Media Home Entertainment (VCR Tracking Bumpers)
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1st Bumper (1980s-1990s)
Visuals: On a black background appears the white text "FOR MAXIMUM PICTURE QUALITY" and the red or blue text "IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO ADJUST THE TRACKING CONTROL ON YOUR VCR". The screen lasts for fifteen seconds until it finally fades out slowly.
Technique: None. [possible misuse]
Audio: Three seconds of silence, then a man reads out loud by saying "Please note: For maximum picture quality, it may be necessary to adjust the tracking control on your VCR." After that, the rest of the screen remains silent.
Audio Variant: Sometimes, a different announcer is heard.
Availability:
- It was seen on a 1990 Media Home Entertainment Video copy of Madeline (released through Hi-Tops Video).
- It was also seen on some Random House Home Video releases such as a few The Bernstein Bears videos as well as Maier Group's Inspector Gadget tapes.
- It was also seen on some Festival of Family Classics tapes from Starmaker.
- It was also on some copies of the 1988 Vestron Video VHS releases of Hoosiers and Platoon, despite those films being released by Orion Pictures.
2nd Bumper (1981-1985, 1989)
Visuals: On a blue background is the white text "PLEASE ADJUST TRACKING FOR BEST PICTURE QUALITY." and "THANK YOU".
Variant: On the 1989 Video Treasures VHS of Class, the PLEASE ADJUST TRACKING FOR BEST PICTURE QUALITY was smaller and it doesn't have THANK YOU.
Technique: A still computer graphic.
Audio: None.
Availability: Seen on certain Media Home Entertainment releases of the era. It was also preserved on several Video Treasures re-releases of the aforementioned titles. [Examples?]
3rd Bumper (1987-1993)
Visuals: On a red/orange gradient background, there is a white figure guy holding a wrench and the white text "FOR BETTER VIDEO VIEWING HAVE VCR SERVICE CHECKS." on the top. Below them is a white bar, and underneath it is the first portion of another white text, which reads:
& YOUR VIDEO ENTERTAIN- MENT RETAILER RECOMMEND YOU HAVE YOUR VCR ROUTINELY SERVICED TWICE A YEAR TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR VIEWING, PROLONG THE LIFE OF THE VCR, AND TO MINIMIZE THE RISK OF DAMAGE TO THIS VIDEO
CASSETTE.Four seconds later, the figure with the wrench slides away to the right and then five seconds later, the bottom text scrolls up, revealing the rest of itself. After that, it stops scrolling to show the last portion.
Technique: 2D computer animation.
Audio: None.
Availability: Seen on certain Media tapes of the era. [Examples?]
