Universal Studios Home Entertainment

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Universal Studios Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video and MCA Home Video) is a home video company founded in 1978 as MCA DiscoVision. The company is owned NBC Universal, the entertainment division of General Electric and Vivendi.

The company released Beta and VHS videocassettes on the MCA Videocassette, Inc. label in 1980, with films including Jaws, Jaws 2, and 1941. In late 1983, both the Laserdisc sister label MCA Videodisc and the VHS/Beta label MCA Videocassette were consolidated into a single entity, MCA Home Video. In 1990, with the 75th anniversary of Universal Studios, it became MCA/Universal Home Video.

This company was the video distributor for DreamWorks titles until DreamWorks was sold to Paramount/Viacom in 2006, at which point Paramount took over distribution. After Viacom sold DreamWorks in 2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment distributed DreamWorks films on DVD again.

In addition to DVDs, Universal was a major supporter of the HD DVD format until March 2008, when Toshiba discontinued manufacturing of HD DVD players. Since July 22, 2008, Universal released Blu-ray discs; it was the last major Hollywood movie studio to do so. The label's first Blu-ray releases were The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and The Scorpion King.

In 2009, Universal Studios Home Entertainment accquired exclusive US rights to Pokémon films starting with Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior.

Internationally

In the Netherlands, Universal distributes most DVDs of films released theatrically by Independent Films.

It also distributes Alliance Atlantis DVD titles in Canada, most of the Republic Pictures theatrical library in the UK, and most of the Carolco Pictures library in Australia and Brazil & finally the libraries of Artisan Entertainment & Summit Entertainment releases in USA.

Universal previously distributed its films on video internationally through CIC Video (a division of Cinema International Corporation) alongside Paramount Pictures. Following Universal's acquisition of PolyGram in 1999, PolyGram Video (which had international operations) was absorbed into Universal.

External links

• Official site
• Universal TV DVD
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment at the Internet Movie Database
• Universal Studios Home Video at the Internet Movie Database
• MCA/Universal Home Video at the Internet Movie Database