From: Tim Shoppa <shoppa@alph02.triumf.ca>
Message-Id: <9804031355.AA32661@alph02.triumf.ca>
Subject: Re: What's magtape good for anyway?
To: pete@dunnington.U-NET.com
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 05:55:06 -0800 (PST)
Cc: pups@minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au
In-Reply-To: <9804031301.ZM14090@indy.dunnington.york.ac.uk> from "Pete Turnbull" at Apr 3, 98 12:01:48 pm
Content-Type: text
Sender: owner-pups@minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au
Precedence: bulk

> > How much data can magtape hold?  If magtape was a portable media,
> > does that mean that the manufacturers agreed on the width of
> > the tape, the density of recording, the method of recording bits,
> > etc.?
> 
> Yes to all of those, though there are three standard recording densities
> (80bpi, 1600bpi, 6250bpi) and several recording methods (NRZ, NRZI, PE, etc).

But in the 9-track world at least, 800 BPI was always NRZI, 1600 BPI
(and 3200 BPI) was always PE, and 6250 BPI was always a specific type
of GCR.  

In the 7-track world, recording was almost always NRZI.  One manufacturer
did make a 7-track PE system, but it was never a standard.

Tim.