Columbia Pictures Videocassette Services

From Home Video

List of Customers

  • Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment (1979-1981)
  • Paramount Home Video (1978-1981)

How to Tell

  • Several Columbia Pictures Videocassete Services-duplicated tapes from 1979 to 1981 have the color bars test pattern with the normal-pitched looping beep-tone at the end of the tape. On some tapes, there is a black screen with the text, "This is a TEST!" and a similar looping beep-tone in a slightly low or normal pitch.
  • On some early tapes, "910" is etched somewhere on the tape. It could also be a year-month code, in this case, October 1979.
  • Most tapes duplicated by Paramount Video Services were duplicated on cassettes supplied by 3M's adhesive tape sub-label, Scotch, which is evidenced by the Scotch logo engraved on the left of the tape guard, and a blue sticker upward the take-up reel with white letters saying "Recorded on Scotch Videotape, Your Assurance of Quality".