title: Cassette tape

text: Although portable digital recorders are most common today, analog tape remains a desirable option for certain artists and consumers. Artists and listeners of older genres like "dansband" may favor the format most familiar to their fans. Some musicians and DJs in the independent music community maintain a tradition of using and releasing cassettes due to its low cost and ease of use. Underground and DIY communities release regularly, and sometimes exclusively, on cassette format, particularly in experimental music circles and to a lesser extent in hardcore punk, death metal, and black metal circles, out of a fondness for the format. Even among major-label stars, the form has at least one devotee: Thurston Moore stated in 2009, "I only listen to cassettes." By 2019, few companies still made cassettes. Among those are National Audio Company, from the US, and Mulann, also known as Recording The Masters, from France.


title: Cassette tape

text: In 2010, Botswana-based Diamond Studios announced plans for establishing a plant to mass-produce cassettes in a bid to combat piracy. It opened in 2011.


title: Cassette tape

text: In South Korea, the early English education boom for toddlers encourages a continuous demand for English language cassettes, , due to the affordable cost.


title: Cassette tape

text: National Audio Company in Missouri, the largest of the few remaining manufacturers of audio cassettes in the US, oversaw the mass production of the ""Awesome Mix #1"" cassette from the film "Guardians of the Galaxy" in 2014. They reported that they had produced more than 10 million tapes in 2014 and that sales were up 20 percent the following year, their best year since they opened in 1969. In 2016, cassette sales in the United States rose by 74% to 129,000. In 2018, following several years of shortage, National Audio Company began producing their own magnetic tape, becoming the world's first known manufacturer of an all-new tape stock. Mulann, a company which acquired Pyral/RMGI in 2015 and originates from BASF, also started production of its new cassette tape stock in 2018, basing on reel tape formula.


title: Cassette tape

text: In Japan and South Korea, the pop acts Matsuda Seiko, SHINee, and NCT 127released their material on limited-run cassettes.


title: Cassette tape

text: In the mid-to-late 2010s, cassette sales saw a modest resurgence concurrent with the vinyl revival. As early as 2015, the retail chain Urban Outfitters, which had long sold LPs, started selling new pre-recorded cassettes (both new and old albums), blank cassettes, and players. In 2016, cassette sales increased, a trend that continued in 2017 and 2018. In the UK, sales of cassette tapes in 2021 reached its highest number since 2003.


title: Cassette tape

text: The cassette was a great step forward in convenience from reel-to-reel audio tape recording, although, because of the limitations of the cassette's size and speed, it initially compared poorly in quality. Unlike the 4-track stereo open-reel format, the two stereo tracks of each side lie adjacent to each other, rather than being interleaved with the tracks of the other side. This permitted monaural cassette players to play stereo recordings "summed" as mono tracks and permitted stereo players to play mono recordings through both speakers. The tape is wide, with each mono track wide, plus an unrecorded guard band between each track. In stereo, each track is further divided into a left and a right channel of each, with a gap of . The tape moves past the playback head at , the speed being a continuation of the increasingly slower speed series in open-reel machines operating at 30, 15, , or inches per second. For comparison, the typical open-reel -inch 4-track consumer format used tape that is wide, each track wide, and running at either twice or four times the speed of a cassette.


title: Cassette tape

text: Cassette tapes are made of a polyester-type plastic film with a magnetic coating. The original magnetic material was based on gamma ferric oxide (FeO). Circa 1970, 3M Company developed a cobalt "volume-doping" process combined with a double-coating technique to enhance overall tape output levels. This product was marketed as "High Energy" under its Scotch brand of recording tapes. Inexpensive cassettes commonly are labeled "low-noise", but typically are not optimized for high frequency response. For this reason, some low-grade IEC Type I tapes have been marketed specifically as better suited for data storage than for sound recording.


title: Cassette tape

text: In 1968, DuPont, the inventor of a chromium dioxide (CrO) manufacturing process, began commercialization of CrO media. The first CrO cassette was introduced in 1970 by Advent, and later strongly backed by BASF, the inventor and longtime manufacturer of magnetic recording tape. Next, coatings using magnetite (FeO) such as TDK's Audua were produced in an attempt to approach or exceed the sound quality of vinyl records. Cobalt-"adsorbed" iron oxide (Avilyn) was introduced by TDK in 1974 and proved very successful. "Type IV" tapes using pure metal particles (as opposed to oxide formulations) were introduced in 1979 by 3M under the trade name Metafine. The tape coating on most cassettes sold today as either "normal" or "chrome" consists of ferric oxide and cobalt mixed in varying ratios (and using various processes); there are very few cassettes on the market that use a pure (CrO) coating.


title: Cassette tape

text: Simple voice recorders and earlier cassette decks are designed to work with standard ferric formulations. Newer tape decks usually are built with switches and later detectors for the different bias and equalization requirements for higher grade tapes. The most common, iron oxide tapes (defined by the IEC 60094 standard, as "Type I") use 120 microsecond (µs) equalization, while chrome and cobalt-adsorbed tapes (IEC Type II) require 70 µs equalization. The recording bias levels also were different. BASF and Sony tried a dual-layer tape with both ferric oxide and chromium dioxide known as ferrichrome (FeCr) (IEC Type III), but these were available for only a short time in the 1970s. These also use 70 µs, just like Type II did. Metal cassettes (IEC Type IV) also use 70 µs equalization, and provide still further improvement in sound quality as well as durability. The quality normally is reflected in the price; Type I cassettes generally are the cheapest, and Type IV are usually the most expensive. BASF chrome tape used in commercially pre-recorded cassettes used Type I equalization to allow greater high-frequency dynamic range for better sound quality, but the greater selling point for the music labels was that the Type I cassette shell could be used for both ferric and for chrome music cassettes.


title: Cassette tape

text: Notches on top of the cassette shell indicate the type of tape. Type I cassettes have only write-protect notches, Type II have an additional pair next to the write protection ones, and Type IV (metal) have a third set near the middle of the top of the cassette shell. These allow later cassette decks to detect the tape type automatically and select the proper bias and equalization.


title: Cassette tape

text: An exception to this standard were mechanical storytelling dolls from the 1980s (e.g. Teddy Ruxpin) which used the Type IV metal configuration cassette shell but had normal Type I voice grade tape inside. These toys used the Type IV notches to detect that a specially coded tape had been inserted, where the audio of the story is stored on the left channel and various cue tones to tell the doll's servos how and when to move along with the story on the right channel.


title: Cassette tape

text: Most pre-recorded chrome cassettes require 120 µs equalization and are treated as Type I (with notches as Type I ferric cassettes), to ensure compatibility with budget equipment.


title: Cassette tape

text: Tape length usually is measured in minutes of total playing time. The most popular varieties of blank tape were C60 (30 minutes per side), C90 (45 minutes per side) and C120 (60 minutes per side). The C46 and C60 lengths typically are thick, but C90s are and (the less common) C120s are just thick, rendering them more susceptible to stretching or breakage. Even C180 tapes were available at one time, but these were extremely thin and fragile and suffered from such effects as print-through, which made them unsuitable for general use.


title: Cassette tape

text: 150 minute length cassettes were available from Maxell (UR 150), Sony (CDixI 150) and TDK (TDK AE 150, CDing1 150 and CDing2 150), only in Japan. All of these were discontinued - Maxell simplified its cassette offer to 10, 20, 60 and 90-minute lengths, Sony exited the audio cassette market globally, and Imation, licensee of the TDK trademark, exited the consumer products market.


title: Cassette tape

text: Other lengths are (or were) also available from some vendors, including C10, C12 and C15 (useful for saving data from early home computers and in telephone answering machines), C30, C40, C50, C54, C64, C70, C74, C80, C84, C94, C100, C105, and C110. As late as 2010, Thomann still offered C10, C20, C30 and C40 IEC Type II tape cassettes for use with 4- and 8-track portastudios.


title: Cassette tape

text: Most manufacturers load more tape that a label indicates, for example rather than of tape for a C60 cassette, and rather than of tape for a C90 cassette, providing an extra minute or two of playback time per side.


title: Cassette tape

text: Some companies included a complimentary blank cassette with their portable cassette recorders in the early 1980s. Panasonic's was a C14 and came with a song recorded on side one, and a blank side two. Except for C74 and C100, such non-standard lengths always have been hard to find, and tend to be more expensive than the more popular lengths. Home taping enthusiasts may have found certain lengths useful for fitting an album neatly on one or both sides of a tape. For instance, the initial maximum playback time of Compact Discs was 74 minutes, explaining the relative popularity of C74 cassettes.


title: Cassette tape

text: The full tape width is 3.8 mm. For mono recording the track width is 1.5 mm. In stereo mode each channel has width of 0.6 mm with a 0.3 mm separation to avoid crosstalk.


title: Cassette tape

text: The head gap of a tape recorder is the space, along the tape path, between the ends of the pole pieces of the head. Without a gap the head would produce a "closed" magnetic field and would not interact enough with the magnetic domains on the tape.


