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HP FBA_C5708A DDS3 12GB/24GB Tape Cartridge — main product image
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HP FBA_C5708A DDS3 12GB/24GB Tape Cartridge

DDS3 tape delivers 12GB native / 24GB compressed capacity for legacy DAT backup workflows that demand long-term media reliability.

$10.99*
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*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated:Oct 23, 2026.Price and availability are subject to change — details.

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Overview

The HP C5708A is a DDS3 (Digital Data Storage, Generation 3) tape cartridge offering 12GB of native capacity and 24GB under 2:1 hardware compression. DDS3 was a significant step in the DAT tape lineage when introduced — quadrupling the capacity of DDS1 — but by current standards it is a legacy format. The 125M transfer rate (approximately 2MB/s native throughput in DDS3 terms) means filling a single cartridge takes around 100 minutes of continuous streaming, a constraint that limits its applicability to small, targeted backup jobs. What this cartridge does deliver is format compatibility with the installed base of DDS3 and backward-compatible DDS4 drives, and HP's manufacturing quality control for the metal oxide media substrate required to hit DDS3's recording density.

This is strictly a media replenishment product for organizations still operating DDS3 tape drives. There is no scenario in which DDS3 is the right choice for new infrastructure — the format is outclassed on every measurable dimension by current LTO generations and by many disk-based backup solutions. The appropriate buyer is an IT team maintaining aging tape libraries, managing a rotational backup scheme for low-volume data sets, or needing compatible cartridges to restore from existing DDS3 archives. For any environment evaluating a new backup platform, the cost of the drive migration to LTO will pay back quickly in media capacity density and transfer efficiency.

Specifications

Brand
HP
Model
C5708A
Format
DDS3 (DAT 24)
Native Capacity
12GB
Compressed Capacity
24GB (at 2:1 compression)
Transfer Rate
125M (approximately 2MB/s native)
Cartridge Type
Data Tape (blank)

Frequently Asked Questions

DDS3 cartridges are designed for DDS3 (DAT 24) tape drives. DDS4 drives can typically read and write DDS3 media under backward compatibility. DAT 72 and later generation drives generally do not support DDS3 media — verify your specific drive model's compatibility matrix before purchasing.
12GB is the guaranteed native capacity — what you get writing uncompressed or already-compressed data. The 24GB figure requires a 2:1 hardware compression ratio, achievable only with highly compressible data types like plain text and uncompressed databases. Encrypted backups and multimedia files will land near the 12GB native figure.
HP specifies 125M — interpreted as 125MB per minute (approximately 2.08MB/s) based on the DDS3 standard, which defines a native transfer rate of around 1–2MB/s sustained. This is significantly slower than LTO-format tapes and reflects the age of the DDS3 standard.
No. DDS3 is a legacy format dating to the late 1990s. It should only be purchased as media replenishment for existing DDS3 drive hardware. Any new tape infrastructure investment should be directed toward current LTO generations, which offer orders-of-magnitude improvements in capacity and throughput.
DDS/DAT-format tapes are generally rated for shorter archival windows than LTO media — typically 10–15 years under ideal conditions. For long-term regulatory archiving, LTO formats with their 30-year rated life are the more appropriate choice.

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