Digital Audio Tape

Digital audio cassette format developed by Sony Digital Audio TapeA 90-minute DAT cartridge, with a AAA battery (LR03) for size comparisonMedia typeMagnetic cassette tapeEncodingLossless real-timeCapacityUp to 120 or 180 minutes (consumer tapes on non-LP mode)Read mechanismRotating head, helical scanWrite mechanismRotating head, helical scanDeveloped bySonyUsageAudio storageExtended toDigital Data StorageReleased1987; 39 years ago (1987)Discontinued2005; 21 years ago (2005)[citation needed] Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a discontinued digital recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a Compact Cassette, using 3.81-millimetre (0.150 in), commonly referred to as four-millimitre, magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but it is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. The recording is digital rather than analog. DAT can record at sampling rates equal to, as well as higher and lower than, that of a CD (44.1, 48, and 32 kHz respectively) at 16 bits. Similar to most formats of videocassette, a DAT cassette may only be recorded and played in one direction, unlike an analog compact audio cassette. Many DA