History (1996): IBM Magstar MP 3570

This article was published by the Museum of Obsolete Media.

IBM Magstar MP 3570 (1996-2002)

The IBM Magstar MP 3570 was a magnetic tape cassette format introduced in 1996.

It was designed for mid-range computer systems, for the tapes to be handled by automated tape libraries, and to have fast data access.

The format used 8mm wide metal particle tape with 128 tracks.

The original tapes, called B-type, had a capacity of 5GB uncompressed. The follow-on C-type tapes had the same capacity, but were faster. The final tape media, called C-XL, had a capacity of 7GB uncompressed.

Slower tape formats with higher capacities proved more successful, and the IBM 3570 technology did not enjoy a large market penetration.