future of dat

[hexyjones]

I disagree. The dat market is driven by server backups, not by audio use. 4MM dds tapes are still cheaper than dlt tapes, i think. DDS2 tapes may get harder to find, but generally speaking the 4mm format will remain for a while (IMO).

You nailed it..."driven...not by audio use" = hence audio DAT's demise...

It's about the hardware...not the media...those DDS RAID drives arent much use when your D7 craps out...

[heath]

Also, for server backup, I think more folks are going the LTO route as opposed to dat.  Much more storage capability...

[nic]

Also, for server backup, I think more folks are going the LTO route as opposed to dat.  Much more storage capability...

exactly. LTO and DLT drives are much more common place today than DDSx drives are.
with large HD storage so cheap it makes DDSx drives look like floppies.
we are in the middle of upgrading/eplacing all of our servers at work and while we weren't exactly looking for DDSx drives, they weren't even a option from the manufacturer!