How is X Tape different from V Tape?

V Tape was the first version of VXA tape cartridges released for use with VXA-1 and VXA-2 Packet Drives and autoloaders. V Tape comes in two different forms:

• VXA-1 Tape - Made from PET-based substrates of 6.4 micrometer thickness in lengths of 62m (V6), 120m (V10) and 170m (V17) which is compatible with all VXA-1 and VXA-2 drives.
• VXA-2 Tape - Made from PEN-based substrate of 4.7 micrometer thickness in a length of 230m (V23) which is compatible only with VXA-2 and future generation drives and autoloaders.

V Cleaner - designed for use in VXA-1 and VXA-2 drives, V cleaner will get up to 20 uses in a VXA-1 drive and 20-80 uses in a VXA-2 drive depending on the firmware level of the drive.

X Tape is the newest version of media designed for use with only VXA-2 and future generations of VXA drives and autoloaders, it uses the same PEN based substrate as the original VXA-2 V23 tape.

• X Tape - Made from PEN-based substrate of 4.7 micrometer thickness in lengths of 62m (X6), 124m (X10) and 230m (X23). Compatible with VXA-2 and future generation drives and autoloaders, but due to the thinner substrate, X Tape is not compatible with VXA-1 drives. In addition you must have firmware level 2105 or higher to use X6 or X10 tapes.

X Cleaner is a new generation of cleaning tape designed for use in VXA-1, VXA-2 and future generation drives. It uses a cleaning media with particles having a slightly lower abrasion factor so it won't damage next generation VXA heads. Due to different cleaning times programmed into the drive, it will give up to 20 uses in a VXA-1 drive or 80 uses in a VXA-2 drive.

V Tapes and X Tapes share similar cartridge shells, come in a variety of tape lengths, utilize AME media and offer the same read/write speeds and capacities. However, X Tapes are specifically designed to cost less (X 6 and X10 are comparable to DDS pricing) due to savings realized through increased manufacturing volumes. These savings are being passed on to consumers.

You can recognize the four members of the X Tape family by the teal colored plastic inserts in the cartridge and the pad printed name of the tape on the front face of the cartridge. V Tapes have different colored plastic inserts for the different tape lengths and no pad print on the cartridge.