Tape manufacturers

This list is dedicated to the tape stock companies and their customers.

3M

Customers

• Buena Vista Home Video
  • Walt Disney Home Video
• Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment/RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video/Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Fotomat Video
• Magnetic Video Corporation/20th Century Fox Video/CBS/Fox Video
• MCA Videocassette, Inc./MCA Home Video
• MGM/CBS Home Video/MGM/UA Home Video
• Paramount Home Video
• Thorn EMI Video/Thorn EMI/HBO Video
• WCI Home Video/Warner Home Video

How to tell

• On some tapes, especially early ones, the Scotch logo is engraved in white on the tape guard.
• Mid 1980s-Early 1990s tapes may have the Scotch logo engraved as part of the tape nominal information above the record tab.
• Some tapes have "3M" printed as part of the print code information on the bottom side, mainly on those duplicated by Technicolor Videocassette and West Coast Video Duplicating/MediaCopy.

Ampex

Customers

• Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment
• Magnetic Video Corporation
• MCA Videocassette, Inc.
• MGM/CBS Home Video
• Paramount Home Video
• Time-Life Video
• WCI Home Video

BASF

Customers

• Lionsgate Home Entertainment
  • Artisan Entertainment (1987-2004)
    • Vestron Video (1987-1992)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995-2007)
  • Video Treasures (1986-1998)
    • Burbank Video (1987-1995)
      • Jenal Entertainment (1991-1992)
        • Bingo Video
        • Chiron Industries
      • Active Home Video (1986-1989)
      • Troy Gold (1987-1989)
    • MNTex Entertainment (1987-1998)
    • Strand Home Video (1989-1998)
  • Starmaker Entertainment (1989-1998)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (1987-2007)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (1994-2007)
• Sterling Entertainment Group
  • UAV Corporation (1985-1998)
  • VidAmerica, Inc. (1987-1992)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (1994-2007)
• Warner Home Video (1987-2007)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1987-2007)

Fuji

Customers

• Astral Video (Canadian)
• Magnetic Video Corporation
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (Canadian)
• Thorn EMI Video
• Buena Vista Home Video (Canadian)
  • Walt Disney Home Video (Canadian)

JVC

Customers

• Allied Artists Video
• Magnetic Video Corporation
• Media Home Entertainment

Maxell

Customers

• 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment
  • CBS/Fox Video
    • 20th Century-Fox Video
• MGM/UA Home Video
• Paramount Home Video
• Columbia/TriStar Home Video
  • RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
• Thorn EMI Video
• Time-Life Video
• VCI Home Video
• Buena Vista Home Video
  • Walt Disney Home Video
  • Touchstone Home Video
• Warner Home Video
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995-2007)
  • Video Treasures (1988-1998)
    • Burbank Video (1988-1995)
      • Troy Gold (1987-1989)
  • Starmaker Entertainment

Memorex

Customers

• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (1988-1996)
  • Walt Disney Home Video
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995-1996)
  • Video Treasures (1990-1996)
    • Burbank Video (1988-1995)
      • Troy Gold (1987-1989)
  • Starmaker Entertainment (1990-1996)

How to tell

• Some 1987-1998 tapes have “Made in U.S.A.” or "MADE IN U.S.A." moulded on the back right of the cassette.
• Some 1987-1998 tapes have dark ink code information, including the day-year code.
  • For example, if the code reads "8 322 90 2211", then that means that the side of the tape is label number 8 and that the tape was manufactured on the 322nd day of 1990, or November 18, 1990, at 10:11 PM.

Panasonic

Customers

• CBS/Fox Video
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video

RCA

Customers

• Magnetic Video Corporation
• MGM/UA Home Video
• VCI Home Video
• WCI Home Video
• Buena Vista Home Video
  • Walt Disney Home Video
  • Touchstone Home Video

Sony

Customers

• HBO/Cannon Video
• MGM/UA Home Video
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
• Buena Vista Home Video
  • Walt Disney Home Video
• Warner Home Video

How to tell

For VHS, either small round depressions in the frontal shell of the cassette, or a large grid of squares along the entire frontal area thereof.

TDK

Customers

• Magnetic Video Corporation
• MGM/CBS Home Video
• Paramount Home Video
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
• U.S.A. Home Video
• Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company
  • Walt Disney Home Video
• WCI Home Video

Notes

The first companies to provide tape stocks for the official home entertainment and media industry are the larger manufacturing companies, including those that invented the media formats and accessories. 3M invented the Scotch Tape under their then-formed sub-label, Scotch, in 1930, JVC invented the VHS formats in 1977, Memorex invented the computer tape in 1961, TDK invented iron-based magnetic material in 1935, when they were established, and Sony invented the Beta formats in 1975. The last companies to provide tape stocks for the industry were a soda and chemical manufacturing company named BASF, doing business as Baden Aniline and Soda Factory, and a battery company named Maxell.