This International Standard specifies the physical and magnetic characteristics of a magnetic tape cartridge, using a magnetic tape 12,7 mm wide, so as to provide physical interchange of such cartridges between drives. It also specifies the quality of the recorded signals, the recording method and the recorded format known as Parallel Serpentine, thereby allowing data interchange between drives by means of such cartridges. The format supports variable length Logical Records, high speed search, and the use of the algorithm for data compression specified in International Standard ISO/IEC 15200.