title: Cassette tape

text: The head-gap width is 2 µm which gives a theoretical maximum frequency of about 12 kHz (at the standard speed of 1 7/8 ips or 4.76 cm/s). A narrower gap would give a higher frequency limit but also weaker magnetization. However, such limitations can be corrected through equalization in the recording and playback amplification sections, and narrower gaps were quite common, particularly in more expensive cassette machines. For example, the RP-2 series combined record/playback head (used in many Nakamichi cassette decks from the 1980s and 1990s) had a 1.2 µm gap, which allows for a playback frequency range of up to 20 kHz. A narrower gap width makes it harder to magnetize the tape, but is less important to the frequency range during recording than during playback, so a two-head solution can be applied: a dedicated recording head with a wide gap allowing effective magnetization of the tape and a dedicated playback head with a specific width narrow gap, possibly facilitating very high playback frequency ranges well above 20 kHz.


title: Cassette tape

text: Separate record and playback heads were already a standard feature of more expensive reel-to-reel tape machines when cassettes were introduced, but their application to cassette recorders had to wait until demand developed for higher quality reproduction, and for sufficiently small heads to be produced.


title: Cassette tape

text: Most cassettes include a write protection mechanism to prevent re-recording and accidental erasure of important material. There are two indentations on the top of a cassette corresponding to each side of the cassette. On blank cassettes these indentations are protected with plastic tabs that can be broken off to prevent recording on the corresponding side of the cassette. Occasionally and usually on higher-priced cassettes, manufacturers provided a movable panel that could be used to enable or disable write-protect on tapes. Pre-recorded cassettes do not have protective tabs, leaving the indentations open.


title: Cassette tape

text: If later required, the cassette can be made recordable again by either covering the indentation with a piece of adhesive tape or by putting some filler material into the indentation. On some decks, the write-protect sensing lever can be manually depressed to allow recording on a protected tape. Extra care is required to avoid covering the additional indents on high bias or metal bias tape cassettes adjacent to the write-protect tabs.


title: Cassette tape

text: In most cassettes, the magnetic tape is attached to each spool with a leader, usually made of strong plastic. This leader protects the weaker magnetic tape from the shock occurring when the tape reaches the end. Some leaders are designed to clean the magnetic heads each time the tape is played. Leader also enables to record over an existing recording cleanly, without a blip of sound that otherwise would be left from the previous recording.


title: Cassette tape

text: Leaders can be complex: a plastic slide-in wedge anchors a short fully opaque plastic tape to the take-up hub; one or more tinted semi-opaque plastic segments follow; the clear leader (a tintless semi-opaque plastic segment) follows, which wraps almost all the way around the supply reel, before splicing to the magnetic tape itself. The clear leader spreads the shock load to a long stretch of tape instead of to the microscopic splice. Various patents have been issued detailing leader construction and associated tape player mechanisms to detect leaders. Cassette tape users would also use spare leaders to repair broken tapes.


title: Cassette tape

text: The disadvantage with tape leaders is that the sound recording or playback does not start at the beginning of the tape, forcing the user to cue forward to the start of the magnetic section. For certain applications, such as dictation, special cassettes containing leaderless tapes are made, typically with stronger material and for use in machines that had more sophisticated end-of-tape prediction. Home computers that made use of cassettes as a more affordable alternative to floppy discs (e.g. Apple II, Commodore PET) were designed to not start writing or reading data until leaders had spooled past.


title: Cassette tape

text: Some cassettes were made to play a continuous loop of tape without stopping. Lengths available are from around 30 seconds to a standard full length. They are used in situations where a short message or musical jingle is to be played, either continuously or whenever a device is triggered, or whenever continuous recording or playing is needed. Some include a sensing foil on the tape to allow tape players to re-cue. From as early as 1969 various patents have been issued, covering such uses as uni-directional, bi-directional, and compatibility with auto-shut-off and anti-tape-eating mechanisms. One variant has a half-width loop of tape for an answering machine outgoing message, and another half-width tape on spools to record incoming messages.


title: Cassette tape

text: Cassette tape adapters allow external audio sources to be played back from any tape player, but were typically used for car audio systems. An attached audio cable with a phone connector converts the electrical signals to be read by the tape head, while mechanical gears simulate reel to reel movement without actual tapes when driven by the player mechanism.


title: Cassette tape

text: In order to wind up the tape more reliably, the former BASF (from 1998 EMTEC) patented the Special Mechanism or Security Mechanism advertised with the abbreviation SM in the early 1970s, which was temporarily taken over by Agfa under license. This feature each includes a rail to guide the tape to the spool and prevent an unclean roll from forming.


title: Cassette tape

text: The competition responded by inserting additional deflector pins closer to the coils in the lower plastic case half. Some low-priced and pre-recorded compact cassettes were made without pulleys; the tape is pulled directly over the capstan drive. For the pressure of the tape to the head there is a thinner felt on a glued foam block instead of the usual felt on a leaf spring.


title: Cassette tape

text: Cassette playback has suffered from some flaws frustrating to both professionals and home recording enthusiasts. Tape speed varies between devices, resulting in pitch that is too low or too high. Speed often was calibrated at the factory and could not be changed by users. The slow tape speed increased tape hiss and noise, and in practice delivered higher values of wow and flutter. Different tape formulation and noise reduction schemes artificially boosted or cut high frequencies and inadvertently elevated noise levels. Noise reduction also adds some artifacts to the sound which a trained ear can hear, sometimes quite easily. Wow and flutter, however, can be added to recordings intentionally for aesthetic reasons.


title: Cassette tape

text: A common mechanical problem occurred when a defective player or resistance in the tape path causes insufficient tension on the take-up spool. This would cause the magnetic tape to be fed out through the bottom of the cassette and become tangled in the mechanism of the player. In these cases, the player was said to have "eaten" or "chewed" the tape, often destroying the playability of the cassette. Splicing blocks, analogous to those used for open-reel 1/4" tape, were available and could be used to remove the damaged portion or repair the break in the tape.


title: Cassette tape

text: The first cassette machines (e.g. the Philips EL 3300, introduced in August 1963) were simple mono record and playback units. Early machines required attaching an external dynamic microphone. Most units from the 1980s onwards also incorporated internal electret microphones, which have extended high-frequency response, but may also pick up noises from the recorder's motor.


title: Cassette tape

text: A common portable recorder format is a long box, the width of a cassette, with a speaker at the top, a cassette bay in the middle, and "piano key" controls at the bottom edge. Another format is only slightly larger than the cassette, known popularly as the "Walkman" (a Sony trademark).


title: Cassette tape

text: The markings of "piano key" controls soon converged and became a de facto standard. They are still emulated on many software control panels. These symbols are commonly a square for "stop", an upward-pointed, underlined triangle for "eject", a right-pointing triangle for "play", a rightward-facing pair of triangles for "fast forward" with leftward-facing doubled triangles for "rewind", a dot, sometimes colored red, or, occasionally, a red LED, for "record", and a vertically divided square (two rectangles side-by-side) for "pause".


title: Cassette tape

text: Stereo recorders eventually evolved into high fidelity and were known as cassette decks, after the reel-to-reel decks. Hi-Fi cassette decks, in contrast to cassette recorders and cassette players, generally omit built-in amplification or speakers. Many formats of cassette players and recorders have evolved over the years. Initially all were top loading, usually with cassette on one side, and VU meters and recording level controls on the other side. Older models used combinations of levers and sliding buttons for control.


title: Cassette tape

text: A major innovation was the front-loading arrangement. Pioneer's angled cassette bay and the exposed bays of some Sansui models eventually were standardized as a front-loading door into which a cassette would be loaded. Later models would adopt electronic buttons, and replace conventional meters (which could be "pegged" when overloaded) with electronic LED or vacuum fluorescent displays, with level controls typically being controlled by either rotary controls or side-by-side sliders. BIC and Marantz briefly offered models that could be run at double speeds, but Nakamichi was widely recognized as one of the first companies to create decks that rivaled reel-to-reel decks with full 20–20,000 Hz frequency response, low noise, and very low wow and flutter. The 3-head closed-loop dual-capstan Nakamichi 1000 (1973) is one early example. Unlike typical cassette decks that use a single head for both record and playback plus a second head for erasing, the Nakamichi 1000, like the better reel-to-reel recorders, used three separate heads to optimize these functions.


title: Cassette tape

text: Other contenders for the highest "HiFi" quality on this medium were two companies already widely known for their excellent quality reel-to-reel tape recorders: Tandberg and Revox (the consumer marque of Swiss studio equipment manufacturer Studer). Tandberg started with combined-head machines, such as the TCD 300, and continued with the TCD 3x0 series with separate playback and recording heads. All TCD models used dual-capstan mechanisms, belt-driven by a single capstan motor and two separate reel motors. Frequency range extended to 18 kHz. After a disastrous overinvestment in colour television production, Tandberg folded and was revived without the HiFi division that made these recorders.


