Technicolor Video Services

List of Customers

 * MGM Home Entertainment (1980-1990, 2002)
 * Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (1987-1989, 1991-1996, 1997-1999, 2005-2007) (some later copies of the 1985 VHS release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as well as 1991-1996 tapes licensed by Castle Rock Entertainment, New Line and Turner Entertainment and regular 1997-1999 and 2005-2007 tapes)
 * Sony Wonder (1995-1999)
 * Random House Home Video (1996-1999)
 * Sony Video Software (1982-1991)
 * RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1987-1989)
 * Time-Life Video
 * Avon (1988-2003)
 * Paramount Home Entertainment (1988, 1990-1992, 2000, 2005-2007)
 * Republic Pictures Home Video (1991-2000)
 * Worldvision Home Video (1987-1996)
 * Simon Marketing (1985-1992)
 * Columbia House Video
 * Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (1982-1986, 1988-1989, 1994-1995, 2005-present)
 * VidAmerica, Inc.
 * Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (1980-2009)
 * Warner Home Video (1980-present)
 * HBO Home Entertainment (1981-1982, 1986-present)
 * Brentwood Home Video (1997-20??)
 * Lionsgate Home Entertainment (1999-2003)
 * Artisan Entertainment (1989-2000)
 * Vestron Video
 * Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995, 2006-2007)
 * Video Treasures (1990-1995)
 * Burbank Video (1992-1995)
 * Bingo Video (1988-1989) (tapes distributed by Simitar Entertainment)
 * Teal Entertainment (1994-1995)
 * Strand Home Video (1994)
 * MNTex Entertainment (1992-1995)
 * Starmaker Entertainment (1989-1995)

How to Tell

 * Tapes duplicated through VCA from 1980-1982 would have a sticker with numbers on it on the tape guard.
 * Pre-late 1989 tapes duplicated through Technicolor and S/T have 2 different types of sticker print dates: Tapes duplicated through S/T between 1981 and 1989 have a blue (sometimes white) sticker on the bottom left or middle side, while tapes duplicated through VCA between 1982 and 1987 have a white sticker on the tape guard (and later on the bottom middle side starting in 1985).
 * Pre-April 1989 tapes duplicated through Technicolor and S/T have two different types of a black (sometimes dark gray) screen test pattern at the end: Some 1985-1986 tapes have a black test pattern with a 410 hz looping beep-tone, or a 420 hz looping beep-tone, while most 1986-1989 tapes have either a 400 hz looping beep-tone, or a 1010 hz looping beep-tone.
 * Some 1986-1987 tapes duplicated through VCA have a strange list of other films to play on the master recording at the end.
 * For example, some copies of the 1985 VHS release of American Flyers printed in 1986 have a list showing a couple of Universal films, as well as a few other Warner Bros. films to play on the master recording at the end. The list also shows "Back to the Future" as the Q.C.
 * Most 1989-2007 tapes duplicated through Technicolor have an ink print date instead of a sticker, while some only have stock numbers on the ink or sticker (sometimes with the tape speed, the print time and a side number next to it).
 * Some post-1989 tapes duplicated through Technicolor with only stock numbers (sometimes with the tape speed and a side label digit next to it) on sticker on the bottom middle side had a barcode on the top. Pre-1989 tapes duplicated through S/T had either the distributor prefix or name on these types of stickers, but no barcode.
 * Starting in 1993, some tapes duplicated through Technicolor with a print date on ink or sticker on the bottom middle had a barcode on the right, as well as a time.
 * The time was directly next to the date on post-1995 tapes. However, on most 1993-2001 tapes, it would be next to the length code.
 * For example, if the print date/time on the VHS tape reads "010196-1729", that means the tape was printed at 5:29 PM on January 1, 1996.
 * Most 1989-2003 tapes duplicated through Technicolor had the DTMF phone dial-tone sequence at the start and/or end of the tape (sometimes with a faint sequence of extra tones preceding it).
 * Most 1981-2001 tapes had a digit for the shift next to the print date, which was usually either 1, 2 or 3 letters or numbers.
 * Most 1985-2007 tapes have an abbreviation engraved in either gold orange, dark blue, plain black or plain white on either the left or right side of the tape that usually indicates the company that distributed it.
 * Most post-2001 tapes, duplicated at the arm's Guadalajara facilities, would have either a white sticker printed somewhere on the case cover, or blue watermark ink, reading "MADE IN MEXICO".

