HP says its next-generation DDS-4 digital audio tape (DAT) drive will be available in the second half of next year.
The DAT technology was originally co-developed by HP and Sony. The DDS-4 will provide 20gb native capacity and up to 3MBs transfer rate, compared with DDS-3's 12gb capacity and 1.5MBs maximum transfer rate.
The larger capacity of the DDS-4 is realised by reducing track width and increasing tape length.
The track width of the DDS-4 is 6.8 microns, compared with 9.1 microns for the DDS-3. The DDS-4 tape is 150 metres long, compared with 125 metres for the DDS-3. The tape thickness of the DDS-4 also is reduced to about 5.6 microns, compared with 6.9 microns for the DDS-2 and DDS-3.
To improve transfer rate, which is the speed at which information can be stored or retrieved from the tape, both the speed that the DDS-4 drive heads turn and the frequency that data is sent to the recording head are increased.