BBC Video/Warning Screens

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Credits

Descriptions by
DisneyInternationalFan, XthebiglogofanX

Compiled by
DisneyInternationalFan

Captures by
XthebiglogofanX and Nate Spidgewood

Editions by
Nate Spidgewood, RSX-798 and Gilby1385

1st Screen (October 6, 1980-1981)

• 
  VHS variant
• 
  Laserdisc variant

Visuals: On a black background, the white text "THIS VIDEO CASSETTE MAY NOT BE PERFORMED IN PUBLIC BROADCAST, HIRED, LOANED, COPIED OR REPRODUCED IN ANY WAY" in seen in Futura.

Variant: On Laserdisc releases, "VIDEO CASSETTE" is replaced by "VIDEODISC". The text is also larger.

Technique: A filmed graphic with fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on BBC Video's first Laserdisc and VHS releases. ^[Examples?]

2nd Screen (1981-1984)

• 
  Normal variant
• 
  BeebTots variant

Visuals: On a black background, the following text is seen:

"THE RECORDING, COPYING, LOAN,
UNAUTHORISED HIRE, PUBLIC SHOWING
OR BROADCASTING OF THIS
BBC VIDEOGRAM, IS PROHIBITED."

The text is in an Arial font and spaced out further than the previous warning.

Variant: On the children's video BeebTots, the background is green. This reveals a black outline around the text.

Technique: A digital graphic with cross-dissolve transitions.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on BBC Video VHS, Laserdisc, and Betamax releases from the period, including the Electric Video Inc. NTSC release of The Royal Wedding.

3rd Screen (1984-1988)

• 
  Normal variant
• 
  Early variant

Visuals: On a black background, the following yellow text types in:

The recording, copying, loan,
unauthorised hire, public
showing or broadcasting
of this BBC Videogram
is prohibited.

This is then followed by light blue text:

This videogram was produced
on behalf of BBC Enterprises Ltd.

Variants:

• Earlier tapes had the text still, all in white, and spaced further out.
• The closing variant just has the warning fading in and out.
• In some cases, the closing variant would be the opening variant playing in reverse, which can be found on the 1985 UK VHS release of Doctor Who: The Five Doctors, as well as the 1985 Ivor The Engine VHS releases.
• On Cartoon Favourites (a video produced in conjunction by Marks & Spencer), the text is thinner, is all yellow, and the bottom section is also altered to credit Marks & Spencer.
  • The closing variant consists of the opening variant playing in reverse.

Technique: Chyron.

Audio: None. On some tapes however, if one listens really closely, the 1984 version of the BBC Video logo music playing over it can be heard.

Availability: Seen on BBC Video tapes from 1984 until 1988. The early version is seen on early 1984 BBC Video tapes, including the original pre-cert release of Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius and Abigail's Party.

4th Screen (June 6, 1988-November 11, 1991)

• 
  Normal variant
• 
  WHSmith Video variant (Rupert and Friends, start)
• 
  WHSmith Video variant (Rupert and Friends, end)
• 
  WHSmith Video variant (All Creatures Great and Small: The Homecoming, start)
• 
  WHSmith Video variant (All Creatures Great and Small: The Homecoming, end)

Visuals: On a black background, the orange text "The recording, copying, loan, unauthorised hire, public showing or broadcasting of this BBC Enterprises videogram is prohibited." in Times New Roman Bold flip in from darkness in. After several seconds, it flips out, segueing into the BBC Video "COW Globe" logo.

Variants:

• Like the previous warning, a still version with the warning fading in and out was used at the end of tapes.
• On BBC Video World tapes, "unauthorised hire" is replaced by "hire of any kind".
• On the WHSmith Video VHS of Rupert and Friends, the warning takes place on a white-black gradient (the background from the beginning of the WHSmith Video logo), with the words in black. At the end of the tape, it takes place on a red gradient (the background from the end of the logo), with the words in white.
• On the WHSmith Video VHS of Postman Pat and Friends, the normal colours are used, but with the BBC Enterprises reference removed.
  • On the WHSmith Video VHS of All Creatures Great and Small: The Homecoming, this variant is used, but with the same colours from the Rupert and Friends variant (although the opening variant has the text in white with a black outline instead of being in black).

