Tape recorder is a device for recording sound, pictures, and various other kinds of data on magnetic tape. It can also play back tape recordings. Tape recorders are widely used by the recording industry and in radio and television broadcasting. Millions of people enjoy listening to music or recorded books on tape recorders in their homes and automobiles or on portable tape recorders.
Tape recordings can be edited by cutting out the unwanted sections and then joining the ends of the tape. But tapes are less durable than compact discs (CD's).
This article deals with audiotape recorders, which record only sound.
Audio recording tape is a thin plastic ribbon coated on one side with particles of a substance that can be easily magnetized, such as iron oxide or chromium dioxide. A tape recorder receives sounds in the form of electric signals, which it converts into a changing magnetic field. During recording, the field arranges the particles on the tape into magnetic patterns. When the tape is played back, the magnetic patterns generate electric signals that the recorder uses to reproduce the original sound. Tape recording can be accomplished by two different processes: analog recording and digital recording.
In analog recording, the patterns of the electric signals are analogous (similar) to those of the magnetic signals. Analog tape recordings store a signal in a form that looks like the wave form of the original sound. In a digital recording, the electric signals are converted to a digital (numeric) code for storage on the tape. This code represents the sound. Digital recording produces better sound quality with less background noise and distortion than analog recording does.
