- RCA tape cartridge
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This article is about the RCA 4-track cartridge. For the Muntz 4-track cartridge, see Stereo-Pak. For the 8-track cartridge, see Stereo 8.
RCA Victor tape cartridge Media type Magnetic tape cartridge Encoding Analog Capacity 30 min per side, two sided Developed by RCA Dimensions 5 x 7 1/8 x 1/2 inches
(127 x 197 x 13 mm)Usage Home audio recording Extended from 1958 Extended to 1964 The RCA Victor tape cartridge (also known as the Magazine Loading Cartridge and Sound Tape) was a magnetic tape format designed to offer stereo quarter-inch reel-to-reel tape in a more convenient format for the home market.[1] It was introduced in 1958, following four years of development, at the same time as the stereophonic gramophone record.
Size comparison of RCA tape cartridge (right) with standard Compact Cassette
Like the later Compact Cassette, the cartridges were reversible and either side could be played; an auto reverse mechanism in some players allowed it to run continuously. Playing at 3.75 ips as standard, half the speed of the most common reel-to-reel music recorders which ran at 7.5 ips, the format offered four discrete audio tracks that provided a typical playtime of 30 minutes per side of stereo sound, or double that for monophonic sound; some machines could play and record at 1.875 ips, doubling playing time.
The track format, two interleaved stereo pairs, was compatible with 3.75 ips reel to reel stereo tape recorders. It was possible to dismantle the cartridge, spool the tape onto a reel, and play it on such a machine.
Unlike the later audio cassette, but similar to video cassette formats such as VHS, the RCA cartridge incorporated a brake to prevent the tape hubs from moving when the cartridge was not in the player. Small slot windows extended from the tape hubs toward the outside of the cartridge so that the amount of tape visible on each spool could be seen.
Despite its convenience, and a design that would later be echoed in that of the much smaller and very successful Compact Cassette, the format was not a success. The system did see some success in school language labs, as it made it unnecessary for teachers and others to deal with threading conventional tape. However RCA was slow to produce machines for the home market and to license recorded music, and the format disappeared from the market by 1964.
The physical width and speed of the tape and even the size of the cartridge was almost exactly duplicated in Sony's Elcaset system, introduced in the late 1970s, but that too failed to achieve market acceptance and was soon withdrawn.
See also
References
External links
- Revolutionary New Triumph in Tape, an RCA promotional film
- RCA Cartridges: 1958 - 1964
- Audio Recording History
- Image of a prerecorded cartridge by Perez Prado
Categories:- Brand name products stubs
- Audio storage
- 1958 introductions
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