The following is a list providing an overview of all the different cassette tape and cartridge formats that use magnetic tape Both "cassette" and "cartridge" refer to a small plastic unit containing a length of magnetic tape on at least one reel.
The phrase cassette tape is ambiguous in that there is no common dictionary definition[1][2][3] so depending upon usage it has many different meanings, as for example any one the one of 106 different types of audio cassettes,[4] video cassettes[5] or data cassettes [6] listed at The Museum of Obsolete Media.
The phrase cartridge tape is also ambiguous with 36 different types of audio,[4] video[5] or data[6] cartridges listed at The Museum of Obsolete Media.
From time to time the terms tape cartridge and tape cassette are used to describe the same product.
In current production are the Compact Cassette tape, the LTO tape cartridge and the IBM 3592 tape cartridge.