Last Models and Discontinuation
HPE: The HP DAT320 was probably the last, with 320GB of storage and a USB interface in the desktop models, The DAT 320 was HP's first hardware-based data encryption capable DAT tape drive. This was a 7th Generation DAT drive, and a promised 8th generation of DDS never appeared, and the website of the DAT Manufacturers Group disappeared in 2015.
Sony's Final DAT Models (2005): Sony, the primary manufacturer of DAT machines, announced in November 2005 that it would discontinue its remaining DAT machine models. Sony had sold over 660,000 DAT units throughout the format's era.
Final Tape Production (2016): While machines were discontinued in 2005, Sony continued producing DAT tapes for existing users until late 2015, when they announced they would cease tape production in 2016.
Why Production Stopped
The discontinuation of DAT machines happened for several key reasons:
-
Market Competition: In the professional market, formats like Betacam (derived from Betamax) proved more successful and became the preferred choice for professional audio/video applications.
-
Limited Consumer Adoption: DAT never achieved widespread consumer success despite being a groundbreaking format. It remained primarily a professional/studio tool rather than a mass-market product.
-
Technology Evolution: By the mid-2000s, digital storage had evolved significantly with hard drives, solid-state storage, and optical media offering more convenient and cost-effective alternatives.
-
Declining Demand: After nearly two decades (1987-2005), the market for DAT machines had shrunk considerably as newer technologies emerged.
The DAT format had a run from 1987 to 2015/2016, spanning about 28-29 years, but its peak usage was much shorter, with the format becoming increasingly niche in its later years.