Topic: DAT: data tapes vs audio tapes

[guitard]

This is probably a really stupid question... but my curiosity has got the best of me.

They buy box loads of DAT data tapes where I work to backup information on the computer drives.  I could get them really cheap through the office supply.  But... of course, I have to ask the big question - are they any good for recording music?

They are the exact same size as a regular DAT cartridge and I tried one - fits into my Sony D100 just fine.

Curious minds want to know!

[Roving Sign]

Oh god - this is one of those debates that I'm glad to see die with DAT!

Search DAT Heads Digest for endless speculation about Data vs DAT....this is an old one!

[Josephine]

DDS tapes work just as well as DAT and are lots cheaper.
Like Moke mentioned, you'll want 60 or 90m (meters, not minutes).

[kskreider]

I am not going to say whether data or audio are better than one another as there are so many differeing opinions.

However, I personally used Maxell HS/4 60m's DDS tapes in my DA-P1 for the 3+ years that I used it and never had a problem.  With some web searching I could often find them for less than $2 a piece.

[anhisr]

I used DDS 60 & 90 tapes from 97-05 with no problems on my D8 in the field. 

[halleyscomet8]

i am having trouble now because all of my 90's are filled with static. but, my 60's are fine . is it my heads or the motor.

[stirinthesauce]

i am having trouble now because all of my 90's are filled with static. but, my 60's are fine . is it my heads or the motor.

betcha Paul at prodigital can answer that for you, give him a call or an email.   

http://www.prodigitalinc.com/

+t for your troubles

[guitard]

Thanks much for all the responses!

One last question ~ does the length of the tape matter?  I ask because most of the tapes we use at the office are of the 170 meter variety.

Thanks!

[fozzy]

Thanks much for all the responses!

One last question ~ does the length of the tape matter?  I ask because most of the tapes we use at the office are of the 170 meter variety.

Thanks!

Most dats you will see in use in offices today(and the past 5 years) are DDS3 and DDS4 tapes which are too long/thin for audio usage.

60m DATs only hold 1.3GB of data @ w/o compression.  So they are pretty useless for real data tape backup purposes with todays HD size.  DDS3/4 run 12-40gigs of storage

[dnsacks]

170 meter dds tapes will be too thin to reliably work in your dat deck.  Conservatively, you should try to use 60 meter tapes (2 hours @ sp speed) whenever possible and the thinner 90 meter tapes (3 hours at sp speed) only when absolutely necessary. 

Thanks much for all the responses!

One last question ~ does the length of the tape matter?  I ask because most of the tapes we use at the office are of the 170 meter variety.

Thanks!

[admkrk]

when i first got my d8, i picked up some 120m thinking they were 120 min. tapes. had no problems w/ the d8. da-30 promptly riped the first one in 2. fwiw

stick to 90m or less

[guitard]

60m = 2 hours, 90m = 3 hours

3 hours is questionable as to excessive motor wear. Anything more is beyond that.

Once again - thanks to everyone helping out with all the prompt replies.  I'm pretty sure these will be my last questions ~

I currently have some Sony DT-120 tapes.  In this case, does the "120" indicate minutes or tape length? 

What is the general practice amongst tapers?  After you've recorded a show and transferred it to CD-R - do you keep the tape for archival purposes - or do you reuse it?  If you do reuse them - how many times may you record on them before losing any audio quality?

Thanks!

guitard 

[admkrk]

60m = 2 hours, 90m = 3 hours

3 hours is questionable as to excessive motor wear. Anything more is beyond that.

Once again - thanks to everyone helping out with all the prompt replies.  I'm pretty sure these will be my last questions ~

I currently have some Sony DT-120 tapes.  In this case, does the "120" indicate minutes or tape length? 

What is the general practice amongst tapers?  After you've recorded a show and transferred it to CD-R - do you keep the tape for archival purposes - or do you reuse it?  If you do reuse them - how many times may you record on them before losing any audio quality?

Thanks!

guitard 

not sure about sony, but most audio dats are labled 4 min over.  124/64/ect. dds tapes always end w/ a 0 afaik.

as moke suggested, i'd never "re-use" a tape for any reason.

[jibooer]

an important thing to note - i believe if you have a system w/ a DAT drive, the audio dat tapes will not be read properly by the drive...

[tchoub]

an important thing to note - i believe if you have a system w/ a DAT drive, the audio dat tapes will not be read properly by the drive...

do you mean a system with a DDS drive ?
if so, those that are audio capable will read your audio dat (or dds) tapes without any problem.