The track formats used in helical scan recording take full advantage of the half-inch tape width, resulting in storage
capacities more than 60 times as high as 36-track linear recording technology. Helical scan recording makes this
possible by placing tracks at an angle across the width of the tape. The tape wraps around the recording head at an
angle and the head itself rotates as it writes data to the tape. This creates a large number of short tracks positioned
close together, giving a net result of higher recording densities.
The Black Watch SD-3 tape cartridge stores up to 50 gigabytes of
uncompressed data. That's more than 60 times the storage of our industry-leading
Ecart 3490E cartridges, and 250 times the capacity of our Black Watch 3480 cartridges.