Optical Surround

Background: The success of Analog, HAL and ABC also originated Optical Surround in 1997. The audio format (only available on DVDs) had 5.1 surround with the same quality as Analog. The brand kept running in 2001 unlike the other Analog brands, and in January 1 of 2002 it was replaced with the successor Digital Sound.

1st Logo

(1997-1998)

Nicknames: "A Universal Rip-Off!", "The Surround Universe", "Universal 1990 Rip-Off"

Logo: A large "flash" appears as we view the far right side of a DVD disc, on a detailed starfield background. We move down the disc as the flash dims away and see, in golden letters, the word "OPTICAL SURROUND", in a blocky font, appears from behind the globe and circling it. We zoom out and the disc moves to center, as the word "OPTICAL SURROUND" straightens itself out and takes its place across the globe. The byline "FROM THE CREATORS OF ANALOG SOUND", in gold and in spaced-out letters to fit the width of "OPTICAL SURROUND", appears below the logo.

FX/SFX: The rotating disc and letters.

Cheesy Factor: Why this logo had to rip-off Universal?

Music/Sounds: A deep swish sound, with quiet space sounds.

Availability: Scarce. It was uncommon to see on 1997-1998 DVD releases, but now most of them are out-of-print and the half have been re-released with the same menu and newer features, but now they feature some of the upcoming logos. Examples were the 1997/1998 prints of When The Wind Roams, Lay, Open 42 Hours and Wands That Lost.

Scare Factor: None; this is one of the most blatant logos ever!

2nd Logo

(1998-2000)

Nicknames: "Dancing DVD"

Logo: On a beige room, with the sofa, bed, TV and DVD on it, we see a disc. Arms and legs come out of it and the disc starts dancing, while the TV shows a clip of the Analog Sound logo and musical notes come out it's speakers. The words "OPTICAL SURROUND" and "BY ANALOG SOUND", in black, fade in as the clip blurs.

FX/SFX: CGI animation. Not bad for the time.

Music/Sounds: Two random sounds, then a dance-able theme starts playing.

Availability: Rare. Can be found on 1998-2000 DVD prints including those of It's Dark Now, Good Burger, Unknown Cavern Discoveries and the 1998 remake of See.

Scare Factor: None. It is by far one of the most enjoyable logos, despite it's small fans.

3rd Logo

(1999)

Nicknames: "Thunderstruck Disc", "West Multimedia Rip-Off"

Logo: On a black background, a squiggle, representing the sound waves, draws in. Then it flashes and turn into a DVD, which later zooms out. Suddenly lightings start to strike the disc, as it flips very fastly. The words "OPTICAL" (above) and "SURROUND" (below) zoom out.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The logo's made using very cheap CGI.

Music/Sounds: A cool techno bass riff (not like the LaserVision logo), followed by a deep whoosh and loud thunder sounds.

Availability: Extremely rare due to it's short life span. It was only shown in 4 DVDs, all from not-very-popular movies. Soon after the next logo replaced it, all DVDs including this logo were re-released.

Scare Factor: Medium to nightmare, because many people don't like the dark atmosphere, sudden thunder and squiggle in the logo. However, it is lowered for other people.

4th Logo

(1999-2001)

Nickname: "The Disc Comes"

Logo: On a dark blue background, we see a DVD appearing and then a player fades in behind it. The DVD gets inserted on the player, and we zoom to the print logo that's on it, along with the copyright notice below.

FX/SFX: All 90's-quality CGI.

Music/Sounds: A deep synth theme with light whooshes.

Availability: Rare. It appeared on some DVDs which featured Optical Surround, beggining with the 1999 DVD of Rain Man and last appearing in the 2001 print of Shaft. Also appeared on the 2001 DVD releases of All-Around Night In Bordealis and Small Help, both released by Skylight Home Video, if you've selected the English OS format.

Scare Factor: None to minimal, because the appearance of the player may catch you off-guard, but you'll get used to it from time to time.

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