Why did it take so long to convert to a more modern recording medium you ask? In some instances, such as war films, tape recording gives off a more realistic imagery; but the main reason is storage.

In the case of movie making, hundreds of TB of data are being used; making the need for data storage a costly piece of production. Digital tape storage is a practical and inexpensive substitute to hard drives in regards to both long-term and short-term storage of video and other digital content. Not only is tape storage more stable, but it doesn’t require a technical know-how to understand and operate.

No one will argue the fact that improvements in digital technology has transformed the motion picture industry. Recording digitally has allowed film makers to manipulate the video directly through computer software. However, the industrial change from analogue to digital has not changed the need to store the scenes that were shot. The film that once existed in containers of tape reels was replaced by numerous hard drives. Even more so, the innovation of high resolution recording requires more storage than ever before.