Argosy Digital Center

Background: Established in 1979, Argosy Entertainment specializes in distributing its products in VHS and DVD in high-quality format. In 1984, they created their infamous "Blast-o-Vision" magnetic tapes, which are tailor-made to avoid damage by old VCRs and little kids. They were also the first distributors of the "Smart Set" library of educational tapes and they were the first company to put "Mirage in LaGuardia" on DVD. In 2000, they created their now-famous "Blast-o-Vision" DVDs that have a transparent layer that protects the DVD from DVD players that don't work as they should, scratches and little kids. As of 2000, APHV still distributes its movies, but it also distributes Lionsgate, f Films, Cannon, MGM, Columbia, Paramount, Sony, Blake, Tittle Studios, Oval Pictures, Shy Guy Pictures, Colour Cookie Pictures, and TriStar films as well. The company has been renamed several times. When it was established, it was named Argosy Pictures Home Videa. In 1981, it was renamed Argosy Pictures Home Video. In 2000, it got renamed once again to Argosy Pictures Entertainment. And in 2008, it was renamed to simply Argosy Entertainment. On September 12, 2012, Argosy announced the new name will be Argosy Digital Center.

Logo 1 (1979-1981)
Nickname: "Argosy Pictures Home Videa"

Logo: On a blue background, the words "ARGOSY PICTURES HOME VIDEA" (in the Argosy language, it translates to "HOME VIDEO") with the letter "A" in "ARGOSY" and "VIDEA" as seen in the TV and movie logo of the time, fade in and sparkle. Then it cuts to black.

Variants: On some videos, we see the "A" in white above the text and replacing the two "A"s in the logo are two, just plain, letter "A"s that replaces them in the same font of the text. "HOME VIDEA" is slightly larger than "ARGOSY PICTURES" and the background is sky blue instead of a blue one.

Four other versions have just the still logo on a red-yellow gradient with "Coming Soon from" above the logo, a green-blue gradient with "The best in entertainment right here, right now" below the logo, a black BG with the logo in yellow with "Now Available From" above, and a white BG with the logo in blue and in a box with "Distributed by" above.

In Early-Mid 1979, it was filmed, and in Mid 1979-Early 1981, it was videotaped. On some tapes, "FEATURE PRESENTATION" appears under the logo name. There was a version where Jim Blake says, "And now for Argosy's special delight, our feature presentation!" The normal variation is rare, but the voice version is extinct. Some VHS tapes have bumpers based off fast food.

There is a rare variant where the A is in early CGI graphics.

Trivia: Their first and earliest videos were stored in the company's Public Domain. In 1987, Jim Blake accidentally vandalized the company's original HQ, causing the company's Public Domain to be vandalized, too. After that, he died. Before his death, he went on trial and was found not guilty. But, Argosy Employee John Kramer has the remaining VHS prints, and Argosy Employee Sam Terrence has the remaining Betamax prints.

FX/SFX: The shining.

Music/Sounds: The sparkling sound.

Availability: Very rare, bordering on the "extremely rare" territory. You can find them on VHS and Betamax tapes of the time.

Scare Factor: Low. It looks a little strange, but it's OK.

Logo 2 (1981-1984)
Logo: On a sky background, (a la Warner Home Video's Cheesy Shield logo) the words "ARGOSY PICTURES HOME VIDEO" in gold fades in and shine once. An (R) symbol in the same color appears to the lower right of the text. About 50 birds fly in with a circular banner that's the same color as the rest of the logo (a la Warner Brothers) with the text "you can now get your videos from camera to VHS!". The birds are put the banner around the text. The word "WITH" in gold, again, fades above the Argosy text. They fly off-screen to the right of the screen. A cartoon-like TV comes out from the banner with the opening credits of the movie that's on the VHS. It zooms in until it's screen takes up the entire screen and the film resumes as normal.

Variants:

There is a version where it only has "ARGOSY PICTURES HOME VIDEO" and the "A" is seen above the text. This is near extinction.

Some videos have a copyright info.

Music: Just some birds tweeting, some wind chimes, a "BOING!" sound when the TV pops out and the sound of the music you hear from the opening credits of the movie.

Availability: Scarce. Appears on most Family Home Entertainment releases that went through this company. A silent version exists on the VHS of "Caitlin" (1981). But pretty rare. The variant can be spotted on some movies, like "We Are the Champions" (from 1982) and "Aaron Says" (from 1983).