Technique: Possibly CGI.

Audio: None, until the end, where the bass drone from the BBC Video "COW Globe" music starts playing.

Availability: Seen on BBC Video tapes using the "COW Globe" logo such as The Magic Roundabout 2.

• On Australian releases, the tape's OFLC rating certificate appears in place of this warning.

5th Screen (1991-June 7, 2010)

• 
  1991 variant
• 
  1995 variant
• 
  1997 variant
• 
  DVD variant

Visuals: On a black background, white text in Futura scrolls up and stops at the centre. It reads "THE RECORDING, COPYING, LOAN, UNAUTHORISED HIRE, PUBLIC SHOWING OR BROADCASTING OF THIS BBC ENTERPRISES VIDEOGRAM, IS PROHIBITED."

Variants:

• Beginning in 1995, the words "BBC ENTERPRISES" were replaced with "BBC WORLDWIDE".
• At the end of pre-1997 BBC UK VHS releases, the warning fades in and fades out. However, this does not happen on post-1997 UK VHS releases.
  • This also happens at the start of Full Circle with Michael Palin: Episode 7-10, which does not feature the tracking control warning.
• From November 1997 onwards, the font in the text is changed to Gill Sans.
• On DVD releases, the word "VIDEOGRAM" was replaced by "DVD-VIDEO".
• A 16:9 widescreen version of the DVD warning was introduced in 2000.
• A 14:9 version of the tracking control and VHS warnings was introduced in 2001. In this variant, the text on both also scrolls up slightly faster.
• On the BBC Active DVD releases, "BBC WORLDWIDE" is replaced with "BBC ACTIVE".
• At the start of the 1997 UK VHS release of Gardeners World Pocket Guide: House Plants and Winter Colour, the 1995 variant instead cuts in and fades out instead of scrolling up.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: None.

Audio Variants:

• On 1990s-era reprints of 1980s BBC Video releases (especially reprints of tapes that originally used the 1984-1988 version of the 1980 BBC Video ident), the 1984 fanfare from the 1980 BBC Video logo can be faintly heard in the background.
• At the end of some 1992-1997 tapes however, if one listens really closely, the end of the 1991 BBC Video logo's music playing over it can be heard.

Availability: Seen on BBC Video releases from the era, including all three Wallace and Gromit shorts.

• Also seen on American BBC releases by CBS-Fox Video/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment until 2000, including Blackadder's Christmas Carol and Warner Home Video starting in 2000.
• While the 2 Entertain warning would replace it on non-children's releases, the DVD variant continued to appear on children's DVD releases, with its final appearance being on LazyTown: Football Crazy!.
• The 1997 VHS variant also makes an appearance on the 2013 DVD release of the Doctor Who episode "The Ice Warriors" as part of the "VHS Links" bonus feature, due to it being taken from the 1998 VHS master.
• One of the last non-children's DVD releases that contained the DVD variant of this warning screen was the 2005 DVD release of Terry & June: Series 1, which while having 2 Entertain's logo on the packaging, came out before 2 Entertain's on-screen logo and warning screen were introduced.

6th Screen (June 25, 1997)

• 

Visuals: On a black background, white text appears fading in reading "The recording, copying, loan, unauthorised hire, public showing, or broadcasting of this DVD is strictly prohibited.". After a few seconds, it fades out.

Technique: A digital graphic with cross-dissolve transitions.

Audio: None.

Availability: This can only be seen at the beginning and at the end of the Panasonic promotional UK DVD of A Close Shave.

Final Note

After BBC Video merged in 2004 with Video Collection International, it used the 2 Entertain warning.