Fun Facts

 * VCA was spun off in 1987, shortly after the acquisition of CBS/Fox's duplication facilities. Around then, Technicolor's videotape duplication arm was simply renamed to Technicolor Videocassette of Michigan, Inc. in its Livonia facility, or Technicolor Videocassette, Inc. in facilities located in states other than Michigan. At the same time, Handleman Company began retailing video releases from Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company, Republic Pictures Home Video, International Video Entertainment, RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, MCA Home Video, Golden Book Video and The CBS/Fox Company.
 * The name, "Technicolor Videocassette" was changed to "Technicolor Video Services" in the summer of 1993, as the arm was completing a move from Newbury Park to Camarillo. However, the former name continued usage on the back cover of releases by Starmaker Entertainment, until around late 1994.
 * This arm started recycling tape pressings off of unsold ones around early 1982. However, it was not more common until the late 1990s. In addition, the arm's facilities did not use video/audio tape demagnetizers to erase previous recordings of the tapes until sometime in the late 1980s, nor black ink to erase previous printings of the cassettes, including ink-labels, until sometime in the early 1990s.
 * Starting in late 1992, the arm began printing out sticker-labels in black background, as opposed to white, following its acquisition of Video Cassette Duplicating Corp. from Handleman Company. This label variation was first seen on tapes distributed by Video Treasures and some of its respective subsidiaries, and can be most commonly seen on tapes distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment from late 1990s to the end of VHS production, but occasionally, it would also be seen on tapes distributed by Warner Home Video.

Known abbreviation letter codes

 * DIS - pre-1988 tapes released under the Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company label and its respective subsidiaries
 * BVHV - post-1988 tapes released under the Buena Vista Home Entertainment label and its respective subsidiaries (regularly engraved in gold orange, but sometimes engraved in plain white)
 * AVN - tapes sold through Avon
 * WHV - tapes released by Warner Home Video and its respective subsidiaries
 * VT - tapes released by Video Treasures and its respective subsidiaries, including Burbank Video and MNTex Entertainment (regularly engraved in plain black, but sometimes engraved in gold orange)
 * RVS - tapes released by companies that normally worked with Rank Video Services America, such as Paramount Home Video, Columbia TriStar Home Video or MCA/Universal Home Video (sometimes engraved in dark blue)
 * T275 - tapes sold through Columbia House Video (engraved on the left side)
 * 275T - tapes sold through Columbia House Video (engraved on the right side)
 * EP - tapes duplicated in EP/SLP mode
 * SP - tapes duplicated in SP mode
 * 2 PK - two-tape releases
 * SKG - tapes released by DreamWorks Home Entertainment
 * EHE - tapes released by Embassy Home Entertainment
 * MCAT - tapes released under the MCA Home Video label
 * HW - tapes released exclusively to Hollywood Video stores

Known initial prefix codes

 * WB - tapes released by Warner Home Video
 * WHV - 1988-2000 tapes released by Warner Home Video and its respective subsidiaries
 * BVH - 1988-1990 tapes released under the Buena Vista Home Video label and its respective subsidiaries
 * WDTNT - pre-1988 tapes released under the respective subsidiaries of Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company
 * WD - post-1990 tapes released under the Buena Vista Home Entertainment label and its respective subsidiaries
 * VTS - pre-1991 tapes released under the Video Treasures label
 * VTM - pre-1991 tapes released by Video Treasures under license from Media Home Entertainment
 * VTSV - 1991-1992 tapes released under the Video Treasures label, duplicated in either LP or EP/SLP mode
 * VT - post-1992 tapes released under the Video Treasures label and its respective subsidiaries
 * VTBV - tapes released under the Burbank Video label, duplicated in either LP or EP/SLP mode
 * VTTG - same meaning as VTBV
 * VTTR - same meaning as VTTG and VTBV
 * VTMN - tapes released under the MNTex Entertainment label, duplicated in either LP or EP/SLP mode
 * BRC - tapes released by Brentwood Home Video
 * AV - tapes sold through Avon
 * HBO - pre-1997 tapes released under the HBO Home Entertainment label
 * VV - tapes released under the Artisan Entertainment label and its respective subsidiaries, mainly Vestron Video and excluding Republic Pictures Home Video and Worldvision Home Video
 * RPE - tapes released under the Republic Pictures Home Video label
 * RNK - pre-1993 tapes released by companies that normally worked with Rank Video Services America
 * RVS - post-1993 tapes released by companies that normally worked with Rank Video Services America
 * WV - tapes released under the Worldvision Home Video label
 * PA - select 2000 tapes released by Paramount Home Entertainment
 * VM - tapes released by Trimark Home Video
 * K8 - unknown
 * Y1 - unknown
 * RC - unknown
 * Y5 - unknown
 * X8 - unknown
 * X16 - unknown
 * TVM - some tapes duplicated after 2003
 * TVS - same meaning as TVM

Locations

 * Camarillo, California (1993-2007) (sold to Sandstone Properties)
 * Guadalajara, Jalisco (2001-present)
 * Leonia, New Jersey (1972-1987) (divested and moved to Livonia as part of VCA spinoff)
 * Livonia, Michigan (1987-2016) (acquired from CBS/Fox and ultimately sold to Ford Motor Company, which currently uses the site as an auto parts warehouse)
 * New York City, New York (1981-2003)
 * Newbury Park, California (1981-1993) (moved to Camarillo)