Yes, there actually was a VHS tape from Vipco in the 90's. There are like 4 different colour versions of that sequence, a few examples...
- Full Colour: German theatrical and 80's to mid-90's VHS releases
- Sepia: Dutch VHS release, US-DVDs (Grindhouse/AB) and releases based on their Master
- Yellow: Italian and Scandinavian DVD releases (both rather "dirty yellow" looking picture, not really the wanted "golden" look)
- B&W: the mentioned Vipco VHS release
So, *if* that test-disc had the pre title sequence in B&W, it would not be the first time a UK company tried that.
I would of course also prefer the original "golden" look (but a nicer, cleaner Yellow than on the Italian and AWE DVDs).
Also what somehow ruined the previous DVD releases in most (if not all) other countries, was the cropped picture. The sides often didn't contain the complete picture information, and especially a *lot* was cropped from the bottom of the picture. I have my hopes for a much more complete picture and framing on the Arrow release.
A few European DVDs I checked also were missing the very first seconds from the beginning, talking about the "HOTEL" sign first shot. It's no big deal, but complete is better.
Any chance that Arrow & Co. come up with some previously totally-unknown and/or Deleted Scenes, that someone has found at his houses attic?
