DAT

Digital Audio Tape (DAT) was a digital magnetic audio tape format, initially designed for audio. It was introduced by Sony in 1987. It used 4mm tape in a cassette, roughly half the size of a Compact Cassette. DAT tapes are between 15 and 180 minutes in length, a 120-minute tape being 60 meters in length. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) unsuccessfully lobbied against the introduction of DAT devices into the US, but a tax was imposed on DAT recorders and blank media from 1992. At the time, it was one of the highest quality audio formats, comparable to Compact Disc. It was never widely adopted by consumers due to its cost, but saw use in professional recording and as a data storage medium (called Digital Data Storage or DDS). A small number of albums were commercially released on DAT in the first few years of the format. In 2005, Sony discontinued its remaining DAT recorders.