title: Cassette tape

text: Revox went one step further: after much hesitation about whether to accept cassettes at all as a medium capable of meeting their strict standards from reel-to-reel recorders, they produced their B710MK I (Dolby B) and MK II (Dolby B&C) machines. Both cassette units employed dual-capstan mechanisms, but with two independent, electronically controlled capstan motors and two separate reel motors. The head assembly moved by actuating a damped solenoid movement, eliminating all belt drives and other wearing parts. These machines rivaled the Nakamichi in frequency and dynamic range. The B710MKII also achieved 20–20,000 Hz and dynamics of over 72 dB with Dolby C on chrome and slightly less dynamic range, but greater headroom, with metal tapes and Dolby C. Revox adjusted the frequency range on delivery with many years of use in mind: when new, the frequency curve went upwards a few dB at 15–20 kHz, aiming for flat response after 15 years of use, and head wear to match.


title: Cassette tape

text: A last step taken by Revox produced even more-advanced cassette mechanisms with electronic fine tuning of bias and equalization during recording. Revox also produced amplifiers, a very expensive FM tuner, and a pickup with a special parallel-arm mechanism of their own design. After releasing that product, Studer encountered financial difficulties. It had to save itself by closing its Revox division, thus discontinuing all its consumer products other than their final reel-to-reel recorder, the B77.


title: Cassette tape

text: While some might say that Nakamichi violated the tape recording standards to achieve the highest dynamics possible, producing cassettes that are incompatible for playback on other machines, the reasons for this are more complex than they appear on the surface. Different interpretations of the cassette standard resulted in a 4 dB ambiguity at 16 kHz. Technically, both camps in this debate were still within the original cassette specification as no tolerance for frequency response is provided above 12.5 kHz and all calibration tones above 12.5 kHz are considered optional. Decreasing noise at 16 kHz also decreases the maximum signal level at 16 kHz, the High-Frequency Dynamics stay almost constant.


title: Cassette tape

text: A third company, Bang & Olufsen of Denmark, created the Dolby HX "head room extension" system for reliably reducing tape saturation effects at high frequencies while maintaining higher bias levels. This advanced method is called Dolby HX Pro in full and is patented. HX Pro was adopted by many other high-end manufacturers.


title: Cassette tape

text: As they became aimed at more casual users, fewer decks had microphone inputs. Dual decks became popular and incorporated into home entertainment systems of all sizes for tape dubbing. Although the quality would suffer each time a source was copied, there are no mechanical restrictions on copying from a record, radio, or another cassette source. Even as CD recorders are becoming more popular, some incorporate cassette decks for professional applications.


title: Cassette tape

text: Another format that made an impact on culture in the 1980s was the radio-cassette, aka the "boom box" (a name used commonly only in North American dialects of English), which combined the portable cassette deck with a radio tuner and speakers capable of producing significant sound levels. These devices became synonymous with urban youth culture in entertainment, leading to the nickname "ghetto blaster". The boom box also allowed people to enjoy music on the go and share it with friends, contributing to cultural practises such as breakdancing.


title: Cassette tape

text: Applications for car stereos varied widely. Auto manufacturers in the US typically would fit a cassette slot into their standard large radio faceplates. Europe and Asia would standardize on DIN and double DIN sized faceplates. In the 1980s, a high-end installation would have a Dolby AM/FM cassette deck, and they rendered the 8-track player obsolete in car installations because of space, performance, and audio quality. In the 1990s and 2000s, as the cost of building CD players declined, many manufacturers offered a CD player. The CD player eventually supplanted the cassette deck as standard equipment, but some cars, especially those targeted at older drivers, were offered with the option of a cassette player, either by itself or sometimes in combination with a CD slot. Most new cars can still accommodate aftermarket cassette players, and the auxiliary jack advertised for MP3 players can be used also with portable cassette players, but 2011 was the first model year for which no manufacturer offered factory-installed cassette players.


title: Cassette tape

text: Although the cassettes themselves were relatively durable, the players required regular maintenance to perform properly. Head cleaning may be done with long swabs, soaked with isopropyl alcohol, or cassette-shaped devices that could be inserted into a tape deck to remove buildup of iron oxide from the heads, capstan, and pinch roller. Some otherwise normal blank cassettes included sections of leader that could clean the tape heads. One of the concerns of the time however was the use of abrasive cleaning tape. Some of the cleaning tapes actually felt rough to the touch and were considered damaging to the heads. Similarly shaped demagnetizers used magnets to degauss the deck, which kept sound from becoming distorted (see cassette demagnetizer).


title: Cassette tape

text: The Compact Cassette originally was intended for use in dictation machines. In this capacity, some later-model cassette-based dictation machines could also run the tape at half speed (⁄ in/s) as playback quality was not critical. The cassette soon became a popular medium for distributing prerecorded music—initially through the Philips Record Company (and subsidiary labels Mercury and Philips in the US). As of 2009, one still found cassettes used for a variety of purposes, such as journalism, oral history, meeting and interview transcripts, audio-books, and so on. Police are still big buyers of cassette tapes, as some lawyers "don't trust digital technology for interviews". However, they are starting to give way to Compact Discs and more "compact" digital storage media. Prerecorded cassettes were also employed as a way of providing chemotherapy information to recently diagnosed cancer patients as studies found anxiety and fear often gets in the way of the information processing.


title: Cassette tape

text: The cassette quickly found use in the commercial music industry. One artifact found on some commercially produced music cassettes was a sequence of test tones, called SDR (Super Dynamic Range, also called XDR, or eXtended Dynamic Range) soundburst tones, at the beginning and end of the tape, heard in order of low frequency to high. These were used during SDR/XDR's duplication process to gauge the quality of the tape medium. Many consumers objected to these tones since they were not part of the recorded music.


title: Cassette tape

text: News reporting, documentary, and human interest broadcast operations often used portable Marantz PMD-series recorders for the recording of speech interviews. The key advantages of the Marantz portable recorders were the accommodation of professional microphones with an XLR connector, normal and double tape speed recording for extended frequency response, Dolby and dbx noise reduction systems, manual or automatic gain control (AGC) level control, peak limiter, multiple tape formulation accommodation, microphone and line level input connections, unbalanced RCA stereo input and output connections, live or tape monitoring, VU meter, headphone jack, playback pitch control, and operation on AC power or batteries optimized for long duration. Unlike less-expensive portable recorders that were limited to automatic gain control (AGC) recording schemes, the manual recording mode preserved low noise dynamics and avoided the automatic elevation of noise.


title: Cassette tape

text: Beginning in 1979, Tascam introduced the Portastudio line of four- and eight-track cassette recorders for home-studio use.


title: Cassette tape

text: In the simplest configuration, rather than playing a pair of stereo channels of each side of the cassette, the typical "portastudio" used a four-track tape head assembly to access four tracks on the cassette at once (with the tape playing in one direction). Each track could be recorded to, erased, or played back individually, allowing musicians to overdub themselves and create simple multitrack recordings easily, which could then be mixed down to a finished stereo version on an external machine. To increase audio quality in these recorders, the tape speed sometimes was doubled to 3 inches per second, in comparison to the standard 1⁄ ips; additionally, dbx, Dolby B or Dolby C noise reduction provided compansion (compression of the signal during recording with equal and opposite expansion of the signal during playback), which yields increased dynamic range by lowering the noise level and increasing the maximum signal level before distortion occurs. Multi-track cassette recorders with built-in mixer and signal routing features ranged from easy-to-use beginner units up to professional-level recording systems.


title: Cassette tape

text: Although professional musicians typically used multitrack cassette machines only as "sketchpads" to create demo recordings, Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska" was recorded entirely on a four-track cassette tape.


title: Cassette tape

text: Most cassettes were sold blank, and used for recording (dubbing) the owner's records (as backup, to play in the car, or to make mixtape compilations), their friends' records, or music from the radio. This practice was condemned by the music industry with such alarmist slogans as "Home Taping Is Killing Music". However, many claimed that the medium was ideal for spreading new music and would increase sales, and strongly defended their right to copy at least their own records onto tape. For a limited time in the early 1980s Island Records sold chromium dioxide "One Plus One" cassettes that had an album prerecorded on one side and the other was left blank for the purchaser to use, another early example being the 1980 "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go" cassingle by Bow Wow Wow where the b-side of the tape was blank, allowing the purchaser to record their own b-side. Cassettes were also a boon to people wishing to tape concerts (unauthorized or authorized) for sale or trade, a practice tacitly or overtly encouraged by many bands, such as the Grateful Dead, with a more counterculture bent. Blank cassettes also were an invaluable tool to spread the music of unsigned acts, especially within tape trading networks.


title: Cassette tape

text: Various legal cases arose surrounding the dubbing of cassettes. In the UK, in the case of "CBS Songs v. Amstrad" (1988), the House of Lords found in favor of Amstrad that producing equipment that facilitated the dubbing of cassettes, in this case a high-speed twin cassette deck that allowed one cassette to be copied directly onto another, did not constitute copyright infringement by the manufacturer. In a similar case, a shop owner who rented cassettes and sold blank tapes was not liable for copyright infringement even though it was clear that his customers likely were dubbing them at home. In both cases, the courts held that manufacturers and retailers could not be held accountable for the actions of consumers.


title: Cassette tape

text: As an alternative to home dubbing, in the late 1980s, the Personics company installed booths in record stores across America that allowed customers to make personalized mixtapes from a digitally encoded back-catalogue with customised printed covers.


