Universal Pictures Home Entertainment: Difference between revisions

[[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]]' home entertainment unit descended from MCA's "DiscoVision" system, which was created to develop the LaserDisc system and entered the market in 1978 after development that started in the late 1960's, and the first demonstration of the system in 1972. DiscoVision was riddled with issues, and numerous films were released from Universal, with [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]], [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]], and [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] also licensing titles to the label. With DiscoVision failing, MCA entered the home videocassette market in late 1980, creating "MCA Videocassette" to market releases to VHS and Betamax. DiscoVision was finally folded as a software label by MCA in 1981 reorganizing the division as "MCA Videodisc", and also expanded their videodisc operations to cover RCA's "SelectaVision" videodisc format. However, the "MCA Home Video" moniker was applied to both VHS and disc releases and became simply known as "MCA Home Video", alternating with the "MCA Videocassette" name until 1984. In 1990, MCA Home Video renamed itself as "MCA/Universal Home Video" to capitalize the Universal Studios name and to coincide with Universal's 75th Anniversary, alternating with the "MCA Home Video" name in 1992 or 1995. In December 1996, it renamed itself as "Universal Studios Home Video" when MCA was reincorporated as Universal Studios and in 2005 changed once again into "Universal Studios Home Entertainment". In 2016, the home entertainment division was restructured and was renamed as "Universal Pictures Home Entertainment". In January 2020, it was announced that Universal and [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]] would be partnering to form a brand new home media joint venture, which will see new and library titles from both companies being released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD under one entity; the venture launched in early 2021 under the name Studio Distribution Services.