The new advanced technology of Sony DAT160 tape
By: SHAWN PAUL

The Sony introduced its new and advanced backup storage tape cartridge DAT160 on 1st April, 2008. The Sony DAT160 tape (DGDAT160) has native capacity of 80GB and compressed capacity of 160GB. The Sony DAT160 is dual layer cartridge, which has ultra thin coating technology. This DAT 160 tape has increased linear recording density. The Sony backup tape offers superior reliability and output. The noise level is also low, even in the high frequency band range. It has the capacity to perform repeated write/read operations. The new Sony tape is user friendly and is easy to navigate. Sony has developed the DAT160 backup tape, which is capable to protect the data from the impact of heat. The tape loading and unloading is also stable. Sony also conducted various tests simulating transportation and storage conditions at the stage of material selection and cartridge design so that the cartridges have sufficient strength against temperature variation. This backup tape provides stable tape-travel, which reduces damage to the tape during reading and writing operations. These backup tapes were tested by dropping them, and still the original data was fully recovered. The Sony backup tape has more impact resistance due to the addition of polycarbonate for the cartridge shells. The DAT160’s resistance is 15 times more than the polystyrene, which is commonly used in the video cassettes. The tape is more rigid and robust because of the ultrasonic welding used in the assembly of the tape. Therefore, the data is safe even if the tape is damaged from drop impact. The Sony backup tape is robust to abrasion, due to metal leader pin which is used at the end of the magnetic tape. The DAT160 tape can perform more than 20,000 stable repeated cycles with the help of metal leader pin. The recording method that is used for recording in the DAT drive is called the “helical scanning methodâ€