DAT is DATed (Sony DAT 4 GB / 8 GB)

Member Name: ben-lloyd

Product:	Sony DAT 4 GB / 8 GB
Date:	23/04/09 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small, lightweight, efficient, reliable, does what it says

Disadvantages: Tape, small capacity, price, slow, storage/usage issues

The Sony DGD120P is the second incarnation of the DDS tape format used for computer backup in the 1990s. Back in the days when company data took up a few gigabytes of disk space, the DDS2 cartridge provided a relatively cheap and efficient way to backup and restore data easily.

~~~ Appearance ~~~
Looking not unlike a modern Mini-DV casette, the DGD120P measures 72mm x 52mm x 10mm in black plastic with a small window showing the tape spooled inside. Unlike a video casette, the tape contained within cannot be easily accessed by prying fingers and the wheels used for spooling the tape are inaccessible until the cartridge is inserted into a drive. On the spine of the cartridge is a small white switch allowing the user to write-protect the tape and preserve a copy of the data contained thereupon.
Each cartridge is also supplied with a plastic storage case, a card allowing information regarding the backup set to be recorded by hand and also two sets of stickers so that the tape can be labelled.

~~~ Use ~~~
Using the DGD120P cartridge is as simple as using a video (if you can remember what one of those is!); you just put it in the slot provided by your tape backup drive and it is ready to be written to or read from. All of the backup/restore functions are taken care of by the backup software installed on your computer. The cartridge will hold 4Gb (gigabytes) of data straight out, but with compression (performed by backup software) this capacity can be doubled to 8Gb.

~~~ Observations ~~~
Although tape used to be the preserve of enterprise-size companies, the cost of a second-hand drive from eBay now means that anyone can have one relatively cheaply. However, one of the biggest problems with tape is the sheer lack of speed in reading and writing. It is slow. Really slooooow. Especially when you compress data to fit more onto the tape!
Also of concern is tape storage. Just like audio and video cassettes, tapes wear out from over use, poor storage or handling so a tape is NOT for life.

~~~ Conclusion ~~~
With rapid developments in DVD storage and ever-falling prices, there really isn't any need to look at tape for your storage needs, especially not the DDS2 format. Each DGD120P cartridge will cost approximately £5 new and hold between 4 and 8 gigabytes of data. A new dual-layer DVD+R disc will hold 8.5 gigabytes of data and will also cost approximately £5 BUT will be much faster to backup to and restore from. A 4Gb DVD+RW will cost little more than £1 and can be written to several times (1000+) before needing replacement.
Unless you like retro hardware or already have a DDS2 drive which is in use, you are not likely to need the DGD120P cartridge, BUT if you do want tape, this one will not fail you.


© ben-lloyd 2009. This review appears on other website under the same user name.

Summary: Dated, tiny capacity and slow. Buy a spare hard drive instead.

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