AstralTech

Former names[edit]

TBD

Astral Home Entertainment [Canadian]
Bellevue Home Entertainment [Canadian]
CBC Home Video [Canadian]
CIC Canada (unrelated to CIC Video)
Buena Vista Home Entertainment [Canadian] (1986-2000)
- Hollywood Pictures Home Video [Canadian]
- Touchstone Home Video [Canadian]
- Walt Disney Home Video [Canadian]
CBS/Fox Video [Canadian] (1983-1986)
- Key Video [Canadian] (1984-1986)
Gorgon Video [Canadian] (one known copy of Don't Look in the Basement)
MCA Home Video Canada (some 1980s tapes)
Media Home Entertainment [Canadian] (1984-1993)
- Hi-Tops Video [Canadian] (1986-1993)
New World Video [Canadian] (1984-1989)
Paramount Home Video [Canadian] (1987) (one known Betamax copy of Heartburn)
RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video/Columbia TriStar Home Video [Canadian] (1983-1995)
- Magic Window [Canadian]
- MusicVision [Canadian]
SC/Creswin [Canadian]
Screencraft Video [Canadian]
Sovicom [Canadian]
Warner Home Video [Canadian] (1980-1994)

Tapes duplicated here prior to 1995 have a coloured sticker, usually white, on the tape guard. These stickers always have SKU numbers on them. Sometimes they would have a red ink side label number and/or a handwritten title label number.
- Tapes duplicated in the early 80's also have the distributor's name on the sticker.
Most tapes duplicated here may have an abbreviation engraved on the left/right side or back of the tape.
- For some distributors, there may also be a month-year code engraved next to it (e.g. RCP 5 4 = May 1984).
In the fall of 1994, this company printed out print dates on their tapes that were similar to the ones on those duplicated by Technicolor.
Beginning in 1995, tapes duplicated here have information in the form of printings on the bottom spine akin to the ones on those duplicated by Technicolor, except the information reads the name of the release and cartridge number.
- E.G. if the cartridge number reads "13/40", that means the tape is cartridge number 13 out of the 40 cartridges, although in some ways, this does not reliably guarantee that only 40 copies of the VHS release were produced by this arm. Or, if it reads "089/510", that means the tape is cartridge number 89 out of 510 cartridges.
Tapes duplicated here may have a code on the vertical-blanking interval that begins with "PATH".
Most tapes from this company were duplicated on cassettes manufactured by Fujifilm.

AV - Astral Video, Forum Home Video, Media Home Entertainment, Trans World Entertainment (198?-1990)
ASTRAL - Astral Video (1990-????)
BVHV - Buena Vista Home Video/Buena Vista Home Entertainment (1990-1998)
BVHE - Buena Vista Home Entertainment (1998-2006)
CIC - CIC Canada (????-????)
DIS - Buena Vista Home Video (1986-1990)
MAG3 - CBS/Fox Video (1983-1986)
MCA - MCA Home Video Canada (198?-198?)
NWV1 - New World Video (1984-1989)
RCP - RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1983-1990)
COL - same as RCP (1990-1992)
CTHV - Columbia TriStar Home Video (1992-1995)
SC - Screencraft Video
TCI - Alliance Atlantis (2000-2006), Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2000-2006)

Astral Media sold its video duplication and distribution arm to Technicolor Video Services in 2000; however, the sale did not include the Astral Home Entertainment video wholesaling and marketing division.

Prior to 1995, AstralTech used stickers on the top of the tape guard, with SKU numbers and a red inked number on them.
In the early 1980s, this company used the distributor's name on the sticker. This example mentions WEA, which was Warner Home Video’s direct sales agent at the time.
This example mentions RCA/Columbia Pictures Home video.
If the name did not indicate the distributor, it would always be PATHE.
An example of what the code on the vertical-blanking interval used on tapes duplicated here looks like.

In the fall of 1994, this company used the ink print date method slightly similar to the Technicolor-esque kind.
From 1995 to 1996, this company used an ink printing slightly different from the Technicolor-esque kind. One exception was that the printing included a cartridge number as opposed to a print date.