‘The Civil War’ on Home Video

Even as “The Civil War” was unfolding on PBS this week, tapes of the 11-hour documentary were available on home video.

The tapes can be obtained in a nine-cassette set through both Time-Life Video and PBS Video, a subsidiary of the Public Broadcasting Service.

The Time-Life set costs $199.55 for the set, or $24.95 for each cassette. The PBS set is more elaborate--including an index of people and events and a time-line chart--and sells for $350 before Oct. 30 and $450 thereafter.

Both can only be purchased by phone. Time-Life: (800) 345-8300; PBS Video (800) 488-4727.