title: Cassette tape

text: Educational, religious, corporate, military, and broadcasting institutions benefited from messaging proliferation through accessibly priced duplicators, offered by Telex Communications, Wollensak, Sony, and others. The duplicators would operate at double (or greater) tape speed. Systems were scalable, enabling the user to purchase initially one "master" unit (typically with 3 "copy" bays) and add "slave" units for expanded duplication abilities.


title: Cassette tape

text: The Hewlett-Packard HP 9830 was one of the first desktop computers in the early 1970s to use automatically controlled cassette tapes for storage. It could save and find files by number, using a clear leader to detect the end of tape. These would be replaced by specialized cartridges, such as the 3M DC-series. Many of the earliest microcomputers implemented the Kansas City standard for digital data storage. Most home computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s could use cassettes for data storage as a cheaper alternative to floppy disks, though users often had to manually stop and start a cassette recorder. Even the first version of the IBM PC of 1981 had a cassette port and a command in its ROM BASIC programming language to use it. However, IBM cassette tape was seldom used, as by 1981 floppy drives had become commonplace in high-end machines.


title: Cassette tape

text: Nintendo's Famicom had an available cassette data recorder, used for saving programs created with the hardware's version of BASIC and saving progress in some Famicom games. It was never released outside Japan, but the North American versions of some of the compatible games can technically be used with it, since many early copies of two of the games ("Excitebike" and "Wrecking Crew") are actually just the Japanese versions in a different shell, and Nintendo intentionally included compatibility in later prints of those titles and in other games since they were planning on releasing the recorder in the region anyway.


title: Cassette tape

text: The typical encoding method for computer data was simple FSK, typically at data rates of 500 to 2000 bit/s, although some games used special, faster-loading routines, up to around 4000 bit/s. A rate of 2000 bit/s equates to a capacity of around 660 kilobytes per side of a 90-minute tape.


title: Cassette tape

text: Among home computers that used primarily data cassettes for storage in the late 1970s were Commodore PET (early models of which had a cassette drive built-in), TRS-80 and Apple II, until the introduction of floppy disk drives and hard drives in the early 1980s made cassettes virtually obsolete for day-to-day use in the US. However, they remained in use on some portable systems such as the TRS-80 Model 100 line—often in microcassette form—until the early 1990s.


title: Cassette tape

text: Floppy disk storage had become the standard data storage medium in the United States by the mid-1980s; for example, by 1983 the majority of software sold by Atari Program Exchange was on floppy. Cassette remained more popular for 8-bit computers such as the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, and Amstrad CPC 464 in many countries such as the United Kingdom (where 8-bit software was mostly sold on cassette until that market disappeared altogether in the early 1990s). Reliability of cassettes for data storage is inconsistent, with many users recalling repeated attempts to load video games; the Commodore Datasette used very reliable, but slow, digital encoding. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands, cassette data storage was so popular that some radio stations would broadcast computer programs that listeners could record onto cassette and then load into their computer. See BASICODE.


title: Cassette tape

text: The use of better modulation techniques, such as QPSK or those used in modern modems, combined with the improved bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio of newer cassette tapes, allowed much greater capacities (up to 60 MB) and data transfer speeds of 10 to 17 kbit/s on each cassette. They found use during the 1980s in data loggers for scientific and industrial equipment.


title: Cassette tape

text: The cassette was adapted into what is called a streamer cassette (also known as a "D/CAS" cassette), a version dedicated solely for data storage, and used chiefly for hard disk backups and other types of data. Streamer cassettes look almost exactly the same as a standard cassette, with the exception of having a notch about one quarter-inch wide and deep situated slightly off-center at the top edge of the cassette. Streamer cassettes also have a re-usable write-protect tab on only one side of the top edge of the cassette, with the other side of the top edge having either only an open rectangular hole, or no hole at all. This is due to the entire one-eighth inch width of the tape loaded inside being used by a streamer cassette drive for the writing and reading of data, hence only one side of the cassette being used. Streamer cassettes can hold anywhere from 250 kilobytes to 600 megabytes of data.


title: Cassette tape

text: Elcaset is a short-lived audio format that was created by Sony in 1976 that is about twice the size, using larger tape and a higher recording speed. Unlike the original cassette, the Elcaset was designed for sound quality. It was never widely accepted, as the quality of standard cassette decks rapidly approached high fidelity.


title: Cassette tape

text: Technical development of the cassette effectively ceased when digital recordable media, such as DAT and MiniDisc, were introduced in the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s, with Dolby S recorders marking the peak of Compact Cassette technology. Anticipating the switch from analog to digital format, major companies, such as Sony, shifted their focus to new media. In 1992, Philips introduced the Digital Compact Cassette (DCC), a tape in almost the same shell as a Compact Cassette. It was aimed primarily at the consumer market. A DCC deck could play back both types of cassettes. Unlike DAT, which was accepted in professional usage because it could record without lossy compression effects, DCC failed in home, mobile and professional environments, and was discontinued in 1996.


title: Cassette tape

text: The microcassette largely supplanted the full-sized cassette in situations where voice-level fidelity is all that is required, such as in dictation machines and answering machines. Microcassettes have in turn given way to digital recorders of various descriptions. Since the rise of cheap CD-R discs, and flash memory-based digital audio players, the phenomenon of "home taping" has effectively switched to recording to a Compact Disc or downloading from commercial or music-sharing websites.


title: Cassette tape

text: Because of consumer demand, the cassette has remained influential on design, more than a decade after its decline as a media mainstay. As the Compact Disc grew in popularity, cassette-shaped audio adapters were developed to provide an economical and clear way to obtain CD functionality in vehicles equipped with cassette decks but no CD player. A portable CD player would have its analog line-out connected to the adapter, which in turn fed the signal to the head of the cassette deck. These adapters continue to function with MP3 players and smartphones, and generally are more reliable than the FM transmitters that must be used to adapt CD players and digital audio players to car stereo systems. Digital audio players shaped as cassettes have also become available, which can be inserted into any cassette player and communicate with the head as if they were normal cassettes.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to . JDAM-equipped bombs range from . The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM. When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon; rather it is a "bolt-on" guidance package that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The key components of the system consist of a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces, a (body) strake kit, and a combined inertial guidance system and GPS guidance control unit.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The JDAM was meant to improve upon laser-guided bomb and imaging infrared technology, which can be hindered by bad ground and weather conditions. Laser seekers are now being fitted to some JDAMs.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: From 1998 to November 2016, Boeing completed more than 300,000 JDAM guidance kits. In 2017 it built more than 130 kits per day. As of February 2020, 430,000 kits had been produced.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The U.S. Air Force's bombing campaign during the Persian Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm was less effective than initially reported, in part because it had no precision bombs that were accurate in all types of weather. Laser guidance packages on bombs proved exceptionally accurate in clear conditions, but amid airborne dust, smoke, fog, or cloud cover, they had difficulty maintaining "lock" on the laser designation. Research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) of an "adverse weather precision guided munition" began in 1992. Several proposals were considered, including a radical concept that used GPS. At the time, there were few GPS satellites and the idea of using satellite navigation for real-time weapon guidance was untested and controversial. To identify the technical risk associated with an INS/GPS guided weapon, the Air Force created in early 1992 a rapid-response High Gear program called the "JDAM Operational Concept Demonstration" (OCD) at Eglin Air Force Base. Honeywell, Interstate Electronics Corporation, Sverdrup Technology, and McDonnell Douglas were hired to help the USAF 46th Test Wing demonstrate the feasibility of a GPS weapon within one year. The OCD program fitted a GBU-15 guided bomb with an INS/GPS guidance kit and on 10 February 1993, dropped the first INS/GPS weapon from an F-16 on a target downrange. Five more tests were run in various weather conditions, altitudes, and ranges. The OCD program demonstrated an Circular Error Probable (CEP).


