Deluxe Video Services

List of Customers

 * 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1990-2000)
 * Allied Artists Video
 * Central Park Media
 * Fotomat Video
 * Geneon Entertainment (2000-2007)
 * Hallmark Home Entertainment
 * Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2004-2007)
 * Artisan Entertainment (1988-2004)
 * Trimark Home Video
 * Media Home Entertainment (The Cold Room)
 * MGM Home Entertainment (original release of Victor/Victoria)
 * Paramount Home Entertainment (1979-2005)
 * Republic Pictures Home Video
 * Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (1981-2005)
 * Sony Wonder (1999-2005)
 * Random House Home Video (1986-2005)
 * ClassicMedia (1999-2005)
 * Sterling Entertainment Group (2003-2006)
 * Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (1980-1983, 1986-present)
 * VCI Home Video (some 1981 tapes)
 * Concord Video (1985-199?)
 * Hollywood Select Video (1987-1988) (tapes distributed by Concord Video, including the clamshell release of The Christmas Video)
 * Buena Vista Home Entertainment (1987-1991, 1998-1999)
 * Signal Research/ABC Video Productions (1988-1991)
 * Walt Disney Home Video (1987-1988, 1991)
 * Touchstone Home Video (1988-1990, 1998-1999)
 * Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (original release of Batman)
 * HBO Home Entertainment (1981-1986)
 * Zenith Electronics

How to Tell

 * Pre-August 1985 prints would have an orange or green sticker on the supply reel.
 * Pre-September 1981 prints would have either "Q.C. WHS" or "Q.C. WHSE" on the sticker.
 * Some tapes with a blank barcode sticker on the tape guard have the moaning sound (a.k.a. the pull-my-finger tone) at the end of the tape before the tape either cuts to the fullscreen static or stops itself.
 * Sometimes the moaning sound only lasts 3-5 seconds and/or has a slightly different pitch.
 * Most 1986-1992 tapes duplicated at Rank Video Services have an ink print date on the bottom left side.
 * Some 1986-1995 tapes have the white test pattern with a 1000 hz looping beep-tone at the end.
 * Most 1981-2007 tapes have a year-week code.
 * Pre-1985 prints have the code engraved on the back of the tape.
 * Pre-1983 prints have the company abbreviation letters engraved next to the code.
 * 1983-1985 prints have the company abbreviation letters engraved on the top of the code.
 * Post-1985 prints have the code engraved on the tape guard.
 * Most 2003-2005 tapes distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment have the code engraved on the right side of the tape.
 * On most 1985-1988 and 1989-2007 tapes, if the company abbreviation letters from the year-week code on the tape do not indicate the distributor, they will always be BCP (1985-1988), RVS (1989-1998) or DLX (1998-2007).
 * Some factory sealed copies of 1991 and 1998-2005 tapes, mainly those that either have no year-week code at all, or have the company abbreviation letters on the top of the code indicate the tape duplicator instead of the distributor, have the blue or white Deluxe "Film Reel" watermark logo on the original plastic wrap, in place of the distributor watermark logo. The logo is usually pressed over-neath the back of the packaging.

Fun Facts

 * Bell & Howell sold a minor stake in its duplication arm, Bell & Howell Video Systems, to the two motion picture companies, Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures in 1981. Shortly after, the arm merged with Columbia Pictures' duplication arm, Columbia Pictures Videocassette Services to become Bell & Howell/Columbia Pictures/Paramount Video Services.
 * Bell & Howell sold its duplication arm to Rank Organization in late 1987. Shortly after, the duplication arm was renamed from Bell & Howell/Columbia Pictures/Paramount Video Services to Rank Video Services America.
 * In 1990, Rank Organization bought Deluxe Laboratories from 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation. Shortly after, this arm became the official duplication service for The CBS/Fox Company and its successor, 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment, only three years after The CBS/Fox Company's in-house duplication arm was sold to Technicolor Videocassette (known at the time as VCA/Technicolor). The duplication partnership only lasted almost 10 years and ended in early 2000. Since then, Cinram Video took over.

Known abbreviation letter codes

 * CHC - tapes sold through Columbia House Video
 * CTV - post-1992 tapes released under the Columbia TriStar Home Video label and its subsidiaries
 * DLX - tapes duplicated following the name change from Rank Video Services America to Deluxe Video Services
 * MCA - pre-1997 tapes released under the MCA/Universal Home Video (formerly MCA Home Video) label
 * PAR - tapes released by Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Video)
 * RCA - pre-1992 tapes released under the RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video label and its subsidiaries
 * BCP - select 1985-1988 tapes duplicated after the merger between Bell & Howell Video Systems and Columbia Pictures Videocassette Services into Bell & Howell/Columbia Pictures/Paramount Video Services
 * RVS - tapes released by 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment, Central Park Media (only on Software Sculptors titles), Live Entertainment, and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and their respective subsidiaries
 * TEV - tapes released under the Thorn EMI/HBO Video (formerly Thorn EMI Video) label
 * UHV - tapes released under the Universal Studios Home Video label
 * VV - tapes released by VideoVisa
 * WHV - select tapes released by Warner Home Video

Locations

 * Garden Grove, California (1987-????)
 * Mexicali, Baja California (1981-????)
 * Newbury Park, California (1988-1989) (acquired from IVE and ultimately consolidated into Rank's Garden Grove operations)
 * North Little Rock, Arkansas (1995-????)
 * Northbrook, Illinois (1978-????)