Doing Business / Videos : Rank Video a ‘Top Gun’ in Duplication

E.T. in Garden Grove?

In a manner of speaking, yes. Garden Grove is a home of sorts to the alien because it is where thousands of videocassette copies of the movie “E.T., the Extra Terrestrial” are being made by Rank Video Services America. The company operates a video duplication factory in Garden Grove, where tens of thousands of copies of popular movies are made daily.

The factory employs 200 people who duplicate, inspect, package and ship the videos to retailers and rental shops throughout the West Coast.

Some of the company’s titles include “The Godfather,” the “Star Trek” series, “Top Gun” and “Terminator 2.”

The company receives a master copy from the movie studios and duplicates it onto blank videotapes. The tapes are then partially reviewed for defects by quality control inspectors like Cynthia Pearce. Pearce and other inspectors will review an average of 2,100 movie cassettes daily.

“It’s exciting to be working closely with the entertainment industry,” said Curt E. Fischer, general manager of Rank Video’s West Coast operation. “We get to see the product of our labor in the corner video store.”