AstralTech: Difference between revisions

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Former names

Pathé Video (1980-1990)

List of Customers

Astral Home Entertainment [Canadian]
Bellevue Home Entertainment [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)
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)
RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video/Columbia Tristar Home Video [Canadian] (1983-1995)
- Magic Window [Canadian]
- MusicVision [Canadian]
SC/Creswin [Canadian]
Screencraft Video [Canadian]
Warner Home Video [Canadian] (1980-1994)

How to Tell

Tapes duplicated by AstralTech (formerly Pathé Video) 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 by Pathé Video 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, AstralTech printed out print dates on their tapes that were similar to the ones on those duplicated by Technicolor.
Beginning in 1995, tapes duplicated by AstralTech have ink information on the bottom middle side akin to the information 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 by Pathé may have a code on the vertical-blanking interval that begins with "PATH".
Most tapes were duplicated on cassettes manufactured by Fujifilm.

Known abbreviation letter codes

AV - tapes released by Astral Video, Forum Home Video, Media Home Entertainment and its subsidiaries, and Trans World Entertainment prior to 1990
ASTRAL - tapes released by Astral Video after 1990
BVHV - tapes released under the Buena Vista Home Video label and its subsidiaries from 1990 to 1998
BVHE - tapes released under the Buena Vista Home Entertainment label and its subsidiaries after 1998
CIC - tapes released by CIC Canada
DIS - tapes released by Buena Vista Home Video and its subsidiaries prior to 1990
MAG3 - tapes released by CBS/Fox Video and its subsidiaries
MCA - tapes released under the MCA Home Video label
NWV1 - tapes released by New World Video and Malofilm Video (the latter through the former)
PHE - tapes released by Paramount Home Entertainment after Technicolor's acquisition of AstralTech in 2000
RCP - tapes released by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and its subsidiaries prior to 1990
COL - tapes released by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video after 1990
CTHV - tapes released by Columbia TriStar Home Video
SC - tapes sold through Screencraft Video
TCI - tapes released by Alliance Atlantis and Universal Studios Home Entertainment after Technicolor's acquisition of AstralTech in 2000

Fun Facts

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.

Locations

Toronto, Ontario (1980-1994) (moved to Montreal)
Montreal, Quebec (1994-2000)

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 ==Fun Facts==
 * 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.
-== Gallery ==
-=== Pathé Video ===
-<gallery>
-File:Pathé Sticker on Tape Guard (3 Different Copies of Sleeping Beauty, 1986 Disney).jpg|Prior to 1995, AstralTech used stickers on the top of the tape guard, with SKU numbers and a red ink side label number on them.
-File:Sticker on Tape Guard (Pathé) (The Exorcist, 1981 Warner).jpg|In the early 1980s, Pathé Video used the distributor's name on the sticker.
-File:Sticker on Tape Guard (Pathé) (Charlotte's Web, 1980's Astral).jpg|If the name did not indicate the distributor, it would always be PATHE.
-File:PATH Interval (Pathé) (Dumbo, 1986 Disney).jpg|An example of what the code on the vertical-blanking interval used on tapes duplicated by Pathé looks like.
-</gallery>
-=== AstralTech ===
-<gallery>
-File:AstralTech Ink Label (The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1994 Disney).jpg|In the fall of 1994, AstralTech used the ink print date method slightly similar to the Technicolor-esque kind.
-File:AstralTech Ink Label (Cinderella, 1995 Disney).jpg|From 1995 to 1996, AstralTech 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.
-</gallery>
-=== Technicolor Canada ===
-<gallery>
-File:Ink Label (Technicolor Canada) (Castle in the Sky, 2003 Disney).jpg|Following Technicolor's acquisition of AstralTech in 2000, this is what the ink printing looked like from that point on.
-</gallery>
 ==Locations==