Dolby Surround

This article is about Dolby Surround. For other uses, see Dolby (disambiguation).

Credits

Descriptions by
M.B. Walker, iheartparamount, BenIsRandom, dogekid44, DaBigLogoCollector, AlbertoTheMonkey and others

Captures by
Guillermo A. Martínez, DaBigLogoCollector and Gameboi64

Editions by
M.B. Walker, iheartparamount, BenIsRandom, dogekid44, DaBigLogoCollector, AlbertoTheMonkey and others

1st Logo (Still variants) (1975-2002)

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Visuals: Superimposed in the opening or closing credits of a movie or a show is "presented in" in Arial Italic font. Below it, there is the "DD" Dolby symbol and next to it is "DOLBY SURROUND" in a box. This may not count as it's just part of the credits, whereas the ones below aren't.

Game Variants:

• On the first Burnout game, the logo appears on a white background and "SURROUND" is below the box.
• Need for Speed 2 has the same logo, but it moves into the screen with engine sounds, and the floor has several lighted circles it passes by.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: The closing/opening theme of a movie or show.

Availability:

• The opening variant appears on various television shows that use the sound format, such as Series 5 of Thomas & Friends, episodes of The Simpsons on FOX, and the British series Stars in their Eyes on ITV from the time period as well.
• Appeared in games, too (for example, the still version was seen on Krazy Ivan).

2nd Logo (The Best Sound All Round!/Fred variant) (1989)

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Visuals: The sequence starts in a room with a sleeping cat and a goldfish. Then some guy crashes in the front door carrying a box with the "DOLBY SURROUND" logo on it. The camera zooms into the "DD" on the box and out of the "DD" button on his remote, which he then presses, resulting in sound waves striking toward his speakers around him. His room turns into a movie theater to the guy and cat's surprise, but the former starts watching the film and eating popcorn and the latter just looks on disinterested. The theater then turns into a stormy sea, as the cat is pulled underwater and the guy is being thrown around, eventually being briefly pulled in. He then presses the remote, turning the sea into a rock concert where he dances to the music as the cat jumps around. The guy presses the remote again, sending the two (the cat in an astronaut suit) to outer space, where a laser-shooting spaceship floats over them. Finally, the guy switches to a blank background, where he and the cat suddenly fall out of the shot. The "DOLBY SURROUND" logo appears with the text "The Best Sound All Round!" in drawn text that shakes. The cat walks from the right to the left with a sack. "Produced by Capstone Films and Wibbly Wobbly Films" (the animation companies) appears below.

Technique: Cel animation, produced by the aforementioned companies.

Audio: A calm, weird synth cartoon ditty plays throughout which turns into rousing orchestral music, and then a version of the ditty with the orchestra and more synths, which resumes when the Dolby logo appears. Strange synth or cartoon sounds correspond to the animation. These sounds are placed on certain sides or pan around to demonstrate surround sound.

Availability: It can be seen on the aforementioned Dolby Consumer Guide to Home Theater VHS and possibly other promotional/demo releases.

3rd Logo (1991-2001 (2005 in Germany and 2009 in Thailand))

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  PHILIPS variant
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  Spanish variant
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  French variant
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  German variant
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  Italian variant (in scope)
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  Armored Fist 2 variant

Visuals: There is "DD" doors closed on the whole screen, as they open wide and "SURROUND" floats by, then returns in opposite direction through the doors' holes. After this, "DOLBY" flies through the same door holes and the two words meet in distance. The doors close and move to the left, while the name is taken inside the rectangle. "PRESENTED IN" appears above (in different languages, depending on the country).

Variants:

• A shortened version exists where the "DD" doors open right to when the "DOLBY" and "SURROUND" words meet in distance.
• The "PRESENTED IN" text was also altered on some releases.
• The variant seen on Armored Fist 2 is a recreation of the short version, made with the game's own graphics capacity. The same background can be seen, and the logo is the same, albeit with all the text in a bold Helvetica font, plus cheaper animation, due to the graphic limitations.
• International versions exist that translate the "PRESENTED IN" text. "PRÉSENTÉ EN" for France, "PRESENTADO EN" for Spain, "PRÄSENTIERT IN" for Germany and "PRESENTATO IN" for Italy.
• A Polish variant exists where the Philips logo and text fade in below the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A quiet synth drone and bell toll to start, and a quiet 4-note string-section and synth jingle. Whooshing sounds are heard as the words and the rectangle fly around. The jingle ends with the bell toll and synth chimes before fading out to silence.