Scare Factor: Medium, the sounds may get to some.

Logo 3: (1984-1990)
Logo: On a white background, we see the Aaron (from the TV and movie logo) holding a videotape that has a label which says "ARGOSY PICTURES HOME VIDEO" on the label, in gold. He says "Argosy Pictures Home Video, now you can watch your favorites from Argosy Pictures on VHS!".

Variants:

There is a version where the "A" as seen in the 1st logo is in the same color as the text on the label above the text. Also, the tape is larger.

Some tapes had a different cat with a different line.

There is a 10th anniversary version of this logo which was used. One of those tapes is the 1989 VHS print of The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Movie

. This logo was sped up on 2 VHS tapes. This was the result of a video-editing error.

Music: Aaron talking, a film projector sound and the cute little ditty from the TV logo of the time.

Availability: Uncommon, but a bit easier to find than previous logos. It can be seen on the 1985 VHS of "You Go, Girl!" and the "Smart Set" collection.

Scare Factor: Low. The cute ditty is OK, but Aaron talking may freak out some and the film projector sound may annoy a few. The sped up version just makes you laugh.

Logo 4: (1990-1994)
Logo: On a starry background, we see a stylized version of the Hollywood Sign fly up from the bottom and explode into a dozen pieces. The "blast" morphs into the words "ARGOSY PICTURES". Then the words "HOME VIDEO" in the same font fade in below, as the stars in the background suddenly light up and dim back to what they were before.

Variants:

There is an early version of the logo where the "A" from the 1st logo in sky blue is above the text.

Another version of the logo is where the Aaron in a space suit floats above the text. Also, the company text is blue, and above the text is a yellow "Also Available From". The cat says "Also, you can get a lot more videotapes available from Argosy Pictures Home Video" after the men's chorus says "Take Argosy home!" and while the men's chorus sings "La la la la la!". That version is now used in the time of the current logo.

Music: A jazzy synthesized theme coupled with a men's chorus singing "Take Argosy home! La la la la la!" as the sign blasts into pieces and we hear more jazz as the words "HOME VIDEO" fade in until the logo ends. At the end of some tapes it is silent.

Availability: Uncommon. This one was first seen on the first release of 1990's "Mirage in LaGuardia". The silent version can be seen on a couple video releases from Columbia Pictures, and can be seen at the end of "June Breeze" with the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" above.

Scare Factor: Low for the one with sound (The unexpected chorus may freak you out), None for the one without. Minimal for people who have seen it before. However the next logo is a different story...

Logo 5: (1991-2006, 2010)
Nicknames: "The Logo of No Animation", "They Seriously Made This?", "The Most Boring Argosy Logo Ever"

Logo: On a black BG we see the abstract "A" and the company's name.

FX: None.

Variants:

On the 1996 VHS of Boom President! there's the "A" from logo 1.

On the 1995 VHS of My Summer Story we see Aaron's feet and if we both read what the feet says we see Argosy Video.

On tapes from 1991-2000 for example Aaron: SuperSpy! Movie 1997 VHS the BG was white. On the 2004 DVD of Aaron's Big Movie the logo had Home Entertainment but not Home Video.

Music: None.

Availability: Rare.

Scare Factor: None, this logo is even more boring than the previous logo.

Logo 6: (1994-2000)
Logo: On a space background, we see a solid colored gold stylized "A" floating in space. The "A" passes the Sun, then Mercury, then Venus and stops passing things when it reaches Earth which is spinning. The "A" settles in the center of the screen. A close-to-screen comet zooms very fast by the Earth. It turns the "A" a shinier color of gold and brings the words "ARGOSY PICTURES HOME VIDEO" in the same color as the "A" under the "A" in a 1997 Universal-like logo font. When the comet is off-screen, we see the text zoom back under the "A" The logo shines once, then the logo fades to black. The entire logo is in CGI.

Variants:

A version exists with the words "Bringing You the Best in Entertainment Right In front of You!" in the same color of the text and "A" also appears under and zooms out under with the Argosy Pictures Home Video text. That variant was used from 1996-2000.

In 1999, for the company's 20th Anniversary, the Earth is replaced with Pluto and Mars. The "A" is in a goldish-orange yellow color with the sphere in red. A pale-brown "2" is on the left of the sphere, below the sphere is a blue "Years of" and below is a green "Excellence" reading "20 Years of Excellence" and above the logo are the words "1979-1999" in blue.

