April 1981 HBO Intro

[vbfl920]

Where did you get this??

[salchli]

@vbfl920 Old VHS tape before the VCR ate it :(

[ksb78]

from 0:30 to 0:55 looks and sounds like an 80's porn intro

[cameron20101000]

do you got any cinemax intro from 1981?

[salchli]

@cameron20101000 No I don't :(



[2000VR]

This video contains win

[Retrotreasures]

Great! HBO Promos and Bumpers.I love all the old hbo promos.

Great Job!

[Ibusers1]

What is the name of this movie that showed it's credits at the very beginning of this video?

[salchli]

@Ibusers1 The Onion Field

[Ibusers1]

@salchli Also, what is the name of the movie that has the opening lorimar title at the very end of this video?

[shinobizach89]

I just noticed, the annoincer said Lee Marlin instead of Lee Marvin lol

[jbeast181]

man I like this 80s' music.

[silverzhawk]

Who couldnot like this classic, retro, gold.

[TheTallMan35]

Oh now this is funky!

[THX1205]

HBO in the Disco era!

[DownsA530]

This intro screams 70s, but it's actually cool in its cornyness.

[WetKant]

hbo used to be cool

not now

[TheSecondEvolution]

Back then it was unheard of to pay for TV. Now there isn't a person I know who does not have cable.

[Borntocoast]

@TheSecondEvolution I discontinued my Subscription to Cable three years ago after seeing an Ad for a "ED Pill" air during a Children's Show!

[rycon246]

what year did HBO start ?

[Borntocoast]

@rycon246 HBO began transmitting in Wilke-Barre, Pennsylvania in November of 1972. In 1975, they began transmitting via Satellite nationwide. Within a few years, Cable TV Began its aggressive expansion across the US. (Prior to this, Cable TV was used primarily in Rural areas with limited TV Coverage.) 30 years later and what do we have? BLECCH! :(

[mapboy78]

ha ha that was pretty corny

[mrhollister09]

OMFGoodness!!! This is soooo 1970s but it's all 1980s. Funny thing, no one calls it Home Box Office

[c3section]

It's so nice seeing even a tiny yesteryear clip of HBO.

Knowing what they present now, ordering this channel from the company would be like ordering the hit.

[Blue3909]

wow that's old there

[superbuick]

Yeah. Until they released the Space Intro, this was my favorite. However, it usually meant I was about to get sent to bed.

[superbrian1214]

thats some serious funk right there. hilarious.

[OPENARMS1981]

This intro is often referred to as The Abstract Opening.

[Borntocoast]

Ah, the Good Old Days! When Cable came to my town in 1980 I was like a ten year old on Christmas Morning. It's sad to see what Cable (And for that manner Broadcast TV) has become. Two years ago I decided enough was enough. I dropped my Subscription. I use the money to buy DVDs today.

[CreativeCritisizm]

Does anyone remember the old WGN commercials from 1980 with the weird droning music & the HBO short clip commercial with a man who builds a giant moustrap then puts his head in it ?

[Kuahmel]

Intro music is especially funky.

[pbanta62]

Ah, I remember the "good old days" of premium cable, when it had more of a "theatrical" feel and the movies were events and not just played out as lined-up reruns with crunched credits and translucent logos in the corners.

Those fancy cgi (for the times) intros got you psyched-up for the films and I can even remember when Showtime played the real theatrical trailers in bunches when they "signed-on" for the evening (this was even before they it was a 24-hour service). I really missed that.

[premiumchannelfan]

@pbanta62 Yes,I know what you mean. Classic premium was best. All HBO does is stupid boxing countdown shows. 24/7 Joe vs.Joe 24 7 Mayweather vs. Williams

Boxing this. Boxing. The Pacific. Bill Maher. Big Love. what happened ?

[PreviewSubscription]

I've noticed that the guys voice sounds less harsh doing the PG announcement.But the R used to scare the hell out of me,when I was 4.

[laerwen]

Hah! That voiceover scared the crap out of you too?? Man. Being 4, that's how your mind works. I was like, "omg, I didn't do anything wrong scary voice guy!" o.o

[Cinemax1980]

I had the same problem with the ratings bumpers.Hbo will scare the hell out of you,only at night.

[SuperAV21]

Y's that?

BTW; I was born in 1988. So, I didn't see HBO 'tli da 90s.

[mefault]

Yeah, same here!! You knew something serious and/or intense was about to be presented on your television!!!

[Cinemax1980]

The announcer wanted to terrify us,all because we wanted to see some boobies.

[grannie530]

Shoot, we didn't even have cable in our area until 1986 I think.

[PreviewSubscription]

I hear ya on that,we didn't get it til 86 either.We had A Scrambled Subscription channel called Preview in the early 80s,then We watched videos til 86.

[marcusgrimmm]

I remember those days, being a little kid sneakin out of bed late at nite to turn HBO on hoping to see that little R pop up before a movie.

[CreativeCritisizm]

the "R" means you were going to hear the "F" work and see boobs !

[Kuahmel]

Almost unequivocally back then, some nips would be blasted if the film was rated R. Now it's more about the violence or something gory or gross.

