Editing Cassette tape (section)

===Precursors===
{{multiple image
 | width = 260
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | image1 = Wollensak portable reel-to-reel tape recorder.jpg
 | caption1 = Wollensak portable reel-to-reel tape recorder
 | image2 = RCA Quarter Inch Tape Cartridge 2A.png
 | caption2 = Compact Cassette vs. RCA Tape Cartridge
}}

After the [[World War II|Second World War]], magnetic tape recording technology proliferated across the world. In the United States, [[Ampex]], using equipment obtained in Germany as a starting point, began commercial production of [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|reel-to-reel tape recorders]]. First used by broadcast studios to pre-record radio programs, tape recorders quickly found their way into schools and homes. By 1953, one million US homes had tape machines,<ref name=Vartape>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Brew Disk-To-Tape Revolution|date=16 September 1953|page=1|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n144/mode/1up|access-date=6 October 2019}}</ref> and several major record labels were releasing select titles on prerecorded reel-to-reel tapes.

In 1958, following four years of development, [[RCA Victor|RCA]] introduced the [[RCA tape cartridge]], which enclosed 60 minutes (30 minutes per side) of stereo quarter-inch reel-to-reel tape within a plastic cartridge that could be utilized on a compatible tape recorder/player without having to thread the tape through the machine.<ref>{{cite web|title=RCA Victor Announces Major Break-Through in Recorded Sound|url=http://museumofmagneticsoundrecording.org/images/R2R/vinAd59RCA2.jpg|website=Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording|access-date=December 19, 2024}}</ref> This format was not very successful, and RCA discontinued it in 1964.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cook|first=Diana|url=http://blog.dianaschnuth.com/details/audio/cartridge.html|title=RCA Cartridges: 1958 - 1964|website=blog.dianaschnuth.com|access-date=December 19, 2024|archive-date=2 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002095537/http://blog.dianaschnuth.com/details/audio/cartridge.html|url-status=live}}</ref>