The CBS/Fox Company (Duplicator)

From Home Video

History[edit]

This company was originally established in 1967 as Magnetic Video Corporation. Prior to 1977, the company exclusively provided audio duplication. The company was later renamed to 20th Century Fox Video in the spring of 1982 and, later, The CBS/Fox Company, a joint venture between CBS and 20th Century-Fox, in the summer of 1982, shortly after the home entertainment subsidiaries of the former company and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer were split, upon Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's acquisition of United Artists from Transamerica.

List of Customers[edit]

  • CBS/Fox Video (1982-1987)
    • 20th Century-Fox Video (1982)
      • Magnetic Video Corporation (1977-1982)
  • CBS Video Library (1982-1987)
  • Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment (1981)
  • MCA Videocassette, Inc. (1980)
  • On Gossamer Wings Productions (1985)
  • Paramount Home Video (1979-1981)
  • Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company (1987)
    • Walt Disney Home Video (1987)
  • Worldvision Home Video (1982-1987)

How to Tell[edit]

  • Tapes that were duplicated at Magnetic Video Corporation would have "MAG1" engraved on the back of the tape.
  • 1984-1987 tapes duplicated at CBS/Fox would have engraving on the right side of the tape that says "CBS FOX" and printings on the bottom middle side, including a day-year code that is read in either Day/Y0, Day/Y or Day/YY.
    • For example, if the day-year code reads "16550", that means the tape was printed on the 165th day of 1985.
    • Invisible dark ink printings and white barcode stickers on the side of the tape began in 1986, with the code switched over from "DayY0" to "DayY." VCA/Technicolor continued these printing methods during the next three years, following its acquisition of CBS/Fox's duplication facility and name change to Technicolor Videocassette in 1987, and added Sony Sprinter systems to the plant. Some time after CBS/Fox switched over to RVSA in late March 1990, the printings became similar to those of Technicolor's California plants.
      • From 1987 to 1988, some tapes duplicated using Sony Sprinter systems would have a sticker on the bottom side of the tape with the title, catalog number and label/distributor name. From 1988 to 1995, this was switched over to a barcode sticker on the bottom side of the tape with the distributor/label initialism and catalog number, followed by either a generic initialism or the tape speed initialism and the title. Prior to 1990, the distributor/label initialism, catalog number and generic or tape speed initialism would follow the title; by 1990, this was changed to the title following the distributor/label initialism, catalog number and generic or tape speed initialism.
      • Sometimes, from 1989-1990, the code would read something like "18789." On some tapes, the code is kind of visible.
        • However on some tapes printed in early 1990, the code would just read something like either "3190" or "3390" instead.
      • In addition to the above mentioned printings, tapes duplicated using Otari TMD systems would have a code on the left (prior to 1986) or the right (after 1986) of the vertical-blanking interval that begins with "MV-GARD" (pre-1978), "MAG" (1978-1980), "MAGVID" (1980-1982), "FOXVID" (1982-1984), "CBSFOX" (1984-1986) or "CFV" (1986-1987). VCA/Technicolor continued this code method, rather beginning with "TVC," for the next decade, following its acquisition of CBS/Fox's duplication facility and name change to Technicolor Videocassette in 1987 and Technicolor Video Services in 1993.
  • Most tapes printed after late January 1990, more than two years after Technicolor's acquisition of CBS/Fox's duplication facility, would have an engraving on the left or right side that indicates the company that distributed it, identical to the engraving on either side of tapes duplicated at Technicolor in California. This never applied to tapes released by CBS/Fox, which would switch over to RVSA just a couple of months later but would not start duplicating their product there until that August.

Gallery[edit]

Farmington Hills plant[edit]

Livonia plant[edit]

VBI codes[edit]

Locations[edit]

  • Farmington Hills, Michigan (1967-1986) (moved to Livonia)
  • Livonia, Michigan (1986-1987, building later sold by Technicolor and used by battery supplier A123 Systems as their headquarters before it was ultimately demolished for a Beaumont Health medical center)