[pcimin00]

HBO went 24 hours a day 7 days a week on 1/1/1982,in sept 1981 they started 24 hours on weekends,some internet sites say hbo started scrambling in space in 1986 I remember being Mid June 1985,I know It was not before that because I had moved to a very rural area in 1984 and was going to buy 1 of those Dishes to get more than 5 channels I was getting with my antenna and the I knew there was talk about Scambling In space in the works,and the Dish salesman said It will happen,but It did anyway

[pcimin00]

I worded that wrong,the Dish said 2 me In 1984 when I asked Him about HBO Scrambling In space That "IT will never happen,that all the Cable to companies would have to buy all new equipment,well,he was wrong,but when he said it,he was so adamantly about It,I believe Him,I never got that dish anyway,It cost about 10,000 dollars and I would have to have cut down allot of trees in my back yard,Cable tv came to my area In 1987,

[pcimin00]

I meant to say Dish salesman not "dish" and the disah did sound great,the dish sounded great,he even told me I would see stuff viewers don't see when the networks are running commercials and I would get west coast feeds Of tv shows,my neighbor got 1 in 1985 and It Is still on his roof to this day.....

[jakestooge34]

I think this is from 1979, I think.

[Kargaroc286]

was HBO scrambled back then???!!!

[dustystix76]

omg, i vaguely remember this one, i was 4 yo in the fall of 80..wow

[PreviewStarcaseOnTv]

This music is cheesy,but cool.

[salchli]

Nope, the Space begining would come in 1982. This predates it.

[SweetLemon2008]

This is cool,I like the space intro better!

[darknyytt]

MAN! now I feel old...lol! But I remember vignettes where they would show a camera breezing through a park or a nice scenic drive before the movies would start. :)

[bloodymeerkat78]

why is the O covring the B?

[plashal]

that was the logo back then. the separation happened fist when the city fly by and space station intro is released

[blackmoviefan]

lol wow that's old

[creid0000]

Jerrman, the previous movie was the 1979 movie The Onion Field.

[jvalatka]

My favorite bit is in the middle at 0:26:

Nyew-nyew-nyew-nyew-nyew, bah bah bah-bah BAH!

"You're watching Home Box Office!"

[skystarless]

Yeah, I like that too. Gotta love that old-school HBO logo.

[Jal8919536]

Me, three! I love the R&B brass/string ensemble typical of the late Seventies/early Eighties. I wish there was a site where I could download an MP3 of this. Does anyone know of a site with television/radio promos/bumpers music to listen and download? Thanks.

[tvcommercialman]

Yes, I love that IDENT as well, I've emailed HBO many times to get them to put all this stuff on DVD. Maybe they will one day.

[K0CBS]

I'd buy it!

[NitekMuscle]

Amazing. This show just how far cable television as a whole has progressed in the last 25+ years.

[AlvinKarpis007]

Great stuff

[JERRMAN2435]

I like the graphics and the R & B sounding music in the bumper. I was wondering if anyone happened to know what the movie was that was going off at the beginning of this video.

[salchli]

That is the end of "The Onion Field." I'm glad the VHS tapes I have still work after 26+ years!

[JERRMAN2435]

Thank you, salchli. I appreciate it very much. Peace & safety to you & yours!

[Jal8919536]

According to a survey, the VHS has the capacity to last 100 years, whereas the DVD needs replacing every fifteen.

[Intersonus903]

And where is such a survey?

Plus, video tape may last you 30 years, give or take a few, if you're lucky.

As for DVDs, the main factors would be how well sealed the reflective layer is and how stable the adhesive used to bond the two disc halves are, just like LaserDiscs.

And, there's the factor of whether or not equipment will be available to play these things in the far future, rendering the topic of how long these things can last moot.

[tvcommercialman]

To think, HBO probably has a archive of all the bumpers they have ran in the last 35 years. If HBO wanted to, they could release that content to DVD, so people can have our own copy.

[Intersonus903]

That would be nice.

[Wildcock23]

That's a brilliant idea!

[xxbox6191]

@salchli omg mine too I had like 40 VHS tapes, memories man! but the sounds are fading out its like slowing down not sure if that was on VHS player or the tape, I record Air-wolf and greatest American hero

and Auto-man

[APyleOfVinyl]

@xxbox6191 Sometimes newer VHS can not properly handle tapes recorded on older machines. Also, if that is not the case, if you are playing these tapes on older VCRS, then the tape is experiencing dropout.

[naturewoman28]

Cool.

[videonut33]

"You're watching Home Box Office!"

[Wildcock23]

These graphics are fantastic

[makdafi]

I love the retro HBO stuff, especiall stuff from the early 80's, late 70's. Thanks for posting.

[sunwukong86]

wow, thats so 80s i mean wow

[Jal8919536]

I love the period early Eighties music in this promo. For those planning on making a film set during the Eighties ought to listen to these promos to create Eighties-sounding music to make the period you're trying to depict more convicing.

[tiagotiburri]

Wow, scanimate shows!

[nx01alpha]

You wouldn't happen to have any Cinemax stuff from 1980?

[salchli]

Sorry, we didn't subscribe to Cinemax.

I'm going to be posting a few more in the next few days.

[RETROvisions]

I haven't seen this in over 20 years!!!!! Love it!