MediaCopy

From Home Video

History[edit]

TBD

Former names[edit]

  • West Coast Video Duplicating, Inc. (1987-1996)

List of Customers[edit]

  • 3:13 Productions (2000)
  • ABC Video Enterprises (1991-1992) (tapes sold through Simon Marketing)
  • A.I.P. Home Video (1990-1992)
  • Bandai Entertainment (2000-2001)
    • Anime Village
  • Central Park Media
    • U.S. Manga Corps (2001)
  • Columbia House (1987-2005)
  • Columbia TriStar Home Video (1990-1996) (screener copies)
  • Fox Lorber Home Video (1997) (some copies of Tetsuo the Iron Man)
  • Globalstage Productions (1999)
  • HIT Entertainment (2001-2002) (Bob the Builder and Kipper tapes)
    • Lyrick Studios (2001) (Bob the Builder and Kipper tapes)
      • The Lyons Group (1993-1995)
  • J2 Communications (1991-1992) (some tapes, including The Star Wars Trilogy Animated Collection tapes, sold through Simon Marketing)
  • J & N Media (2002)
  • Jesus Video Project (some copies of Jesus)
  • kaBOOM! Entertainment Inc. (2003-2004)
  • Live Entertainment/Artisan Entertainment (some copies of Paula Abdul: Get Up and Dance and The Substitute and some tapes sold through the Columbia House Video Club)
  • Major League Baseball Home Video
  • MCA Music Video
  • McDonald's (2000-2001) (The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Birthday World and Have Time, Will Travel)
  • MGM Home Entertainment (1990-2004)
    • Orion Home Video (199?-1998)
    • Fries Home Video (1987-1989)
  • Miramar Productions (1992-1993)
  • MPI Home Video (1991-????)
  • New Horizons Home Video
  • Pacific Arts Video
  • Paramount Home Entertainment (1990-2005) (some tapes, particularly tapes sold through the Columbia House Video Club)
    • Nickelodeon Video (some tapes sold through the Columbia House Video Club)
      • Nick Jr. Video (some tapes sold through the Columbia House Video Club)
  • Pioneer Entertainment (1994-2000)
  • PolyGram Video
  • PPI Entertainment (2002)
  • Prism Entertainment
  • Random House Home Video (1991-1992) (The Berenstain Bears tapes, sold through Simon Marketing)
  • Saban (2000) (Power Rangers in 3-D)
  • Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment
  • Simitar Entertainment (1990) (some copies of Fighter Aces of World War II)
  • SyberVision
  • Tai Seng Video Marketing (1997)
  • Video Treasures (1994)
    • Media Home Entertainment (1990-1993)
    • Strand Home Video (1992-1994)
  • Vidmark Entertainment
  • Viz Video
  • Warner Home Video (1989-1992) (some copies of Batman and Batman Returns and some tapes sold through the Columbia House Video Club)
    • Turner Home Entertainment (199?-1997)
      • Hanna-Barbera Home Video (1992)
    • New Line Home Video (1991-1997)
  • World Wide Pictures Home Video
  • Xenon Entertainment Group (1998)

How to Tell[edit]

  • By the late 1980s, VHS tapes duplicated by West Coast Video Duplicating (later MediaCopy, Inc.) have ink information on the bottom middle side of the tape that is printed in a couple of different colors, but sometimes the color of the printings is invisible, like dark purple, for example.
    • The information on the tape includes the print date and time on the right. Next to the print date and time are letters that usually indicate the duplicator (though on some tapes, they indicate the distributor). This was usually followed by a catalog number and, optionally, the tape speed's initialism. On tapes with a different color cassette, the color and style of the printing varied.
      • For example, if the print date/time is numbered "020795 1358", then that means the specific VHS tape was printed on February 7, 1995 at 1:58 PM.
    • On some early tapes, the date was in MM/DD/Y format.
  • Some Fries Home Video tapes duplicated by this company prior to 1989 said "WCV" (1988-1989) or "WCVD" (1989) on the bottom right corner of the label.
  • In addition, tapes duplicated at this company also have a length code on the left of the information. On pre-1996 tapes, the nominal length is above the record tab (usually broken off), while on post-1996 tapes, it is on the bottom label portion. On some tapes printed using thermal magnetic duplication from Otari, the length was preceded by the letters "TMDSP" or "TMDEP".
  • After 1996, tapes duplicated at MediaCopy, Inc. would have an engraving on the left side that indicates the company that distributed it.
  • Tapes from this duplicator, that say "TMDEP" or "TMDSP" in the printings, had a few additional seconds of black screen following the blank space at the very end.
  • EP/SLP (TMDEP) tapes from this duplicator usually lack hi-fi sound.
  • Some tapes with the tape speed’s initialism (e.g. T-120) in the printings, end abruptly.
  • Very rarely, a tape printed here may have a silent white screen test pattern at the end.
  • Tapes duplicated by this company's Los Angeles locations had a print date in dark ink, like this for example:
  T-48      99-3M    082195     M
                     1142       P
  • But instead, on some New Line Home Video demo tapes, there were white printings above the recording tab spot, like this for example:

