The home video business distributes films, telemovies and television series in the form of videos in various formats to the public. These are either bought or rented, then watched privately from the comfort of home by consumers. Most theatrically released films are now released on DVD-Video, replacing the largely obsolete VHS (Video Home System) medium. The VCD format remains popular in Asia, though DVDs are gradually gaining popularity.
Prior to the advent of home video in the late 1970s, most feature films were inaccessible after their theatrical runs, only viewable in re-releases and television broadcasts. Home video release usually follows five or six months after the theatrical release, although recently more films have been arriving on video after three or four months. A time period is often allowed to elapse between the end of theatrical release and the DVD/VHS release, as an effort to discourage piracy, or at least minimize the effect of piracy on the profitability of the theatrical release.
Many TV programs are now also available in complete seasons on DVD. It has become popular for defunct TV shows to be released to DVD one season a time every few months, and active shows to be released on DVD after the end of each season. Prior to the television DVDs, most television shows were only viewable in syndication.
These copyrighted movies and programs have legal restrictions on them preventing them from (amongst other things) being shown in public venues, shown to other people for money, or copied for other than fair use purposes (although even this is questionable now: see below).
There is great controversy about recent attempts to increase protections for rights owners using technical means such as Macrovision and CSS, and by the enactment of laws such as the DMCA, at the expense of consumers' fair use rights.
Major United States players in the home video business include Blockbuster Video and Netflix.
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Contents
- 1 List of notable home video companies
- 1.1 Viacom
- 1.2 News Corporation
- 1.3 Lions Gate
- 1.4 Time Warner
- 1.5 The Walt Disney Company
- 1.6 Sony
- 1.7 NBC Universal
- 1.8 Heron Communications
- 1.9 Others
- 1.10 Outside of the United States
- 2 Pre-Certs
- 3 See also
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List of notable home video companies
The following companies are some of the notable organizations involved the business of producing and marketing pre-recorded cassettes and discs of various formats.
Viacom
- Paramount Home Entertainment (1976-)
- Nickelodeon Video (1993-)
News Corporation
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, currently part of News Corporation (1977-)
- Magnetic Video, the first duplicator/distributor of movies on video cassette for home use (1977-1981)
- Playhouse Home Video (1983-1991)
Lions Gate
- Artisan Entertainment (1984-)
- Vestron Video (1979-)
- Family Home Entertainment (1982-)
- Carolco Home Video (1988-1995)
- Magnum Entertainment (Mid 1980s)
Time Warner
- HBO Video(1978-)
- Warner Home Video (1978-)
- New Line Home Entertainment (1989-)
- (Karl)Lorimar Home Video (1984-1992)
- Hanna-Barbera Home Video (1989-1994)
The Walt Disney Company
- Buena Vista Home Entertainment (1989-)
- Walt Disney Home Entertainment (1978-)
- Touchstone Home Entertainment (1984-)
- Miramax Home Entertainment (1989-)
Sony
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (1978-)
- MGM Home Entertainment (1979-)
- Orion Home Video (1988-1997)
- Sony Wonder (1984-)
NBC Universal
- Universal Home Entertainment (1980-)
- Goodtimes Home Video (1980-)
- PolyGram Video (1993-1996)
Heron Communications
- Media Home Entertainment (1978-1992)
- Hi-Tops Video (1985-1992)
- Saban Video (1989-1992)
Others
- Paragon Video Productions (1982-)
- Simitar Entertainment (1984-2000)
- Anchor Bay Entertainment (1980s-)
- United American Video (1991-2006)
- Viz Video (1993-)
Outside of the United States
Australia: Communications and Entertainment Limited (Early 1980s-Mid 1990s)
Canada: HGV Video Productions (1980-Present, Canadian counterpart of Goodtimes Home Video) Astral Video (Mid 1980s-1996)
France: StudioCanal Video
Japan: Bandai Visual - Emotion (1983-) Toei Home Video (?-Present)
Mexico: Televisa Home Entertainment (dates unknown)
South Africa: Nu Metro Home Entertainment (1987-) Ster-Kinekor Home Video (1993-)
Spain: Filmax Home Video (1988-Present) Video Diversion (Mid-1980s) Lauren Films Video (1980s-Present)
United Kingdom: Video Gems (Mid 1980s-1996) Guild Home Video (1984-?) Telstar Home Entertainment (2000s) BBC Video (1980-)
Pre-Certs
After the passage of the Video Recordings (Labelling) Act of 1985 in the United Kingdom, videotapes and other video recordings without a certification symbol from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) on their covers - or on the tapes themselves - were no longer allowed to be sold or displayed by rental shops. These tapes are called "Pre-Certs" (e.g, Pre-certification tapes). Recently these tapes have generated a cult following, due to their collectability.