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The first JDAM kits were delivered in 1997, with operational testing conducted in 1998 and 1999. During testing, over 450 JDAMs were dropped achieving a system reliability in excess of 95% with a published accuracy under CEP. In addition to controlled parameter drops, the testing and evaluation of the JDAM also included "operationally representative tests" consisting of drops through clouds, rain and snow with no decrease in accuracy from clear-weather tests. In addition, there have been tests involving multiple weapon drops with each weapon being individually targeted.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: JDAM and the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber made their combat debuts during Operation Allied Force. The B-2s, flying 30-hour, nonstop, round-trip flights from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, delivered more than 650 JDAMs during Allied Force. An article published in the "Acquisition Review Journal" in 2002 cites that "during Operation Allied Force ... B-2s launched 651 JDAMs with 96% reliability and hit 87% of intended targets..." Due to the operational success of the original JDAM, the program expanded to the Mark 82 and Mark 83, beginning development in late 1999. As a result of lessons from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, both the US Navy and US Air Force pursued improvements to the kits such as better GPS accuracy as well as a precision seeker for terminal guidance for use against moving targets.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: JDAM bombs are inexpensive compared to alternatives such as cruise missiles. The original cost estimate was $40,000 each for the tail kits; however, after competitive bidding, contracts were signed with McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) for delivery at $18,000 each. Unit costs, in current-year dollars, have since increased to $21,000 in 2004 and $27,000 by 2011. To the cost of the tail kit should be added the costs of the Mk80-series iron bomb, the fuze and proximity sensor which bring the overall weapon cost to about $30,000. For comparison, the newest Tomahawk cruise missile, dubbed the Tactical Tomahawk, costs nearly $730,000.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: Guidance is facilitated through a tail control system and a GPS-aided inertial navigation system (INS). The navigation system is initialized by transfer alignment from the aircraft that provides position and velocity vectors from the aircraft systems. Once released from the aircraft, the JDAM autonomously navigates to the designated target coordinates. Target coordinates can be loaded into the aircraft before takeoff, manually altered by the aircrew in flight prior to weapon release, or entered by a datalink from onboard targeting equipment, such as the LITENING II or "Sniper" targeting pods. In its most accurate mode, the JDAM system will provide a minimum weapon accuracy CEP of or less when a GPS signal is available. If the GPS signal is jammed or lost, the JDAM can still achieve a CEP or less for free flight times up to 100 seconds.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The introduction of GPS guidance to weapons brought several improvements to air-to-ground warfare. The first is a real all-weather capability since GPS is not affected by rain, clouds, fog, smoke, or artificial obscurants. Previous precision guided weapons relied on seekers using infrared, visual light, or a reflected laser spot to “see” the ground target. These seekers were not effective when the target was obscured by fog and low altitude clouds and rain (as encountered in Kosovo), or by dust and smoke (as encountered in Desert Storm).


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The second advantage is an expanded launch acceptance region (LAR). The LAR defines the region that the aircraft must be within to launch the weapon and hit the target. Non-GPS based precision guided weapons using seekers to guide to the target have significant restrictions on the launch envelope due to the seeker field of view. Some of these systems (such as the Paveway I, II, and III) must be launched so that the target remains in the seeker field of view throughout the weapon trajectory (or for lock-on-after-launch engagements, the weapon must be launched so that the target is in the field of view during the terminal flight). This requires the aircraft to fly generally straight at the target when launching the weapon. This restriction is eased in some other systems (such as the GBU-15 and the AGM-130) through the ability of a Weapon System Operator (WSO) in the aircraft to manually steer the weapon to the target. Using a WSO requires a data link between the weapon and the controlling aircraft and requires the controlling aircraft to remain in the area (and possibly vulnerable to defensive fire) as long as the weapon is under manual control. Since GPS-based flight control systems know the weapon's current location and the target location, these weapons can autonomously adjust the trajectory to hit the target. This allows the launch aircraft to release the weapon at very large off-axis angles including releasing weapons to attack targets behind the aircraft.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The third advantage is a true "fire-and-forget" capability in which the weapon does not require any support after being launched. This allows the launching aircraft to leave the target area and proceed to its next mission immediately after launching the GPS guided weapon.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: Another important capability provided by GPS-based guidance is the ability to completely tailor a flight trajectory to meet criteria other than simply hitting a target. Weapon trajectories can be controlled so that a target can be impacted at precise headings and vertical angles. This provides the ability to impact perpendicular to a target surface and minimize the angle of attack (maximizing penetration), detonate the warhead at the optimum angle to maximize the warhead effectiveness, or have the weapon fly into the target area from a different heading than the launch aircraft (decreasing the risk of detection of the aircraft). GPS also provides an accurate time source common to all systems; this allows multiple weapons to loiter and impact targets at preplanned times and intervals.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: In recognition of these advantages, most weapons including the Paveway, GBU-15, and the AGM-130 have been upgraded with a GPS capability. This enhancement combines the flexibility of GPS with the superior accuracy of seeker guidance.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: Despite their precision, JDAM employment has risks. On 5 December 2001, a JDAM dropped by a B-52 in Afghanistan nearly killed Hamid Karzai while he was leading anti-Taliban forces near Sayd Alim Kalay alongside a US Army Special Forces (SF) team. A large force of Taliban soldiers had engaged the combined force of Karzai's men and their American SF counterparts, nearly overwhelming them. The SF commander requested Close Air Support (CAS) to strike the Taliban positions in an effort to stop their advance. A JDAM was subsequently dropped, but instead of striking the Taliban positions, it struck the Afghan/American position, killing three and injuring 20. An investigation of the incident determined that the U.S. Air Force Tactical Control Party (TACP) attached to the Special Forces team had changed the battery in the GPS receiver at some point during the battle, thereby causing the device to return to "default" and "display its own coordinates." Not realizing that this had occurred, the TACP relayed his own coordinates to the delivery aircraft.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: Experience during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom led US air power planners to seek additional capabilities in one package, resulting in ongoing program upgrades to place a precision terminal guidance seeker in the JDAM kit. The Laser JDAM (LJDAM), as this upgrade is known, adds a laser seeker to the nose of a JDAM-equipped bomb, giving the ability to engage moving targets to the JDAM. The Laser Seeker is a cooperative development between Boeing's Defense, Space and Security unit and Israel's Elbit Systems. It is called Precision Laser Guidance Set (PLGS) by Boeing and consists of the Laser Seeker itself, now known as DSU-38/B, and a wire harness fixed under the bomb body to connect the DSU-38/B with the tail kit. During FY2004, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force began testing of the laser guidance capability for JDAM, with these tests demonstrating that the system is capable of targeting and destroying moving targets. This dual guidance system retains the ability to operate on GPS/INS alone, if laser guidance is unavailable, with the same accuracy of the earlier JDAM.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: On June 11, 2007, Boeing announced that it had been awarded a $28 million contract by the U.S. Air Force to deliver 600 laser seekers (400 to the Air Force and 200 to the Navy) by June 2009. According to the Boeing Corporation, in tests at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-15E Strike Eagles dropped twelve LJDAMs that successfully struck high-speed moving targets. Using onboard targeting equipment, the launch aircraft self-designated, and self-guided their bombs to impact on the targets. In addition to the LJDAM kits, Boeing is also testing under a Navy development contract, an anti-jamming system for the JDAM, with development expected to be completed during 2007, with deliveries to commence in 2008. The system is known as the Integrated GPS Anti-Jam System (IGAS).


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: Boeing announced on September 15, 2008 that it had conducted demonstration flights with the LJDAM loaded aboard a B-52H.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The GBU-54 LJDAM made its combat debut on August 12, 2008 in Iraq when an F-16 from the 77th Fighter Squadron engaged a moving vehicle in Diyala province. Furthermore, the GBU-54 LJDAM made its combat debut in the Afghan theater by the 510th Fighter Squadron in October 2010.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: In September 2012, Boeing began full-rate production of Laser JDAM for US Navy and received a contract for more than 2,300 bomb kits.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: On July 24, 2008 Germany signed a contract with Boeing to become the first international customer of LJDAM. Deliveries for the German Air Force began in mid-2009. The order also includes the option for further kits in 2009.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: In November 2014, the U.S. Air Force began development of a version of the GBU-31 JDAM intended to track and attack sources of electronic warfare jamming directed to disrupt the munitions' guidance. The Home-on-Jam seeker works similar to the AGM-88 HARM to follow the source of a radio-frequency jammer to destroy it.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: In 2006, the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation in conjunction with Boeing Australia successfully tested extended range JDAM variants at Woomera Test Range.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: In 2009, Boeing announced that it will jointly develop the Joint Direct Attack Munition Extended Range (JDAM-ER) version with South Korea. The wing kit will triple the range of JDAM to 80 km for the same accuracy, and will cost $10,000 per unit. The first prototypes are to be completed in 2010 or 2011.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: The wing kits of Australia's JDAM-ER weapons will be built by Ferra Engineering. First tests are to be conducted in 2013 with production orders in 2015.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: In 2010, Boeing proposed adding a jet engine tailkit to the JDAM-ER for 10 times greater range. The U.S. Air Force initially didn't show interest in the concept, but by 2020 Boeing believed the service had regained interest in acquiring low-cost cruise missiles. The Powered JDAM combines a 500 lb bomb with a wing kit and a propulsion module, giving it the range of more sophisticated missiles through a low-cost engine while being cheaper though not having a stealthy shape or the ability to conduct low-altitude flights. Though less survivable, Powered JDAMs could be networked to provide a cheap standoff weapon to overwhelm air defense systems.


