Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Screener Tape/Disc Warning Screens)

Credits

Descriptions by
RSX-798

Compiled by
RSX-798

Captures by
RSX-798

Editions by
RSX-798

1st Warning (1992-2008)

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Warning: On a black background, this text fades in:

Property of
[THEN-CURRENT
COMPANY NAME].
Promotional tape only.
Sale or rental prohibited.
If you have rented or
purchased this cassette,
please call the MPAA at
1-800-NO-COPYS (US)
1-800-363-9166 (CAN)
All calls are confidential.

We fade out, and the following text scrolls up:This videocassette
is a promotional
copy and shall
forever remain the
property of
[THEN-CURRENT
COMPANY NAME]
and must be
returned on demand.
It has been
distributed on loan,
free-of-charge,
for the purpose of
promotion only
and under no
circumstances may
any person sell or
rent it to anyone,
including any
member of the
public. Any such
sale or rental may
give rise to civil and
criminal liability.

Company Names:

• 1992-2001: Columbia TriStar Home Video
• 2001-05: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
• 2005-08: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Variants:

• An early variant exists where only the U.S. number is shown and it blinks. This appears on the demo VHS versions of The Finest Hour, Single White Female, and A League of Their Own.
• On the Sony Pictures version, the text is in a different font and the phone numbers are centered correctly.
• On demo DVDs, some of the wording was altered and the font is smoother.

Technique: The fading, and the scrolling.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Sony demo tapes from 1992 onwards (with the bizarre exception of demo cassettes that lack previews, such as copies of Jerry Maguire, Ghosts of Mississippi, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland and The Patriot), right after the standard warnings. The Sony Pictures version is extraordinarily rare and can be found on demo tapes of Look at Me and The Net 2.0 (among other SPHE releases from 2005-06), which themselves are extremely rare. The DVD version was discovered on a demo disc of Just Add Water.

2nd Warning (2008- )

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Warning: On a black background, we see the following text in white:

As a valued client of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (“SPHE”) and, at your request you are about to view a screening for commercial purposes for your review and sales consideration. Pursuant to the license agreement you have entered with us, it may not be recorded, copied, redistributed or used for any purpose except as stated herein. Because piracy is a huge threat to our industry, this viewing will be individually coded with an invisible unique watermark that identifies it with you personally. If any unauthorized copies (including Internet uploads) of this movie are traced back to you, you risk disciplinary action, including termination of privileges and perhaps civil and/or criminal penalties.

Then after a few seconds, it was replaced by the following (also in white):

Thank you in advance for helping us all in our piracy fight. The unauthorized reproduction of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and ICE and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. If you have rented, purchased or downloaded this product, please call the MPAA at 1-800-No-Copys (US), 1-800-363- 9166 (CAN). All calls are confidential. With best regards, SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Technique: The cutting between two screens.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Appears on a screener DVD of Neil Young Journeys.