Tape manufacturers

This list is dedicated to the tape stock companies and their customers.

Customers

 * Buena Vista Home Video
 * Walt Disney Home Video
 * Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment/RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video/Columbia TriStar Home Video
 * Fotomat Video
 * Magnetic Video Corporation/20th Century Fox Video/CBS/Fox Video
 * MCA Videocassette, Inc./MCA Home Video
 * MGM/CBS Home Video/MGM/UA Home Video
 * Paramount Home Video
 * Thorn EMI Video/Thorn EMI/HBO Video
 * Time-Life Video
 * WCI Home Video/Warner Home Video

How to tell

 * On some tapes, especially early ones, the Scotch logo is engraved in white on the tape guard.
 * Mid 1980s-Early 1990s tapes may have the Scotch logo engraved as part of the tape nominal information above the record tab.
 * Some tapes have "3M" printed as part of the print code information on the bottom side, mainly on those duplicated by Technicolor Videocassette and West Coast Video Duplicating/MediaCopy.

Customers

 * MGM/UA Home Video
 * United Home Video

Customers

 * Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment
 * Fotomat Video
 * Magnetic Video Corporation
 * MCA Videocassette, Inc.
 * MGM/CBS Home Video
 * Paramount Home Video
 * Time-Life Video
 * WCI Home Video

Customers

 * Lionsgate Home Entertainment
 * Artisan Entertainment (1987-2004)
 * Vestron Video (1987-1992)
 * Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995-2007)
 * Video Treasures (1986-1998)
 * Burbank Video (1987-1995)
 * Jenal Entertainment (1987-1991)
 * Troy Gold (1987-1989)
 * MNTex Entertainment (1987-1998)
 * Strand Home Video (1989-1998)
 * Starmaker Entertainment
 * Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (1987-2007)
 * Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (1994-2007)
 * Sterling Entertainment Group
 * UAV Corporation (1985-1998)
 * VidAmerica, Inc. (1987-1992)
 * Paramount Home Entertainment (1994-2007)
 * Warner Home Video (1987-2007)
 * MGM Home Entertainment (1987-2007)

How to tell

 * Many 1985-2007 tapes duplicated on BASF cassettes have dark or silver ink prototype codes. Usually, these codes included the tape nominal length, the shift digits, the print date and/or the print time.
 * Only on tapes duplicated at either CBS/Fox or Technicolor.
 * Some Memorex-manufactured tapes also had BASF codes. It is possible that somewhere down the line, Memorex licensed the tapes to BASF months after the first manufacture date. Once again, only on tapes duplicated at CBS/Fox or Technicolor.
 * For example, if the dark ink code reads "T-82 M3" on top and "012393 S 1223", or "012393 S", that means the cassette is a T-82 length and that the tape was manufactured on January 23, 1993. The time code would mean 12:23 PM, and S and M3 would be two of the shift digits.

Customers

 * Astral Video (Canadian)
 * Magnetic Video Corporation
 * Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment/RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (Canadian)
 * Thorn EMI Video
 * Time-Life Video
 * Buena Vista Home Video (Canadian)
 * Walt Disney Home Video

How to tell

 * Tapes manufactured prior to 1990 may have the Fuji name on the tape guard.

Customers

 * Allied Artists Video
 * Magnetic Video Corporation
 * Media Home Entertainment

Customers

 * 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment
 * CBS/Fox Video
 * 20th Century-Fox Video
 * Fotomat Video
 * MGM/UA Home Video
 * Paramount Home Video
 * Columbia/TriStar Home Video
 * RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
 * PBS Video
 * Thorn EMI Video
 * Time-Life Video
 * VCI Home Video
 * Buena Vista Home Video
 * Walt Disney Home Video
 * Touchstone Home Video
 * Warner Home Video
 * Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995-2007)
 * Video Treasures (1988-1998)
 * Burbank Video (1988-1995)
 * Troy Gold (1987-1989)
 * Starmaker Entertainment

How to tell

 * Tapes manufactured after the early 1990s would have a safety notice written in a Helvetica-like font on the tape guard that says, "Insert this side into recorder -- Do not touch the tape inside," while tapes manufactured before would have the up arrow below the tape guard instead of into the tape guard, and no safety notice anywhere.

Customers

 * Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995-1996)
 * Video Treasures (1990-1996)
 * Burbank Video (1988-1995)
 * Troy Gold (1987-1989)
 * Starmaker Entertainment (1990-1996)
 * Buena Vista Home Video (1988-1994)
 * Walt Disney Home Video
 * Warner Home Video
 * HBO Home Video
 * Allied Artists Video

How to tell

 * Some 1987-1998 tapes have “Made in U.S.A.” or "MADE IN U.S.A." moulded on the back right of the cassette.
 * Some 1987-1998 tapes have dark ink code information, including the day-year code.
 * For example, if the code reads "8 322 90 2211", then that means that the side of the tape is labeled 8 and that the tape was manufactured on the 322nd day of 1990, or November 18, 1990, at 10:11 PM.

Customers

 * CBS/Fox Video
 * Family Home Entertainment
 * RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video

Customers

 * Magnetic Video Corporation
 * MGM/UA Home Video
 * VCI Home Video
 * WCI Home Video
 * Buena Vista Home Video
 * Walt Disney Home Video
 * Touchstone Home Video

Customers

 * HBO/Cannon Video
 * MGM/UA Home Video
 * RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
 * Buena Vista Home Video
 * Walt Disney Home Video
 * Warner Home Video

How to tell
For VHS, either small round depressions in the frontal shell of the cassette, or a large grid of squares along the entire frontal area thereof.

Customers

 * Magnetic Video Corporation/20th Century-Fox Video/CBS/Fox Video
 * MGM/CBS Home Video/MGM/UA Home Video
 * Paramount Home Video
 * Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment/RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
 * Fotomat Video
 * MCA Videocassette, Inc.
 * Time-Life Video/Vestron Video
 * Thorn EMI Video/Thorn EMI/HBO Video
 * U.S.A. Home Video
 * Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company
 * Walt Disney Home Video
 * WCI Home Video/Warner Home Video

How to tell

 * The TDK logo can be found above the record tab.