Definition of Tape hiss
Tape hiss is the high frequency noise present on analogue magnetic tape recordings caused by the size of the magnetic particles used to make the tape. Effectively, it is the noise floor of the recording medium. It can be reduced by the use of finer magnetic particles or by increasing the tape speed or the track width used by the recorder. A 3 dB improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio occurs for every doubling of the track width.
A number of noise reduction techniques can be used to reduce the impact of tape hiss, including Dolby NR and DBX, or, in the case of videotape recording, frequency modulation of either the composite video signal, or the luma component.
Terms mentioned above
Related terms
Cassette tape
The cassette tape, officially named the Compact Cassette, and also known as audio…
Ping-pong recording
Ping-pong recording (more commonly known as "bouncing tracks" or "bouncing down") is a…
Dynamic Noise Limiter
The Dynamic Noise Limiter, or DNL for short, is a noise reduction system introduced by…
Helical scan
Helical scan is a method of recording high-frequency signals on magnetic tape, used in…
Adaptive biasing
In magnetic tape recording, adaptive biasing is the technique of continuously varying…
History of multitrack recording
Multitrack recording of sound is the process in which sound and other electro-acoustic…
Electrical network frequency analysis
Electrical network frequency (ENF) analysis is an audio forensics technique for…
Transport (recording)
A transport is a device that handles a particular physical storage medium (such as…
Tape cartridge
A tape cartridge, also known as a tape cart, is a storage medium used for audio…
Frequently asked questions
What is Tape hiss?
Tape hiss is the high frequency noise present on analogue magnetic tape recordings caused by the size of the magnetic particles used to make the tape. Effectively, it is the noise floor of the recording medium.