Macrovision

Production Logos Warning Screens

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Credits

Editions by
mr3urious and Muzzarino

Video captures courtesy of
The AVTB Archives and ahatbears

Background

Macrovision is a copy-protection system from the company Macrovision Solutions Corporation, first used on the 1985 VHS/Betamax/LaserDisc of The Cotton Club. On July 16, 2009, the company changed its name to Rovi. On September 8, 2016, Rovi acquired TiVo and changed its name to the latter. Until the 1997 VHS release of Keys to Tulsa, Macrovision didn't use an animated logo, just warning screens.

Logo (September 2, 1997-2007)

• 
• 
  French variant

• 
  The "CP" triangle
• 
  Website variant

Visuals: On a black background, a pink metallic triangle with "cp" on it (which stands for "copy protected" or "copy protection") zooms out and rotates from the bottom left to the center. Some clouds and sandy dunes are reflected onto the triangle, which shines, causing it to turn gold. Then a flash appears on the center to swallow the triangle up in order to serve room for the logo, and "MACROVISION QUALITY PROTECTION" (in Eurostile LT Std Condensed font) zooms out, with a smaller triangle next to it. An upside-down triangle replaces the V in "MACROVISION", and after it zooms out, the triangle shines with a "ping" and the text "QUALITY PROTECTION" starts to glow. In the background of the triangle and "MACROVISION", there is what appears to be a background of a desert and a cloudy sky (and if one watches closely, a watery oasis near the bottom of the desert as the text zooms out).

Trivia: Although this logo did appear at the end of the UK DVD release of Makaton Nursery Rhymes, the disc itself isn't actually copy-protected. The logo's inclusion is most likely a mistake considering that Universal released it to the format.

Variant: A French version exists where after the triangle shines, it cuts away and fades in on the finished logo with the triangle stuck on the light and the text and the quality protection text blacked out and is replaced by "Protection de la qualite". This can be seen on the VHS release of The Eighth Day.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A mellow synth tune (composed in E major), ending with a held-out note (composed in C♭ major).

Audio Variants:

• From 2003-05, a silent version was used on VHS (the DVD counterparts all had the theme). This has been spotted on the 2003-05 VHS releases of Hulk, Love Actually, Along Came Polly, and Friday Night Lights.
• On some Universal Pictures UK DVDs the logo is out-of-sync with the music, with it starting as the triangle shines.

Availability: Seen at the end of Universal Studios Home Entertainment DVD releases from 2000-2007, as well as most VHS releases from 2000-2006, and at the beginning of PolyGram Video/USA Home Entertainment VHS and DVD releases from 1997-2002 (although the DVD releases of Gosford Park, Maybe Baby and One Night at McCools have the logo at the end) except for the retail VHS release of Barney's Great Adventure, which doesn't use the logo, though it does appear at the beginning of the movie's demo VHS tapes and DVDs (including reprints).

• • Although the print logo appears on the packaging of every UK DVD released between 2000 and 2007, most DVD's released between 2000-2004 don't feature this logo (except DVD's that have either the Deluxe Digital Studios, Ritek Digital Studios or Warner Advanced Media Operations logos). However, nearly all DVD's released between 2005 and 2007 do feature this logo at the end.
• It was also shown at the beginning of HBO Home Video VHS releases from 2000-2002, such as 61*, Band of Brothers, Do You Believe In Miracles?, and several volumes of The Sopranos.
• It has also been spotted on Popular Mechanics for Kids and Mommy and Me DVDs, and even at the end of certain prints of Maisy Makes Music (which even has an MPAA "G" rating screen before it, despite being a TV show).
• A few BBC Video UK VHS releases from 1999-2000 also use this logo at the beginning, such as My Friend Angelmouse, Only Fools & Horses: Mother Nature's Son, Tweenies: Animal Friends and Song Time!, Teletubbies and the Snow, Adventures with Romuald the Reindeer, Comedy Legends: Ronnie Barker, Dad’s Army: The Face on the Poster, and Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side.
• It was seen at the beginning of the 2004 U.S. DVD of Fangoria Blood Drive: Volume 1 from Koch Vision.
• It was also seen at the beginning of numerous Canadian Alliance Atlantis DVDs from 2000-2005 (with the exception of New Line Cinema and Miramax Films releases).
• It also appears on the 2001 VHS and DVD releases of WTC: The First 24 Hours and the Grizzly Adams Productions, Inc. VHS release of Millennium Fears: Fact or Fiction?.
• It also appears at the beginning of UK DVDs from Carlton Video, such as Oliver Twist (1948), In Which We Serve, King of New York, The Red Shoes, The Ipcress File, A Town Like Alice, Porridge: The Movie, several Thunderbirds volumes and Capricorn One.
• It also appears at the end of the 2005 DVD of Dan Zanes & Friends: All Around the Kitchen from Festival Five Records.
• It appeared at the end of a December 2001 ABC Family (now Freeform) airing of Must Be Santa (1999).
• The print logo appears on the back of Video Collection International and early 2 Entertain UK DVDs from 2000 to 2005, and Channel 4 UK DVDs from 2006 to 2009 but the on-screen logo doesn't appear on them.
• It was seen at the beginning of the international PolyGram Video/Universal Pictures Home Entertainment VHS and DVD releases from 1998-2000.
• It was also used as a GIF on an old version of the company's website.
• It makes an appearance on the 2010 DVD release of It's a Very Muppet Christmas Movie, alongside the Deluxe Digital Studios logo.

Legacy: While Macrovision itself is regarded as a nuisance by A/V enthusiasts, this logo is nevertheless a favorite of many due to its calming music and nature.

See Also

• Macrovision (Warning Screens)