in from the black background to the logo on 1980-1981 tapes and the jarring cut to the logo on 1981-1986 tapes may startle a few.