Magnetic tape media according to one embodiment includes a plurality of servo tracks having physical characteristics of being written by an apparatus that monitors a lateral position of the magnetic tape media passing over a servo writing head during a servo track writing operation and writes servo marks to the magnetic tape media. A timing of the writing of each servo mark is based on the monitored position of the magnetic tape media. Magnetic tape media according to another embodiment include a plurality of servo tracks having a plurality of consecutively-written servo marks, a distance between each consecutively-written servo mark in a tape travel direction varying in direct correlation with a distance of the respective mark, as written, from an edge of the magnetic tape media in a cross-track direction.

Magnetic tape media according to one embodiment includes a plurality of servo tracks having physical characteristics of being written by an apparatus that monitors a lateral position of the magnetic tape media passing over a servo writing head during a servo track writing operation and writes servo marks to the magnetic tape media. A timing of the writing of each servo mark is based on the monitored position of the magnetic tape media.

A servo pattern recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present technology is an apparatus that records a plurality of servo patterns adjacent to each other in a tape width direction on a magnetic layer of a magnetic tape, including: a servo write head; and a temperature adjustment unit. The servo write head includes a plurality of recording units arranged corresponding to a plurality of servo bands of the magnetic layer on which the plurality of servo patterns is recorded. The temperature adjustment unit is configured to be capable of individually adjusting temperatures of the plurality of recording units.

In one general embodiment, a method includes determining a sampling interval for an interpolator using at least one parameter. The method further includes applying the sampling interval to the interpolator in response to determining the sampling interval. In another general embodiment, an apparatus includes an interpolator and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a sampling interval for the interpolator using at least one parameter. The controller is also configured to apply the sampling interval to the interpolator in response to determining the sampling interval.

The magnetic tape has a magnetic layer containing ferromagnetic powder and binder on a nonmagnetic support, wherein a timing based servo pattern is present on the magnetic layer, the centerline average surface roughness Ra that is measured on the surface of the magnetic layer is less than or equal to 1.8 nm, and the coefficient of friction that is measured on the base portion of the surface of the magnetic layer is less than or equal to 0.35.

According to one embodiment, a system for processing data includes a controller configured to determine whether a position error signal (PES) is invalid while reading data from a magnetic medium using at least one data channel. The controller is also configured to determine whether a PES value is above a first predetermined threshold in response to a determination that the PES is valid. Moreover, the controller is configured to inject error bits into a data stream in place of corresponding bits of decoded data in response to a determination that the PES is invalid and in response to a determination that the PES value is above the first predetermined threshold. Other systems and methods for processing data are described in accordance with more embodiments.

In one general embodiment, a method includes determining a sampling interval for an interpolator using at least one parameter. The method further includes applying the sampling interval to the interpolator in response to determining the sampling interval. In another general embodiment, an apparatus includes an interpolator and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a sampling interval for the interpolator using at least one parameter. The controller is also configured to apply the sampling interval to the interpolator in response to determining the sampling interval.

According to one embodiment, a method for processing data includes determining whether a PES is invalid while reading data from a magnetic medium using at least one data channel, determining whether a PES value is above a first predetermined threshold when the PES is valid, injecting error bits into a data stream in place of corresponding bits of decoded data when the PES is invalid and/or the PES value is above the first predetermined threshold, decoding the data using a run-length limited (RLL) decoder to produce the decoded data based on the data from the magnetic medium, and outputting the data stream. Other methods, systems, and tape drives for processing data using error injection are described in more embodiments.

In one general embodiment, a method includes determining a sampling interval for an interpolator using at least one of: predefined data stored in memory, and a standard deviation of a position error signal. The method further includes applying the sampling interval to the interpolator in response to determining the sampling interval. In another general embodiment, an apparatus includes an interpolator and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a sampling interval for the interpolator using at least one of: predefined data stored in memory, and a standard deviation of a position error signal. The controller is also configured to apply the sampling interval to the interpolator in response to determining the sampling interval.

Magnetic tape media according to one embodiment includes a plurality of servo tracks having physical characteristics of being written by an apparatus that monitors a lateral position of the magnetic tape media passing over a servo writing head during a servo track writing operation and writes servo marks to the magnetic tape media. A timing of the writing of each servo mark is based on the monitored position of the magnetic tape media.