NT-Cassette
In the NT tape is so far the smallest magnetic tape cassette in the world of digital audio recording. The system was developed in the early 1990s by Sony.
The associated equipment, also known under the name Scoopman, of which only two different models have been produced over the years, were in shape and size the then widely used analog voice recorders modeled ( this is especially true on the first of the two models, the NT 1 to ) and were therefore often incorrectly referred to as such. Actually, however, the NT recorder provided a sound quality which can be described as quite suitable for studio and only slightly lower than the quality of a CD. NT cassettes were available with a playing time of 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The belt speed was 6.35 mm / s
Technology
From a technical perspective NT is a miniaturization of the DAT system developed several years earlier. The main difference with DAT - besides the size of the devices and media - in much thinner and narrower band, a lower tape speed, the two-sided playability of the cassette and a slightly modified recording and playback method. And the belt must not be pulled out of the cassette.
NT works on the eponymous non- tracking helical scan. In contrast to DAT, in which the belt speed and the tracking is tailored specifically to the individual tracks during playback, which is a very precise and complex mechanism requires, this vote is only very roughly in non- tracking. The drum will rotate out of sync with the tape running, but with excessive speed, whereby in each Abstastvorgang excerpts of several tracks are scanned. These overlapping cutouts are then sorted in the digital processing block and reassembled in the correct order.
Is recorded in uncompressed PCM at a sampling rate of 32 kHz and a word length of 12 bits with non-linear quantization, which is the recording format of DAT in long play mode.
Weaknesses of the system
Due to the very narrow and thin tape with extremely low tape speed and the resulting high recording density NT was very susceptible to interference. Especially at the beginning and end of the tape, there were very frequent drop-outs and the cassette only had a short life span. In addition, the devices did not have any digital outputs, so that a dub the recordings on other systems, such as DAT, only a lossy analog connection was possible.
Development and market situation
At the time of launch and even some years thereafter, the NT recorders were by far the smallest digital audio recorder in the world. The first device, the Sony NT - 1, 1992 came on the market. In 1996 he was the second and last model, the NT - 2, which has over its predecessor learn a variety of improvements. Thus, the control was no longer mechanical keys, but an electronic one touch control - logic controller, the unit had a much larger LCD display with larger displays, had an uninterrupted auto-reverse feature, which made the turning of the cassette obsolete, and has been with a wired remote control supplied. Also the design was more appealing and more modern.
Because of the susceptibility to interference, the lack of compatibility with other systems and not least because of the enormously high price of equipment, which was even higher than the price of a portable DAT recorder to NT could not prevail on the market. With the increasing miniaturization of portable MiniDisc recorder and the advent of the first memory- card-based audio recorder late 90s NT finally disappeared from the market.
Today, the system plays practically no role, equipment and tapes are only used and available only interesting for collectors of technical curiosities.