Music: Just a whoosh or two and a loud zoom sound that sounds like a race car zooming to be the first one to pass the checkered flag and win the race.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on many videos from Argosy Pictures. The "Bringing You the Best in Entertainment Right In Front of You!" variation can be seen only on videos in video-carriers that are shaped like a triangle this logo has been seen on Blue's Clues tapes that had the PPlas.

Scare Factor: Medium to high. The close-to-screen comet and the transition of the 1994 warning may freak out first time viewers.

Logo 7: (2000-2008)
Logo: On a space BG, we see an abstract gold "A" in 3-D zooming out from the center of the screen. The words "ARGOSY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT" in a gold, 3-D, Times New Roman-like font zoom in under the "A" afterwards. We zoom in the middle of the "A". We reach Earth and we get right into the clouds, the screen turns white. Then we fade to a shot near more clouds to see that 22 stars falling out of the sky which turn into stars that look like the Paramount Pictures stars. We turn 180 degrees to see that the same "A" and text that we saw earlier in the logo with the stars encircling a mountain. Once everything is in place, the text "A Corus Entertainment Company" in white fades under the logo, then a flash occurs, causing the "A" to fade into a color and "ENTERTAINMENT" into a word depending on what system.

Variants:

For the VHS variant, the logo fades into bronze and "ENTERTAINMENT" turns into "HOME VIDEO".

For DVD, the logo fades into silver and "ENTERTAINMENT" fades into "DVD".

For HD, the logo fades into gold and "ENTERTAINMENT" turns into "HD".

For Blu-ray, the logo turns blue and "ENTERTAINMENT" turns into "Blu-ray".

Cheesy Factor: This logo looks like it was made in the late 1990s.

Music: The Paramount Pictures fanfare of the time.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on many films on DVD and VHS (Argosy Pictures Entertainment stopped making videotapes on 2004) from this era.

Scare Factor: Minimal to low.

Logo 8: (2008-2012)
Logo/FX/SFX: Everything is the same as the Argosy Media logo of the time, except "ENTERTAINMENT" in a 3-D gold font is under the flags that spell out "ARGOSY" but "MEDIA" is gone. Aaron says "Come sit down and enjoy your favorites on DVD with me, your favorite cat, Aaron!". The Corus Entertainment byline is under the logo as always.

Variants:

On Blu-ray Releases, Aaron says "Argosy Blu-ray, see your favorite movies with HD with the best quality around, with me, your favorite cat, Aaron!" The logo becomes in HD. A blue boomerang flies across the word "DVD" to make it the Blu-ray logo. Seconds later, the boomerang flies behind the logo, causing a crash to make the screen go white. When the flash dies down, it reveals that the logo (even Aaron) has been turned static blue. Also when the boomerang crashes, we hear a shattering sound.

From 2009-2010, we see Aaron in a gold "0" of a gold "30" above the flags. He says "Argosy Entertainment, celebrating 30 years of your favorite Argosy stuff on VHS, DVD, HD, 3-DVD, and Blu-ray, and more than 25 years of me, Aaron! Ooh... this is so exciting!"

On HD releases (Argosy stopped supporting HD-DVD in 2008), the text "HIGH DEFINITION" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT" and the logo is in HD. Aaron says "Argosy High Definition, your favorite movies in High Definition with me, Aaron!" From mid-2008 to the present, this was seen on Argosy's TV division, Argosy TV HD

Even though Argosy Entertainment was folded into Argosy/Creativity Home Entertainment, Argosy still used this logo on some Direct-to-DVD releases until 2012, when AHE was resurrected.

Trivia: The cat's actual name is Oakwood Blake.

Music/Sounds: Something that sounds similar to the HBO Movie jingle, with sounds accompanying the logo.

Availability: Could be seen on Argosy Pictures Entertainment DVDs and Blu-rays from the time. Still seen on most Direct-to-DVD and Children's releases from Argosy until 2012.

Scare Factor: None for the regular version, and low to medium for the Blu-ray version.

Logo 9 (October 2, 2012-)
Nickname: "Aaron's Digital Center", "Aaron and the Blu-Rays

Logo: We see Aaron, holding the A logo on a green background. Above him says Argosy Digital Center. Aaron says "Argosy Digital Center, all your favorite movies on DVD or Blu-Ray, right in your home!"

FX/SFX: The animation.

Music/Sounds: Aaron's Ditty and Aaron speaking.

Avalibility: Common.

Scare Factor: None.