History (1996): QIC-EXtra (QIC-EX)

This article was published by the Museum of Obsolete Media.

QIC-EXtra (QIC-EX) (1996-2000s)

QIC-EX (QIC-EXtra) was a modification to the Quarter Inch Cartridge format, introduced by the Verbatim Corporation.

By making the cartridges physically longer, they could accommodate larger spools.

In many cases a standard QIC drive can use the extended length to store additional data, however in some cases an attempt to reformat a QIC-EX cartridge fails since the time taken to traverse the extra length triggers a timeout in the drive or controlling software intended to detect a broken tape.

QIC-EX cartridges are available in quarter-inch tape formats for QIC Minicartridge drives as well as in 8mm tape for Travan drives.