ABC DVD (Australia)

Background: **ABC Video/DVD** is the Australian home entertainment division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, their releases are currently distributed by Roadshow Entertainment (they were formerly distributed by Video Selection Australia though Roadshow Entertainment from 1991-1993). starting in 1996, they co-distributed BBC Video releases in Australia along with Roadshow Entertainment.

## **ABC Video**

### 1st (known) Logo

(1984-1986)

Logo: It's just the 1983 ID with no video indication whatsoever.

FX/SFX/Music/Sounds: Same as the 1983 ID.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on video releases from the era, which have been out of print for decades. One release that had this logo was a 1984 VHS of *Tied Test: Australia vs. West Indies Brisbane 1960*. It was also seen on the 1983 Documentuary 'The Bradman Era' which was also released on VHS. Also seen on the 1984 print of *Play School: All Together Show & At the Zoo*.

Scare Factor: Low, like it's TV counterpart.

### 2nd Logo

(1986-1988)

Logo: It's just the night-time variant of the 1985 ID with no video indication whatsoever.

FX/SFX: Same as the night-time variant of the 1985 ID.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1985 ID.

Availability: Rare. Seen on video releases from the era, such as *Play School: All Together Show & At The Zoo*, and early *Thomas The Tank Engine* video releases issued between 1987 and 1988.

Scare Factor: None.

### 3rd Logo

(1988-2006)
Nickname: "ABC Glass"

Logo: Same as its TV counterpart, but with "VIDEO" fading in below, and on a purple textile like background, also the logo is slightly smaller.

Variants: There are some variants.

* On the 1991-1994 ABC Video A World of Entertainment for Everyone promo, the logo cuts at the very end to reveal a satellite shot of the earth. When the promo ends, it fades into the logo with the ABC logo turning.
* On the 1994-2000 ABC Video A World of Entertainment for Everyone promo, the logo slowly fades onto an orange background, where the logo is now a scribble-like drawing. Different styles of patterns also fade in on each corner of the logo, where they rapidly change patterns.
* On the 2000-2005 ABC Video Lighting for a New Millennium promo, the logo plays out normally until the music finishes. When it does finish, the logo gets zapped by lightning, the normal background is changed into different TV show clips with specific genres. Nature, Drama, Comedy, Sport, Lifestyles, Music, Opera, Dance and Celebration in that order. When the promo nears the end, the logo does its normal animation. The same promo can be seen on DVDs but it can sometimes be in the 16:9 Aspect Ratio.
* On some releases (such as *ABC For Kids: Showtime*), The transition before, or after this logo is abrupt.

FX/SFX: Same as its TV counterpart.

Music/Sounds: Same as its TV counterpart, but without any other sound effects. This Music was also heard on a couple ABC IDs from 1988-1994.

Music/Sounds Variants:

* Sometimes the music will start earlier.
* On the 1994-2000 ABC Video A World of Entertainment for Everyone promo, the music has an echo effect added at the end, when it fades to the orange background.
* The promo variants have their own music which depends.
* On earlier VHS releases, such as *Fireman Sam*: "A Spot of Bother", the music doesn't start until the glass fades in.

Availability: Common. Seen on all Aussie PAL releases of the period. One of the earliest releases to use the logo is the Festival Video release of *Fireman Sam: Treasure Hunt* and *The World of David the Gnome: David to the Rescue!*. It can also be seen on 1996-2005 BBC Video releases they distributed after the Roadshow Entertainment logo of the time. Starting in 1999, this logo appeared at the end of their releases in place of the Roadshow logo. This logo was also used on their earlier DVD releases, such as *Wiggly TV* and *La Boheme*. It also appeared at the end of periodical Playhouse Disney airings of *The Wiggles: Wiggly Wiggly, Christmas*, likely because they used the 1999 Australian VHS Master of it, and the logo surprisingly showed up at the end of the Hong Kong DVD release of *The Wiggles: Wiggly Safari*. This logo was absent at the beginning of the 1998 VHS release of *The Wiggles: Toot Toot* after the G rating, as the 1994-1998 ABC for Kids logo was taking it's place, and on *Babar: Special Delivery*, *Classic Kids TV*, *The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus*, *The Adventures of Tintin: Cigars of the Pharaoh*, *The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin In Tibet* and the New Zealand releases of *Noddy And the Kite* and *Noddy The Champion*. One of the final VHS releases to use this logo was *The Wiggles: Here Comes the Big Red Car* which was released in 2006. The 2000-2006 promo variant (16:9 version) makes a surprise appearance on the 2010 reissues of *Kath & Kim Series 1-3*, because they used their masters from the original releases. It even makes a surprise appearance on American prints of Bananas in Pyjamas VHS Tapes. Likely because they use masters of the Australian releases.

