Entire History of Movies in the Home Timeline

Below is a timeline for every notable event in the history of movies in the home (with more being added). It should be noted that this website uses the term, “Home Video,” in two different ways. Firstly, it uses it as an umbrella term for the viewing of movies in the home, physical or otherwise. Secondly, its also the label given to the era in time where movies are being released on physical video formats.

June, 1979

MCA Dramatically Increases the Cost of their Laserdiscs

During the test roll out (with several more cities added), MCA realizes that it was actually costing a lot more to press the discs than initially thought. All the discs are given a 50% – 60% price hike. This move taints videodisc’s reputation, making the format even less competitive against videocassettes.

July, 1979 (Back Stage, 1979/12/07, p. 1)

Warner Brothers Announces Entrance Into Home Video

Warner Brothers, through their Warner Communications Inc (WCI) division, announces that the studio would be releasing titles to videocassette the following year.

October, 1979 (Back Stage, 1979/10/12, p. 43)

Columbia Pictures Announces Entrance Into Home Video

Columbia Pictures reveals that they would be releasing 20 titles through their newly formed division, Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment.

October 2nd, 1979 (Screen International, 1979/10/13, p. 6)

Sony Is Cleared of Violating Universal’s Copyright In California Court

Sony is cleared of violating the Lanham Act, or in this case, the encouragement of infringement in their Betamax marketing campaign. The judge believes that television recordings for the purpose of time-shifting is fair use. Universal appeals the decision.

November, 1979 (Billboard, 1979/11/17, p. 62)

Paramount Home Video Launches

After a successful test run with Fotomat, Paramount debuts 10 titles through their own newly formed home video division. Several of these titles are The Godfather and Saturday Night Fever.

November, 1979 (Broadcast, 1979/11/05, p. 27)

RCA Licenses Paramount Titles For Their Upcoming Videodisc

Paramount agrees to have their films on RCA’s upcoming videodisc. Grease, The Godfather and Saturday Night Fever are among the titles licensed.

November 17th, 1979 (Billboard, 1979/11/17, p. 68)

Billboard Publishes the First “Videocassette Top 40” List

As they’ve always done with music sales, Billboard creates a “Top 40” list specially for the sale of videocassettes. It excludes X-rated movies. Much of list for this week is dominated by Magnetic Video titles, with the number one slot going to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

January, 1980 (Billboard, 1980/01/05, p. 36)

WCI Home Video Releases Their First 20 Titles

WCI Home Video (Warner Communications Inc.) make available 20 different titles on videocassette, including, Superman (1978), Deliverance (1972) and Blazing Saddles (1974).

January, 1980 (Billboard, 1980/01/05, p. 38)

Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment Releases Their First 20 Titles

Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment makes available 20 titles from their catalog. Several of these include The Deep (1977), Breakout (1975) and Fun With Dick and Jane (1977).

April, 1980 (Billboard, 1980/02/09, p. 10)

MCA Videocassette Releases Their First 25 Titles

MCA Videocassette (parent company of Universal), releases their first batch of 25 titles on videocassette. Titles include Jaws (1975) and The Jerk (1979). Although launch is said to have been April, the titles first appear on Billboard charts in June.

May 10th, 1980 (Variety, 1980/03/03, p. 50)

Disney First Enters the Home Video Market Through Fotomat

To first test the home videocassette market, Disney makes their titles available to Fotomat’s Drive-Thru Movies program.

September, 1980 (Billboard, 1980/09/06, p. 3)

Disney Home Video Releases Their First 13 Titles

After a successful test run with Fotomat, Disney releases “10 feature films and 3 animated features” through their own home video division, Disney Home Video. Several of these titles include The Black Hole (1979), Davy Crockett (1955) and Pete’s Dragon (1977). They also announce a rental program for retailers.

November, 1980 (Star Tribune, 1981/03/08, p. 9D)

Laserdisc Is Rolled Out Nationally

After having tested their laserdisc system in several U.S. cities for almost two years, MCA and Philips roll out their laserdisc system nationally. This comes just in time for Christmas, and several months before RCA’s own videodisc launch.

March 22nd, 1981 (Star Tribune, 1981/03/08, p. 9D)

RCA Selectavision SFT100W (CED)

RCA finally launches their videodisc system, a format called Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED). The player goes for $500 and the discs in the $20 range. The first title to roll off the presses is Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977).

April, 1981 (Back Stage, 1981/04/24, p. 1)

Technicolor Video Showcase 335T (CVC)

 Technicolor launches the first portable TV and VCR unit in one. Its small and compact (for its time), only weighing approximately 20 lbs. The only catch to the device is that it uses Technicolor’s own 1/4″ videocassette format, the compact video cassette (or CVC). The format is unpopular and of poor quality.

April, 1981 (Billboard, 1981/04/18, p. 58)

Wizard Video Is Launched

Cult film producer and director, Charles Band, launches his latest videocassette label after having been ousted from MEDA Media-Home Entertainment.

June, 1981 (Variety, 1981/08/26, p. 52)

Family Home Entertainment Is Announced

Caballero Control, an adult film distributor run by Noel Bloom, launches a sister label for more mainstream programming. Their earliest titles are mostly family programs. Their first big title is the television event Pippin from that same year.

August 17th, 1981 (Billboard, 1981/09/05, p. 1)

Warner Declares War On Retailers With a Rental-Only Plan

Warner Home Video notifies retailers that their original dealer agreements with Warner are now cancelled in favor of a “Rental-Only” system for top titles. Other studios, such as Disney, MGM and 20th Century Fox also implement rental agreements. These new reporting and pricing structures are seen as unfair and impractical, causing a massive backlash within the industry.    

September, 1981 (Back Stage, 1981/09/25, p. 79)

NBC Signs a Distribution Deal With Warner Home Video

NBC enters into an agreement to have Warner Home Video distribute 28 different programs, including a series called “Spotlight On.”

October 19th, 1981 (Variety, 1981/10/21, p. 1)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reverses Sony’s Victory

The three judge opinion finds that the recording of television programs for off-air watching is, in fact, copyright infringement. But because there were already so many VCRs among the public, the court felt that having a royalty paid to the studios from the manufacturers might be the only solution.