title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

text: On 23 September 2014, the U.S. Air Force performed the first-ever drop of a precision-guided aerial mine, consisting of a Quickstrike mine equipped with a JDAM kit. The Quickstrike is a Mark 80-series general-purpose bomb with the fuze replaced with a target detection device (TDD) to detonate it when a ship passes within lethal range, a safe/arm device in the nose, and a parachute-retarder tailkit in the back. Dropping of naval mines has historically been challenging, as the delivery aircraft has to fly low and slow, at , making it vulnerable to hostile fire; the first aerial mining mission of Operation Desert Storm resulted in the loss of an aircraft, and the U.S. has not flown any combat aerial minings since. The Quickstrike-J is a JDAM-equipped 1,000 lb or 2,000 lb version, and the GBU-62B(V-1)/B Quickstrike-ER is a 500 lb or 2,000 lb gliding version based on the JDAM-ER, which has a range of when launched from . Precision airdropping of naval mines is the first advance in aerial mine delivery techniques since World War II and can increase the survivability of delivery aircraft, since instead of making multiple slow passes at low altitude directly over the area an aircraft can release all of their mines in a single pass from a standoff distance and altitude, and increase the mines' effectiveness, since instead of laying a random pattern of mines in a loosely defined area they can be laid directly into harbor mouths, shipping channels, canals, rivers, and inland waterways, reducing the number of mines required and enhancing the possibility of blocking ship transit corridors. Enemy naval ports can also be blockaded, and a defensive minefield quickly planted to protect areas threatened by amphibious assault. A bomb version called "Quicksink" was tested in 2022.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The Mercedes-AMG GT (C190 / R190) is a grand tourer produced in coupé and roadster bodystyles by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-AMG. The car was introduced on and was officially unveiled to the public in October 2014 at the Paris Motor Show. After the SLS AMG, it is the second sports car developed entirely in-house by Mercedes-AMG. The Mercedes-AMG GT went on sale in two variants (GT and GT S) in March 2015, while a GT3 racing variant of the car was introduced in 2015. A high performance variant called the GT R was introduced in 2016. A GT4 racing variant, targeted at semi-professional drivers and based on the GT R variant, was introduced in 2017. Recently, a new variant called the AMG GT Black series has been released. All variants are assembled at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, Germany.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: On 28 October 2021, Mercedes-Benz announced the new Mercedes-AMG R232 SL-Class as the direct successor for the roadster version.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The interior of the Mercedes-AMG GT was previewed on 16 April 2014. The car made its debut on 9 September 2014 and was officially unveiled to the public in October 2014 at the Paris Motor Show with two engine power output options: the GT, with , and the GT S with . The GT generates of torque, and the GT S generates of torque.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: Shortly after its introduction, Mercedes-AMG CEO at the time, Tobias Moers promised a "Black Series" variant of the Mercedes-AMG GT. The new high performance variant was called the AMG GT R.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT S was the Formula 1 safety car for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, having made its debut in that role at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix. The GT R was used as F1's safety car from 2018 to 2022. Since 2022, the GT R was replaced by the Black Series.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The Mercedes-AMG family was given a facelift in 2017, along with the introduction of the GT C roadster variant and the Edition 50 model, which is a limited-edition derivative of the GT C variant. The key improvements made as part of the facelift include increased power output from the M178 engine for the GT and GT S variants (10 kW and 9 kW respectively) and the inclusion of the 'Panamericana' grille from the GT3, GT4 and GT R variants as standard equipment for all variants.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT's exterior design was kept similar to that of the preceding SLS AMG. It features the wide wheel arches, lower bodywork, and fastback sloping roofline of the SLS AMG, but uses conventional forward-opening doors instead of the iconic gullwing style pioneered by the 300 SL in the 1950s. The large bonnet and slim windscreen have been retained. The vehicle structure is made up of 93% aluminium, with the front module base made up of magnesium. The exterior lead designer was Mark Fetherston, whose previous works include the W176 A-Class, the CLA-Class, and SLS AMG. The interior, designed by Jan Kaul, features a large centre console and decorative elements in a leather and carbon polymer design. The trunk offers room for a medium-sized suitcase.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT uses a front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, with the engine positioned inside of the vehicle's wheelbase. The spaceframe chassis and body are made out of aluminium alloys, while the trunk lid is made of steel and the hood is made of magnesium. The suspension system is a double wishbone unit at the front and rear, with forged aluminium wishbones and hub carriers.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The car is powered by a 4.0-litre "M178" twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The engine is in "hot inside V" configuration—with exhaust manifolds and turbochargers inside the cylinder banks to reduce turbo lag—and uses dry-sump lubrication. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed "AMG SPEEDSHIFT" dual-clutch transmission; the GT S variant employs an electronically controlled mechanical limited-slip differential. In a road test executed by "Car and Driver", the GT S accelerated from 0– in 3.0 seconds, completed the quarter mile in 11.2 seconds and attained a top speed of .


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT is the entry level variant of the Mercedes-AMG GT family. The M178 engine in this variant is tuned to an output of and of torque, with the key differences between this and its more expensive siblings being a mechanical limited-slip differential, an absorbent glass mat battery, the lack of the "Race Mode" setting in the AMG Dynamic Select adaptive drivetrain system, the lack of the AMG Ride Control adaptive suspensive system, and a passive AMG Sport Exhaust System. Keyless-Go is also an optional feature, as opposed to standard equipment. The GT is equipped with 19-inch wheels at the front and rear.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT S is a more highly equipped variant of the Mercedes-AMG GT. The M178 engine in this variant is tuned to an output of and of torque. The key mechanical differences the GT S gains over the GT include an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, "Race Mode" and "Race Start" mode settings in the AMG Dynamic Select adaptive drivetrain system, AMG Ride Control adaptive suspensive system, an AMG Performance Exhaust System with dynamic flaps, and a lithium-ion battery. Keyless-Go is standard equipment, as is a staggered set of wheels (19-inch at the front, 20-inch at the rear).


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT C is a performance oriented variant of the Mercedes-AMG GT. The M178 engine in this variant is tuned to an output of and of torque. While the GT C retains the key mechanical differences the GT S gains over the GT, it also has a wider body () and active rear steering, which the GT S does not have (even as options). In the United States, the Lane Tracking and AMG Dynamic Plus option packages are standard equipment on the GT C.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: A limited-edition model, the Edition 50, was released as part of the debut of the GT C variant at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. The Edition 50 features: a choice of two shades of matte paint known as "designo" "Graphite Grey Magno" and "designo Cashmere White Magno"; black chrome exterior trim, headlight surrounds and forged / cross-spoke wheels; a two-tone silver pearl or black against grey quilted-leather interior which features a micro-suede wrapped steering wheel; and, "Edition 50" and "1 of 500" lettering on the steering wheel bezel and 12 o'clock mark in silver pearl. In the United States, the Edition 50 is limited in production to 50 coupes and 50 roadsters. Globally, the Edition 50 is limited to 500 units, which explains the "1 of 500" on the steering wheel.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT R is a high-performance variant of the Mercedes-AMG GT and was introduced at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 24 June 2016. The M178 engine in this variant is tuned to an output of at 6,250 rpm and of torque at 5,500 rpm. The GT R accelerates from 0 to in 3.6 seconds and has a claimed top speed of .


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: While the GT R retains the key mechanical differences the GT C gains over the GT S, it also gains manually adjustable coilover springs (in conjunction with the AMG Ride Control suspension of the base models), an active underbody fairing, a manually adjustable rear wing, and a 9-mode AMG Traction Control system. As befitting of a high-performance variant, the GT R loses Keyless-Go, the integrated garage-door opener, the heated and power-folding side mirrors, the auto-dimming interior and exterior mirrors and reverts to the basic light-weight 4-speaker audio system that the GT comes with, but these features can still be added as options.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: When it was launched, the GT R had several cosmetic changes compared with the standard car, notably the vertical slats in the front grille, an adjustable rear wing, new front air intakes and new front and rear diffusers. The styling of the GT R is more comparable to that of the AMG GT3 race car. However, the base GT variant gained several of these cosmetic changes as part of a mild facelift in the 2017 model year. The GT R went on sale in November 2016, with deliveries beginning in 2017. For the 2018 Formula One World Championship, the GT R became the official Formula 1 safety car. During the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, the Safety Car ran a red livery rather than the traditional silver to commemorate Scuderia Ferrari's 1,000th Grand Prix start. For the 2021 F1 season, the GT R Safety Car permanently wears a red livery (along with the Mercedes F1 Team's sponsor CrowdStrike) rather than the traditional silver to increase the chances of drivers seeing the Safety Car in poor visibility. It will also share the role with the Aston Martin Vantage.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: It completed a lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife track in 7:10.92, in a test conducted by German magazine "Sport Auto". making it the 5th fastest lap time for a road-legal production vehicle around the track at the time.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: A roadster version was introduced in March 2019 and would be limited to 750 units. It was discontinued in 2021 when the Black Edition was released which it replaced.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: Mercedes-AMG introduced the GT R Pro at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. The GT R Pro is a more track focused variant of the AMG GT line up and based on the GT R. This variant would be limited for 750 units worldwide with a starting price tag of USD $200,645. The GT R Pro retains all key mechanical differences of the GT R gains over the GT C with other minor upgrades, the GT R Pro uses the same engine and power output of the GT R, which is rated at at 6,250 rpm and of torque at 5,500 rpm. And retains the same 0 to time 3.6 seconds and the top speed of .