Scare Factor: None. Like it's TV counterpart, this is nostalgic and a favourite of many.

## ABC DVD

### 1st Logo

(2001-2010)
Nicknames: "ABC Glass II", "Zooming DVD Logo of Doom", "The Loud WHOOSH DVD Logo of Doom"

Logo: Same as its video & TV counterpart, except this time, it's on the top half of the screen, now on a black background and much smaller than before. As this happens, you can see some light reflections. After that, the DVD logo zooms in underneath it.

Variants:

* On some releases, the 'VIDEO' text can be seen outside of the disc of the DVD logo.
* There is a widescreen variant of the logo.

FX/SFX: The same flipping animation as the ABC Video logo and the zoom in of the DVD logo.

Music/Sounds: The same music as the ABC Video logo with an added loud whoosh sound for when the DVD logo zooms in.

Availability: Seen on 2001-2008 Australian Broadcasting Corporation DVDs, with one example being the DVD of *CNNNN*, released in 2004. It was not on the releases of *Wiggly TV* and *La Boheme*, so these two releases instead used the 3rd ABC Video logo. This logo is absent on the releases of *The Wiggles: Whoo Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins!* and *The Wiggles: Top of the Tots* after the G rating, which proceeds to the 3rd ABC For Kids logo (from 1992-2009).

Scare Factor: Low to medium. The black background, the zooming DVD logo and the whoosh accompanied by it can startle some. Otherwise, it's a favourite of many.

Editor's Note: Much like logos such as the first Carlton Video logo, this is known to scare viewers who aren't expecting the loud whoosh when the DVD logo zooms in. Otherwise, it’s typically a favourite among Australians, just like the last logo. The ABC logo animation used is also recycled from the ABC Films logo.

### 2nd Logo

(2008-2019)
Nickname: "CGI Lissajous", "Tri-colored Lissajous", “Red, Purple and Blue Lissajous”

Logo: On a black background, a twisted shape swings up, in blue. A flash turns it red. Then, we cut to a purple part of the logo, and the camera pans down. The logo flashes, revealing itself to be the ABC Lissajous logo from 2001, colored in red, magenta and sky blue. "ABC" appears below the Lissajous, with "DVD" under "ABC".

Variant: On Blu-Ray releases like *Wallace and Gromit: The Collection,* the 'DVD' text is removed, but it is actually still slightly visible below the 'ABC' text.

FX/SFX: The logo forming in excellent CGI.

Trivia: This logo was animated by pictureDRIFT.

Music/Sounds: Several synth notes, with some whooshes and a noise similar to an orchestra tuning up. A low descending bass noise is then heard, ending in a calm guitar version of the ABC jingle with high-pitched sparkles.

Availability: Seen on Australian Broadcasting Corporation DVDs from the time period. Even though the 2002 lissajous curve logo is now being used only as a secondary logo in favor of a revived 1975 logo, this logo continued to be used until 2019, when the company underwent a complete rebrand, officially dumping the 2002 logo altogether.

Scare Factor: Minimal to medium. The synth at the start and close up may unsettle a few, but yet again, it's a favourite of many and tamer than the previous logo.

Editor's Note: This logo bears a resemblance to the "Reflections" IDs used by the station in 2001. A pretty well made logo. Sadly, their 3rd and last ABC DVD logo is nothing compared to the this logo.

### 3rd Logo

(2019-)

Nicknames: "Drawing Lissajous", "Over-Simplistic ABC", "Classic Lissajous Logo Returns!"

Logo: On a black background, the revived 1975 Lissajous curve logo, taking up most of the screen, draws itself in two halves. The logo zooms out as "ABC" fades in underneath, in the ABC Sans front, with "DVD" then fading in underneath.

FX/SFX: The Lissajous curve drawing in, then zooming out, followed by the "ABC" and "DVD" fading in.

Cheesy Factor: This logo pales in comparison to the previous one, especially considering the animation featured here.

Music/Sounds: The tail end of the previous logo's music.

Availability: Seen on recent ABC DVD releases from about 2018 onward.

Scare Factor: None. It's rather basic.

Editor's Note: This logo received a lot of criticism by many old ABC fans due to its over-simplicity (hence the nickname "Over-Simplistic ABC"). However, the 1975 ABC logo is a really nice comeback.