Magnetic Video

Home entertainment company (1968–1982) Magnetic Video Corporation was a home video and home audio duplication service that operated between 1968 and 1982. History Magnetic Video Corporation was co-founded in 1968 by American film producer Andre Blay and Leon Nicholson. It was based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In 1977, it became the first company to release theatrical motion pictures onto Betamax and VHS videocassette for consumer use. (Cartridge Television, Inc. preceded it in 1972 when it introduced the Avco Cartrivision home VCR with a line of major motion pictures available for rent on the Cartrivision videocassette format. Cartrivision was discontinued a little over a year after its debut.) Magnetic Video is notable for its contribution to the rise of the modern-day home video empire and the birth of video rental systems. In late 1976, Blay conceived the idea of releasing pre-recorded motion pictures on videocassette. The following year, he convinced 20th Century-Fox, which was then in financial difficulty, to license fifty of their films for home video release in VHS and Betamax formats. Blay also established the Video Club of America (VCA) in order to sell the titles dir