Reel to Reel Tape Running Times
If you have own old reel to reel tapes, then it’s useful to know how long they’re going to run for. Unfortunately it’s not that straight forward to find out. There are several different speeds that tapes might have been recorded at, and even the diameter of the tape reel isn’t much of a clue. For example there could be anything between 1200 and 2400 feet of tape on a 7 inch reel (this is achieved by the tape itself varying in thickness – 2400 feet on a 7inch reel is pretty thin and much more prone to damage) ,plus of course there are all the different recording speeds to consider as well. The table below gives you a guide as to what tape running times to expect – unfortunately the only way to find out for sure is to play the tape, unless some considerate person had the foresight to label it up!
Reel to Reel Tape Running Times Per Side |
Reel Size | Tape Length in Feet | 1 7/8 IPS * | 3 3/4 IPS * | 7 1/2 IPS * | 15 IPS * | |
– | 150 | 16mins | 8mins | 04mins | 2mins | |
– | 200 | 22mins | 11mins | 5.4mins | 2.7mins | |
– | 225 | 24mins | 12mins | 6mins | 3mins | |
– | 300 | 32mins | 16mins | 8mins | 4mins | |
– | 450 | 48mins | 24mins | 12mins | 6mins | |
5″ | 600 | 1hr 04mins | 32mins | 16mins | 8mins | |
– | 900 | 1hr 36mins | 48mins | 24mins | 12mins | |
7″ | 1200 | 2hr 08mins | 1hr 04mins | 32mins | 16mins | |
7″ | 1800 | 3hr 12mins | 1hr 36mins | 48mins | 24mins | |
7″ or 10 1/2″ | 2400 | 4hr 16mins | 2hr 08mins | 1hr 04mins | 32mins | |
10 1/2″ | 3600 | 6hr 24mins | 3hr 12mins | 1hr 36mins | 48mins |
* IPS=Inches per second – Running Times per Side |
CDR | 74 minutes | 80 minutes | 100 minutes | Not sure I would recommend 100 min discs. Not all drives support them and data is very compressed on the disc which can’t be good for accuracy. |