Bell & Howell test patterns

This page is dedicated to cataloging the numerous test pattern types used by Bell & Howell and its successor entities for over 40 years.

Test pattern types

Black screen, 500 Hz tone
Black screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Lime screen, 400 Hz tone
Lime screen, 975 Hz tone
White screen, 400 Hz tone
White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
White screen, 875 Hz tone (medium clicking)
White screen, 875 Hz tone (fast clicking)
White screen, 950 Hz tone
White screen, 975 Hz tone
White screen, 1000 Hz tone
White screen with red letterbox bars, 1000 Hz tone
White screen, 1000 Hz tone (clicking)
White screen, 1025 Hz tone
White screen, 1125 Hz tone
White screen, 1175 Hz tone
From 1988 to 1996, many tapes had a white screen test pattern (with optional red bard until 1989) and/or a closing black screen with a moaning sound.

Pre-1984 test patterns

Tapes duplicated at Bell & Howell before Q4 1984 (i.e. before the 40th week of 1984) had a wide variety of test patterns. Tapes confirmed to not have test patterns are listed in the next section. If you don't know what test pattern is on a tape, or whether or not such a tape had a test pattern, list it here without any additional info apart from the name of the releasing company and the year of release; if you can 100% confirm such a tape did not have a test pattern after all, move it to the next section. Also, for Disney tapes, check if the bottom of the square label says "Fotomat Drive-Thru Movies" instead of "For Rental Only, Not for Sale" or "For Sale Only, Not Intended for Rental" before moving anything, because if it says "Fotomat Drive-Thru Movies", it was definitely duplicated at Bell & Howell.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Fotomat Video, 1980)
The Adventures of Chip and Dale (Fotomat Video, 1980)
Airplane! (Paramount Home Video, 1981) - White screen, 1125 Hz tone
Airport (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
Alvarez Kelly (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone (Bell & Howell pressings)
The Amazing Spider-Man (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 1175 Hz tone
America at the Movies (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
American Gigolo (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
American Graffiti (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
The Andromeda Strain (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
Apocalypse Now (Paramount Home Video, 1981) - White screen, 950 Hz tone
The Apple Dumpling Gang (Fotomat Video, 1980)
April Wine: Live in London (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
Barbarella (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Battlestar Galactica (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Fotomat Video, 1980)
Benny Hill's Video Revue (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
The Black Hole (Fotomat Video, 1980)
The Boat (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1983) - White screen, 975 Hz tone
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Breaker Morant (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1981)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1981) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
Bye Bye Birdie (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1979) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
Can't Stop the Music (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
Cat Ballou (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1981)
Charlotte's Web (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Chinatown (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
The Conversation (Paramount Home Video, 1981) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (Fotomat Video, 1980)
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (Thorn EMI Video, 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Death Machines (VCI Home Video, 1983)
Death on the Nile (Thorn EMI Video, 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
The Deer Hunter (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Dracula (1979 version) (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - White screen, 1125 Hz tone
The Dresser (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1983) - White screen, 975 Hz tone
Emmanuelle (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980)
Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Escape from Alcatraz (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Escape to Witch Mountain (Fotomat Video, 1980)
Flash Gordon (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - White screen, 1125 Hz tone
For Pete's Sake (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
The Four Seasons (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (fast clicking)
Friday the 13th (Paramount Home Video, 1981)
Friday the 13th Part II (Paramount Home Video, 1981)
Friday the 13th Part III (Paramount Home Video, 1983)
The Front (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1982) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
Getting Wasted (VCI Home Video, 1983)
Gimme Shelter (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980)
The Godfather (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Godfather Part II (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Godfather: The Complete Epic (Paramount Home Video, 1981)
Goin' South (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Grease (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Great Movie Stunts/The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark (Paramount Home Video, 1982)
Hardcore (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1982) - White screen, 400 Hz tone
Harlan County, U.S.A. (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980)
Harold and Maude (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - Black screen, 500 Hz tone
Hatari (Paramount Home Video, 1983) - White screen, 950 Hz tone
Heartland (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
Heaven Can Wait (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Hot Lead and Cold Feet (Fotomat Video, 1980)
Hud (Paramount Home Video, 1982)
The Hunter (Paramount Home Video, 1981) - White screen, 1125 Hz tone
I Am a Dancer (Thorn EMI Video, 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Jaws (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980)
Jaws 2 (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980)
Jesus Christ Superstar (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980)
Kids Is Kids (Fotomat Video, 1980)
The Killers (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - Black screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
King Kong (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
The Last Married Couple in America (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1982) - White screen, 400 Hz tone
Little Darlings (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 400 Hz tone
The Little Prince (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Longest Yard (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Lord of the Rings (Thorn EMI Video, 1982)
Malicious (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Mandingo (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Marathon Man (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Masada (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
Melvin and Howard (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Midnight Express (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1979) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1981) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone (CPVS pressings), White screen, 1000 Hz tone (B&H pressings)
Murder on the Orient Express (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
North Dallas Forty (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
On Vacation (Fotomat Video, 1980)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Thorn EMI Video, 1982)
The Owl and the Pussycat (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980)
Pete's Dragon (Fotomat Video, 1980)
Play It Again, Sam (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Popeye (Paramount Home Video, 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz
The Professionals (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1983) - White screen, 400 Hz tone
Providence (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1983)
Pumping Iron (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980)
Queen: Greatest Flix (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Paramount Home Video, 1983)
Rockshow (Thorn EMI Video, 1982)
Romeo and Juliet (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (medium clicking)
Rosemary's Baby (Paramount Home Video, 1981)
The Royal Wedding (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
S.O.S. Titanic (Thorn EMI Video, 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Same Time, Next Year (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Saturday Night Fever (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Save the Tiger (Paramount Home Video, 1981) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
Scars of Dracula (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
Schizoid (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
The Seduction of Joe Tynan (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Seven Beauties (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980)
Shane (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Shootist (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - Black screen, 500 Hz tone
Slap Shop (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Smokey and the Bandit (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980) - Black screen, 1000 Hz tone
Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
Spider-Woman (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1982)
Stalag 17 (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 1125 Hz tone
Star Trek Vol. 1: The Menagerie (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - Black screen, 500 Hz tone
Star Trek Vol. 2: Amok Time/Journey to Babel (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Star Trek Vol. 3: Mirror, Mirror/The Tholian Web (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Star Trek Vol. 4: The Trouble with Tribbles/Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Star Trek Vol. 5: Balance of Terror/The City on the Edge of Forever (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Starting Over
Sunset Boulevard (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Swept Away (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980) - Color bars, 1000 Hz tone
Taxi Driver (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1982) - White screen, 400 Hz tone
The Ten Commandments (Paramount Home Video, 1980) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
Thank God It's Friday (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1983) - White screen, 400 Hz tone
Three Days of the Condor (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Times Square (Thorn EMI Video, 1981) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
To Kill a Mockingbird (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1981) - White screen, 875 Hz tone (slow clicking)
The Tubes Video (Thorn EMI Video, 1981)
Up in Smoke (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Victor/Victoria (MGM/UA Home Video, 1982) - White screen, 1000 Hz tone
The War of the Worlds (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Way We Were (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1983) - White screen, 400 Hz tone
When Worlds Collide (Paramount Home Video, 1981) - White screen, 1125 Hz tone
Which Way Is Up? (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980)