Audio Variant: On the shortened version, after the quiet synth drone and bell toll, the string-section and synth jingle are shortened to 2 notes before the synth chimes come in earlier.

Availability:

• It appears at the beginning of Spunky's First Christmas, Spunky's Circus Adventure and Spunky's Camping Adventure. It also appears on foreign VHS tapes in the UK and France, as well as the game Armored Fist 2.
• Some Psygnosis Playstation games contain this logo, like G-Police.
• The shortened version can be seen at the beginning of the Dolby Consumer Guide to Home Theater VHS from 1991.
• It also appeared for a short time in a Chuck E Cheese's in Dallas, Texas from 1996-1997.
• VHS tapes in Germany would continue to use this logo until 2005 and CVD International/MVD Company Limted VCDs have this logo until 2009.
• This can also be seen on various PAL Laserdisc releases from Pioneer Entertainment.
• It was also seen on the Spanish LaserDisc release of Toy Story.

4th Logo (Wing Commander III variant) (1995)

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Visuals: On a black background, the pieces of the Double D symbol in a rocky gold texture can be seen falling from the screen. The letters of "DOLBY SURROUND", all in the same texture, soon follow suit as the all land at random points of the screen. When they collide with the invisible surface, the Ds create a purple ripple of light while the letters create a green one. After they each land, the symbol and letters start fading out one by one, as the background suddenly turns into a purple and blue wavy background. A few red and yellow waves then quickly appear and disappear, revealing the Dolby Surround logo, with text in Helvetica, which quickly zooms in. The background then turns black before the logo fades out.

Technique: 90s CGI.

Audio: Loud whooshes as the symbol and letters fall down, with shiny sounds as they touch the ground and glow, before another shimmer when the Dolby Surround logo is revealed.

Availability: It has only been spotted on 3DO prints of Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, making this somewhat of an exclusive variant.

5th Logo (CANAL+ Poland variant) (1999-2004)

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Visuals: On a black background, there is a yellow flash with a lens-flare like effect along with the Dolby logo zooming out. Then as the Dolby logo stops, the flare moves to the "DD" symbol and quickly goes out. As that happens is that the "DOLBY SURROUND" logo is being wiped in with a white shimmer. Then, the logo fades out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The last part of the music from the City trailer.

Availability: Has been used on CANAL+ Poland to indicate a Dolby film.

6th Logo (2000s)

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Visuals: On a black background there is a light that reveals the Dolby Surround logo, which appears to be gray. Suddenly, the light disappears and finally, it opens at full view and becomes golden with "SURROUND" below.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Same as before.

Availability: Shown on home video releases from various companies, such as the Italian VHS release of The Scorpion King.

7th Logo (Wizard) (2002-2009)

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Visuals: In a hallway, there is a wizard standing in front of a giant hole in the floor. A clod and a wave of white particles comes out of it, with the wave sweeping across the floor as the "DOLBY SURROUND" logo in blue zooms into the camera and the cloud pushing particles into the air.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Whooshes and hums.

Availability: Available on the Dolby Demo Disc "Explore Our World: We've Got the Whole World Listening".

8th Logo (Das Erste variants) (2008-2009)

Visuals:

• First version: In a blue wavy background which is divided in two asymmetrical sides, a light with two sides can be seen on the left, right inbetween the division. The text "SURROUND" then comes from the light, going to the right then coming back through the left. The light then dies down to reveal the Dolby Surround logo, which then very slowly zooms in towards the camera, then stopping at a point.
• Second version: In a different background with white and blue waves, two thin horizontal rectangles quickly come from above and below the screen, meeting at the right. These two rectangles are revealed the be the two pieces of the Dolby "Double-D" symbol. The rest of the components that form the Dolby Surround logo then appear by fading in and zooming in, as the logo stays there for a few more seconds.

Technique: Mostly 2D animation done on computers.

Audio: Both versions have the same soundtrack of a whoosh at the start, then a quiet ambient piece playing as the narrator says that the presentation is available in Dolby Surround.

Availability: It was seen in channels of the ARD network in Germany during 2008 and 2009.