IBM 7340

The IBM 7340 "Hypertape" system was a magnetic tape data storage format designed to work with the IBM 7074, 7080 and 7090 computers that was introduced in 1961 and withdrawn in 1971.

As a technology, it deviated in several ways from the then dominant IBM 7 track system. It distinguished itself by having higher capacity, faster data transfer speed, faster load times, and lower wear on the tape. It achieved this by using tape that was twice as wide (1 vs. 1/2 inch), preloaded on two reels, and held in a large cassette.

Specs

 * Two reel cartridge
 * 1 inch wide tape
 * 10 track linear recording (8 data bits, 2 checksum bits)
 * Capacity: 2 million characters
 * Speed: 170,000 characters/second