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: New upgrades includes, new manually adjustable coil-over suspension setup, lightweight anti-roll bars, electronically controlled dynamic engine and transmission mounts, GT R's optional carbon-fiber roof and carbon ceramic brakes were became standard, new carbon-fibre bucket seats, lightweight forged wheels 19-inch on front and 20-inch on rear which were exclusive for the GT R Pro, same Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 semi-slick tires which were also used in the GT R, new carbon-fibre braced active aerodynamic front splitter and canards, new front fenders with GT3 inspired vents, new rear diffuser with canards, new side skirts, updated rear wing with a small gurney for increase downforce while reducing weight.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: Interior upgrades includes, a 10.25-inch digital instrument binnacle and infotainment system, a Burmester surround sound system, keyless go and parking assist. On exterior, new racing stripes offered in Gloss Light Green when combined with the Selenite Gray Magno color exterior, or stripes in Matte Dark Gray with all other exterior colors. The unique accent stripes can also offered for the GT R Pro.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: For the GT R Pro, Mercedes-AMG also offered a optional track package which adds a full steel roll-cage, four-point harnesses and a 2 kg fire extinguisher. With all these upgrades curb weight has been reduced by , and with track package equipped of weight reduced over the GT R.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: In November 2018, Mercedes-AMG conducted a test at Nürburgring Nordschleife for the new GT R Pro, and the car completed a lap time, driven by Maro Engel, set a lap time of 7:04.632 minutes around the track. Making it the 8th fastest lap time for a road-legal production vehicle around the track at the time.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT and GT C roadsters are the roadster versions of the GT and GT C coupés, and were announced shortly after the introduction of the GT R variant. Both variants made their debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The GT and GT C roadsters utilise the active air management system found on the GT R variant to help with cooling and airflow performance. The GT C roadster retains the wider bodywork of the GT C coupé, and the GT roadster has a slightly higher first and lower seventh gear with a longer final drive compared to the GT coupé. The GT and GT C roadsters feature a three-layer fabric roof built around an aluminum, magnesium and steel structure, available in black, red or beige, and which can open and close in 11 seconds up to speeds of . The GT C roadster, like the GT C coupé, has a limited "Edition 50" model, celebrating AMG's 50 years of existence.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: Mercedes-AMG official announced that its AMG GT Black Series and AMG GT Dark night officially listed special edition models, Mercedes-AMG GT models launched a total of 2, The prices are 3,688,800 ($576,612) and 1,468,800 yuan ($229,594).


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The GT Black Series is a high-performance variant of the Mercedes-AMG GT and was officially revealed on Mercedes-AMG's YouTube channel on 9 July 2020. The M178 engine in this variant is tuned to an output of at 6,700-6,900 rpm and of torque at 2,000-6,000 rpm. Referred to as the "M178 LS2", the engine has a slightly higher redline at 7,200 rpm compared to the GT R's 7,000 rpm, and uses a flat-plane crankshaft instead of a cross-plane crankshaft, turning out in different firing order. Additionally, the M178 LS2 uses a larger compressor wheel, resulting in an increase in boost from the GT R's 19.6 psi to 24.6 psi. The GT Black Series accelerates from 0 to in 3.2 seconds and has a claimed top speed of .


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: The suspension is unique, with a carbon-fibre anti-roll bar with two adjustment settings for the front axle, and an iron anti-roll bar with three adjustment settings for the rear axle. Like previous Black Series vehicles, the camber is manually adjustable for both the front and rear axles. Handling has been improved with carbon-fibre panels at the front and rear, as well as carbon-ceramic brake rotors and Black Series specific brake pads. The wing has an active aero flap, and contributes to a total maximum downforce of more than at . The Michelin Pilot Cup 2 R tires are specific to the car, and are available in M01A soft and M02 hard compounds.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: Carbon-fibre is used extensively for most of the body, including the hood, roof, hatch and underbody. The exterior gains an enlarged grille, based on the Mercedes-AMG GT3, large air outlets on the hood, manually adjustable front splitter, and upgraded rear wing as part of a major aerodynamic kit. The interior features standard AMG performance bucket seats, and uses microfiber for the steering wheel, door and instrument panels.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: On 4 November 2020, The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series recorded a lap time of 6:43.616 with driver Maro Engel behind the wheel at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, making it the fastest lap time ever recorded for a road-legal production vehicle around the track at the time.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: In March 2015, Mercedes-AMG presented the AMG GT3, a race version of the GT, at the Geneva Motor Show, which employs the "M159" V8 naturally aspirated engine also used in the SLS AMG GT3. It consists largely of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer to decrease the vehicle's weight to under to comply with FIA regulations for races.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: In 2016, AKKA ASP, Black Falcon, HTP Motorsport and Zakspeed compete in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Zakspeed also competes in the ADAC GT Masters. They claimed a 1-2-3-4 and 6 at the 24 Hours Nürburgring.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: In the 2016 Super GT GT300 class, the AMG GT3s made their Super GT debut with Goodsmile Racing with Team UKYO, the number 11 GAINER team, LEON Racing, and Rn-sports opting to use the AMG GT3s in favor of the SLS AMG GT3s that they used in the previous season. Two Mercedes customer teams, R'Qs Motor Sports and Arnage Racing, opted to continue using the SLS AMG GT3s. Both of them would switch to AMG GT3s during the 2018 season, switching from SLS AMG GT3 and Ferrari 488 GT3 respectively.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: New Zealand born driver Craig Baird gave the new AMG GT3 its first race win anywhere when he took out race 1 of round 2 of the 2016 Australian GT Championship at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on 17 March 2016. The round was held as a support race to the 2016 Australian Grand Prix.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: Riley Technologies entered two customer AMG GT3s in the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD class. One of the teams cars finished 3rd in class and 20th outright at the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona before going on to win the GTD class and finish 16th outright in the 2017 12 Hours of Sebring.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: A GT4 version of the Mercedes-AMG GT was presented at the 2017 24 Hours of Spa. This customer racing car is based on the GT R road version and it made its debut in the ROWE 6 Stunden ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen race, the fifth round of the 2017 VLN season.


title: Mercedes-AMG GT

text: An updated version of the GT3 was introduced at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in June 2019 for the 2020 season of the FIA GT3 race. New technologies include an automatic data logger and analysis system, a function to automatically start the engine when the car is lowered from its in-built air jacks along with new brake and traction control systems. The design was also updated in line with the design of the new design update of the AMG GT road car with the changes being the new headlamps and the grille with the latter providing better protection for the radiator. The front splitter and rear wing were tweaked in order for faster adjustments. The car uses the same 6.2-litre V8 engine as the previous model rather than the 4.0-litre V8 engine of the road car it's the engineers stating the user friendliness and reliability of the engine as the main factor of its retention.


title: Lust Stories

text: Lust Stories is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language anthology film, consisting of four short film segments directed by Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, and Karan Johar and based on the concept of the 2013 anthology film "Bombay Talkies". Co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP and Ashi Dua of Flying Unicorn Entertainment, the film has an ensemble cast including Radhika Apte, Bhumi Pednekar, Manisha Koirala and Kiara Advani with Akash Thosar, Vicky Kaushal, Neha Dhupia and others.


title: Lust Stories

text: Lust Stories is the second of three anthology films from Johar, Banerjee, Akhtar and Kashyap, being preceded by "Bombay Talkies" in 2013 and followed by "Ghost Stories" in 2020, the latter also being released on Netflix. The film was nominated for two Awards at the 47th International Emmy Awards; Best TV Movie or Miniseries and Best Actress for Apte.


title: Lust Stories

text: Kalindi (Radhika Apte), a college professor, engages in a one night stand with a student of hers named Tejas (Akash Thosar). The morning after, she reassures herself that it was only a one-time occurrence but later stresses over the power dynamic of a student-teacher relationship. Multiple scenes are woven throughout the segment which depict Kalindi speaking to someone off-screen, in the fashion of an interview. During these cuts, she reveals that she is married to a man named Mihir, who is 12 years older than her and remains a close confidante. Inspired by his adventurous stories of love and numerous short-term relationships, Kalindi is also on a mission to explore her own sexuality. She begins dating her colleague Neeraj (Randeep Jha) but breaks up with him due to his firm belief in monogamy and his sexual awkwardness. She realizes that Tejas is beginning a relationship with his classmate Natasha (Ridhi Khakhar), which Tejas vehemently denies. To get him to confess, Kalindi obsessively stalks the couple, behaves rudely towards Natasha, and even breaks into Tejas's room to search for evidence. Finally, in her exasperation, Kalindi relays to Tejas that she was interested in him and that she wishes him luck with Natasha. Tejas tells her that he was unaware of her feelings and is willing to leave Natasha for her, to which Kalindi replies, "Are you mad? I'm married".


title: Lust Stories

text: Sudha (Bhumi Pednekar) and Ajit (Neil Bhoopalam) are secretly in a passionate sexual relationship. It is revealed that Sudha is his maid, who arrives daily to clean his bachelor apartment. Ajit's parents arrive to stay for some time, during which Sudha is shown to diligently work for the family, despite earning only ignorance from Ajit. One day, a family arrives with their daughter for a marriage proposal and Sudha is silently heartbroken. As she prepares food, she watches the two families finalize the marriage and discuss the futures of their children. Sudha serves them tea and finds Ajit romancing his bride-to-be in his room. She appears to be desolate as Ajit's mother distributes sweets and congratulates her. Sudha slowly eats a piece of the sweets and resuming her normal routine, is shown to leave the apartment after yet another day of work.


