The fact that sound is coded digitally on the emerging Digital Audio Tape recorders makes the medium a natural for back-up computer storage, and Sony Corp, quickest of the Japanese majors to seek out international joint ventures, has agreement in principle to collaborate with Hewlett-Packard UK on exploiting the new medium. Hewlett-Packard’s contribution to the venture will be made at the company’s Bristol, UK peripherals development and manufacturing base, while Sony will work on it back home in Japan. The partners look to store 1.2Gb on the standard Digital Audio Tape cassette, with an average access time of 20 seconds. Mass production of the recorders, players and tapes will enable costs to be cut by comparison with pure computer storage.
