Microcassette
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A microcassette is an audio storage medium introduced by Olympus in 1969. It uses the same width of magnetic tape as the compact audio cassette but in a much smaller container. By using thinner tape and half or a quarter the tape speed, microcassettes can offer comparable recording time to the compact audio cassette. The original standard microcassette, the MC60, gives 30 minutes recording per side at its standard speed of 1.2 cm/s, and half that duration at 2.4 cm/s. Unlike the compact cassette, a choice of recording speeds was provided on the original recorders and many others. For transcription purposes, continuously variable speed was provided on many players.
Because of the format's relatively low fidelity, microcassettes have mostly been used for recording voice. In particular, it is commonly used in dictaphones and answering machines. However, it has also been used as a medium for computer data storage, and as a medium for recording music. For the latter purpose, devices for recording microcassettes in stereo were produced and, for higher fidelity, microcassettes using metal tape were sold.
Comparable products to the microcassette include the minicassette, produced by Philips, and the picocassette, produced by Dictaphone. Of the three formats, the microcassette was the most common. In 1992, Sony released the NT memo recording system which employs a small cassette, but records digitally.
See also inches per second and audio tape length and thickness for comparisons with other media.
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| Audio format | |
|---|---|
| Analog |
Phonograph cylinder (1870s) | Gramophone record (1895) | Reel-to-reel audio tape recording (1940s) | Vinyl record (1948) | Compact Cassette (1963) | 8-track cartridge (1964) | Microcassette (1969) | Elcaset (1976) |
| Digital |
Compact Disc (1982) | Digital Audio Tape (1987) | MiniDisc (1991) | Digital Compact Cassette (1992) | 5.1 Music Disc (1997) | Super Audio CD (1999) | DVD-Audio (2000) |