Pre-1995 Bell & Howell tapes without test patterns

This list does not include tapes that have the moaning sound but no white screen test pattern.

The Bad News Bears (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
The Betsy (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
Chaplin's Art of Comedy (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
Crossroads (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1986)
The Crying Game (Live Home Video, 1993)
The Electric Horseman (MCA Videocassette, Inc., 1980)
Field of Dreams (MCA/Universal Home Video, 1992)
The Fisher King (Columbia TriStar Home Video, 1992)
Foul Play (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
In Cold Blood (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1982)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I (Fox Video, 1991)
The Love Bug (Fotomat Video, 1980)
The Man Who Would Be King (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie (FoxVideo, 1994)
The Next Man (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
Nobody's Perfekt (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1982)
The North Avenue Irregulars (Fotomat Video, 1980)
The Odd Couple (Paramount Home Video, 1980)
Papillon (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
Popeye (Paramount Home Video, 1981, post-1984 printings)
Quantrill's Raiders (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (Allied Artists Video, 1980)
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (Allied Artists Video, 1980)
This Man Must Die (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
The Three Stooges Vol. 1 (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1980)
The Three Stooges Vol. 3 (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1981)
The Three Stooges Vol. 4 (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1982)
The Three Stooges Vol. 5 (Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, 1982)
Tickle Me (Allied Artists Video, 1978)
The Woman in Green (Allied Artists Video, 1980)