T-127

CS

  • Tapes from the Los Angeles locations also had white printings on the left side of the tape, like this for example:

PA12220 01

0445 150619

Known abbreviation letter codes[edit]

  • 131 - Columbia House Video Club (1996-2003)
  • MGM/UA - MGM/UA Home Video (1996-1999)
  • MGM - MGM Home Entertainment (1999-2004)
  • WHV - Warner Home Video (1989-1997), Turner Home Entertainment (1997)
  • OHV - Orion Home Video (1996-1999)

Known stock number prefix codes[edit]

  • WCVD (1990-1996)
  • MCI (1996-2002)
  • INFO (2002-2005)
  • JLB - J.L. Bowerbank & Associates (199?-199?)
  • PAR - Paramount Home Video (1998)

Gallery[edit]

West Coast Video Duplicating, Inc.[edit]

  • An ad for the company, circa 1991

    An ad for the company, circa 1991

  • An example of what the dark ink printing looked like from late 1990 to 1996.

    An example of what the dark ink printing looked like from late 1990 to 1996.

  • Same example as picture #2, except the letters read "JLB".

    Same example as picture #2, except the letters read "JLB".

  • This is an example of what print dates on tapes printed in Los Angeles looked like. It may be hard to see in this capture.

    This is an example of what print dates on tapes printed in Los Angeles looked like. It may be hard to see in this capture.

  • This is an example of what the white printings on the left side of tapes printed in Los Angeles looked like.

    This is an example of what the white printings on the left side of tapes printed in Los Angeles looked like.

  • While most tapes by West Coast Video Duplicating didn't usually have anything in the vertical blanking interval, a few Orion Home Video tapes in EP/SLP mode had information like this in the vertical blanking interval.

    While most tapes by West Coast Video Duplicating didn't usually have anything in the vertical blanking interval, a few Orion Home Video tapes in EP/SLP mode had information like this in the vertical blanking interval.

MediaCopy[edit]

  • An example of what the ink printing looked like from 1996 to 2002.

    An example of what the ink printing looked like from 1996 to 2002.

  • An example of what the ink printing looked like from 2003 to 2004.

    An example of what the ink printing looked like from 2003 to 2004.

  • On some 2004 tapes, the printings did not say INFO.

    On some 2004 tapes, the printings did not say INFO.

Locations[edit]

  • Beverly Hills, California (199?-????)
  • Brisbane, California (1987-1995) (moved to San Leandro)
  • Culver City, California (1990-199?) (acquired from Media Home Entertainment, moved to Beverly Hills)
  • El Paso, Texas (1998-2004)
  • Juarez, Chihuahua (1998-2004)
  • San Leandro, California (1995-2001)

Website[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • Some tapes with the company's WC initialism on the printing on the tape spine, specifically Strand Home Video tapes pressed in late 1994, were instead duplicated at Technicolor Video Services, possibly as a result of Video Treasures being Strand Home Video's distributor in the US at the time.
  • In May 1994, West Coast Video Duplicating sued Michael Nesmith for $4.8 million due to unpaid bills for video duplication services. According to court records, the actual amount was $2.4 million. Since the invoices clearly showed his company liable for the services, Nesmith and his lawyers opted for a trial with a jury in an attempt to delay the proceedings while he tried to win a lawsuit with PBS.
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