A&E Home Entertainment

A&E Home Video

1st Logo (1989-1993)

Logo: Basically a combination of some of the 1989 A&E ident's variations. At the end, the A&E logo appears on a lighter spotlight.

FX/SFX: A mix of CGI and superimposed live-action. The CGI is made by Viewpoint on an SGI computer with Alias Research.

Music/Sounds: A synth tune backing a jazzy melody. At the end, Hal Douglas welcomes the viewer to the A&E Home Video library.

Availability: Seen on a 1990s VHS release of The Jewel in the Crown.

2nd Logo (1993-1997)

Logo: Same as the long version of the 1993 A&E ident, except "HOME VIDEO" appears under the logo instead of "TIME WELL SPENT".

Variant: On some releases, the standard version is used, which gets enclosed in a golden picture frame. "Home VIDEO" then zooms out and lands underneath the logo.

FX/SFX: Live-action and CGI.

Music/Sounds: A piano-driven theme with jazzy elements, sound effects corresponding to various on-screen actions, and bells at the end. The variant has a triumphant orchestral fanfare which was also used for for A&E's "Time Well Spent" campaign of the time.

Availability: Seen on their VHS releases of the time, such as Biography.

3rd Logo (1996-2001)

Logo: After a white-brown flash, the A&E logo in bronze is seen against a background of many TV screens showing various A&E shows. It pans until arriving in the center, then after a flash of light on the top-right and bottom-left corners of the logo, "HOME VIDEO" in chiseled silver appears underneath.

FX/SFX: CGI over live-action footage, designed by William Snyder.

Music/Sounds: A triumphant orchestral fanfare, composed by Larry Groupe.

Availability: Seen on 1996-2001 releases from A&E Home Video, most notably Monty Python's Flying Circus.

4th Logo (2001-2004)

Logo: There is several tan glassy squares with live-action footage on them that switches angles each time. Then the scene wipes in from the left, as they form the company logo at the time as a lens flare appears. Another one wipes in the small text "AETV.com" (or "AandE.com") underneath. The finishing background has the colored squares with hints of blue at the top-left. The logo zooms out a bit.

FX/SFX: A mix of CGI and superimposed live-action.

Music/Sounds: A mystical choir theme which was also used for A&E's "Escape The Ordinary" campaign of the time.

Availability: Seen on releases at the time, such as season 3 of Homicide: Life on the Street.

5th Logo (2004-2008)

Logo: On a black background, several yellow lines form and rotate, making wave-like things in the process. The background fades to brown with several streaks in the background, as a gold ampersand forms. A white streak goes through it, forming the A&E logo. Then, "Home Video" appears letter-by-letter from the right with a light behind the said text, as the URL from before fades and zooms out. The background continues to animate before the screen fades out.

Variants:

• Sometimes, the URL is replaced with a copyright notice or the URL is absent.
• A sped up version also exists with the first half playing in warp speed while the 2nd half plays normally.

FX/SFX: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A triumphant orchestral fanfare with drums. The sped up version uses a rearranged version of the fanfare.

Availability: Seen on later releases from A&E Home Video. It also appears on the two featurettes on 20th Century Fox's DVD of Kingdom of Heaven, and on the bonus program All the Presidents' Wives on the History Channel DVD of The Presidents.

A&E Home Entertainment

(2008-)

Logo: A white vertical line is seen zooming out on a gray background, then the current A&E logo appears on the left and "Home Entertainment" is shown on the right. Then it stays still for a second until the animation gets reversed with the logo merging back to the line.

FX/SFX: 2D animation by Loyalkaspar.

Music/Sounds: A short guitar-driven R&B tune.

Availability: Seen on current A&E Home Video releases starting with Robotech.