title: Lust Stories

text: Reena (Manisha Koirala), a banker, is in an extra-marital affair with her husband's close friend Sudhir (Jaideep Ahlawat). The two are in love and have maintained their secret relationship for 3 years. During one of Reena's visits to Sudhir's home, Salman (Sanjay Kapoor) relays to Sudhir that he suspects Reena is cheating on him. This causes Sudhir and Reena to panic. Reena voices they should tell Salman about the affair so they can openly be together and is disheartened at Sudhir's reaction as he does not seem to think it a possibility. Reena ends up calling Salman to Sudhir's home. Reena reveals to Salman that she is unhappy in their marriage, and feels that Salman only needs a mother for his children, not a wife. After she reveals her 3-year affair with Sudhir, Salman breaks down and asks her to stay for the sake of their children. Later that night, the couple bond and make love whilst Reena is grief-stricken. The next morning, she tells Sudhir that Salman knows about the affair, wants her to end it and that Sudhir can never "know" that Salman was aware of the affair at all. Reena tells Sudhir that she cannot meet him again and leaves with her husband.


title: Lust Stories

text: Megha (Kiara Advani) is a young school teacher who is engaged to Paras (Vicky Kaushal), an office worker. After their marriage, Megha discovers that while Paras is continuously pleasured during sex, he is not aware of her dissatisfaction. His family pushes her to bear children, as they believe this is the only pleasure that a woman desires. One day, Megha witnesses her colleague Rekha (Neha Dhupia) using a vibrator in the school library. This motivates Megha to use one too; however, when she attempts to try it out at home, Paras arrives in a disheveled state from an accident and she rushes out to the living room with her vibrator still inside her. Paras' grandmother mistakes the vibrator's remote for a TV remote and unknowingly begins to increase the intensity. Megha enjoys it with pleasure. She tries to control herself but fails. Megha eventually climaxes into an orgasm as her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Paras watch in shock. Enraged, Paras's mother demands a divorce and announces that Megha's womb is not suitable to bear her son's children. One month later, Paras meets Megha and tells her that he does not wish to divorce her just because she made a mistake. After she firmly says that she made no mistake and that a woman has more desires than just children, Paras romantically feeds her ice cream, indicating that he is interested in pleasing her.


title: Lust Stories

text: "Lust Stories" is developed as a sequel to the 2013 anthology film Bombay Talkies. It has been co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua under the label of their respective production companies RSVP and Flying Unicorn Entertainment. The four segments of the anthology film have been directed by Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar respectively.


title: Lust Stories

text: The international distribution rights for "Lust Stories" were acquired by Netflix. The film was released on Netflix on 15 June 2018.


title: Lust Stories

text: Critics praised the film's portrayal of women and its exploration of female sexuality, a subject which has been rarely dealt with in Indian films. Film critic Alaka Sahani used the metaphor of a woman’s body is draped in a "dupatta" while discussing the sheltered sexuality of women in general, a theme that took a central position in the narrative; she praised the handling of the subject matter as clinical in the subversion of such regressive stereotypes associated with women who have an active sex life as the presumably amorous "vamps" in the Indian film industry. Kiara Advani's masturbation scene in the film, using a vibrator, was praised for its frank portrayal of women's sexuality.


title: Lust Stories

text: Mridula R of "The News Minute" echoed the sentiment as she praised the film's novelty in the honest portrayal of women, their "liberation, thoughts, [and] decisions". Others were also appreciative of the "glorious women [who] stubbornly and strikingly hold the reins" and the "sometimes not likeable, but definitely relatable women who usually elude our screens". Commentators responded positively to subtlety in the film's use of female protagonists; they were especially impressed by the fact the all of the stories had female protagonists "without being obnoxious about it", how they were wielded "to tell stories from a uniquely different perspective" and how it is a befitting slap on the face of India’s morality preachers as an extremely contemporary take on — not sex in India — but on the majority’s perception on how it must be represented in culture.


title: Lust Stories

text: Johar, Akhtar, Banerjee and Kashyap reunited for the third part of the anthology series titled "Ghost Stories", which premiered on Netflix in 2020.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The series is set in a fictionalized version of Edo period Japan, blending traditional elements with anachronistic cultural references including hip hop. The series follows the exploits of tea waitress Fuu, vagrant outlaw Mugen, and ronin Jin. Fuu saves Mugen and Jin from execution, then forces the pair to aid in her quest to find a samurai who smells of sunflowers. Structured similar to a road movie, the series focuses on tolerance and acceptance of minorities contrasted against its setting, with a central theme being the portrayal and acceptance of death.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: Director Shinichirō Watanabe began planning for the series in 1999, creating the characters and premise during his work on "" and "The Animatrix", and began pre-production in 2002. The staff included character designer and animation director Kazuto Nakazawa and writers Shinji Obara and Yukihiko Tsutsumi of Office Crescendo. The music was composed by hip hop artists Shinji "Tsutchie" Tsuchida of Shakkazombie, Fat Jon, Nujabes and Force of Nature. The production was unstructured, with the scenario going through multiple revisions, and Watanabe bringing in multiple guest creators to ensure a high animation quality. Reception of the series has been positive, with praise focusing on its animation and music, and proved a commercial success in the West.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: "Samurai Champloo" opens in a town where Fuu, working as a tea waitress, is molested by the son of the town's corrupt prefect. The outlaw Mugen arrives in town, and Fuu begs him for protection, which he gives in exchange for food. Meanwhile, the ronin Jin, also a new arrival, kills the prefect's bodyguards when they abuse a peasant, ending up in conflict with Mugen when the latter mistakes him for one of the prefect's men. The two's fight ends up destroying the teahouse. The pair are captured and sentenced to death, but Fuu saves them. The pair attempt to restart their battle, but Fuu tosses a coin, saying if it lands on heads then the pair can continue their battle, but if it lands on tails they postpone their battle to help her find a samurai who smells of sunflowers, whom she has sought for years. She wins the toss, and they embark on a series of adventures alongside Fuu's quest.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: During the closing stories, the three finally arrive at the town of Ikitsuki, with each ending up in conflict with a group of assassins sent by the government to kill the "sunflower samurai", Fuu's father Seizo Kasumi. Fuu finds Kasumi, having wanted revenge for him abandoning her and her mother, but she relents as he is already dying from an illness. One of the assassins kills Kasumi before he is defeated by Jin. Mugen and Jin then have their duel, their swords shattering, but choose not to kill each other as they now consider each other friends. Fuu learns her father played a part in the Shimabara Rebellion and went away to protect her. Fuu also reveals she lied about the coin toss result, which briefly annoys Mugen and Jin. Recovered from their final fight, the three part ways grateful for their shared adventure.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: Series director Shinichirō Watanabe defined the central theme of "Samurai Champloo" as the portrayal and acceptance around death, themes he had previously explored in his science fiction series "Macross Plus" (1994) and "Cowboy Bebop" (1997). Another theme outlined in the series pitch was individuality and finding one's unique identity. The series is set in Edo period Japan, roughly sixty years after the end of the Sengoku period. While a historical time period, the anime does not focus on historical detail beyond minor inclusions and references, mainly using contemporary-style dialogue and behavior. A conscious inclusion was emphasising cultural acceptance and tolerance of minorities including the indigenous Ainu people, foreigners, LGBT people, and Christians; the historical Edo period was a time when Japan was highly structured, conformist and isolationist. Due to its Edo setting and incorporation of samurai culture and honor codes, Watanabe was worried the anime would be seen as nationalistic in tone, prompting its focus on minorities and tolerance. Watanabe put in as much as he could manage of these themes and subjects, challenging earlier limitations imposed by a lack of historical information from the time and Japanese television codes restricting the portrayal of Japanese minorities in the period.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The main cultural influence on the anime is the music and associated subculture of hip hop. Watanabe had been a fan of hip hop music from his high school years, citing his first exposure as "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He compared the samurai culture to hip hop through a similar philosophy of self-identity. The use of hip hop also reinforced the series' focus on its minority and counter-cultural cast, creating a cultural reference by using one with the other. Alongside his liking of hip hop, Watanabe attributed a large amount of the series' inspiration in the works of actor Shintaro Katsu, particularly his historical dramas. The narrative approach of the finished series was inspired by Katsu's notorious habit of directing projects without a set story structure. The word ""Champloo"" in the title was derived from the Okinawan term "chanpurū", with Watanabe comparing the blending of elements in the anime with the meaning of chanpurū. The food depicted in the show was originally accurated to the Edo period, but eventually expanded to include anachronistic dishes such as okonomiyaki.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The plot is structured like a road movie, with little connection between stories until the final three-part arc, contrasting against the serial structure of its contemporaries. Watanabe particularly cited the movies about the blind samurai Zatoichi as an inspiration for this style. Other influences on the series included "Enter the Dragon" and "Dirty Harry". One episode was based around the Chinese concept of Qi. During early planning, the series' tone was far more serious, but after the first four episodes had been written, the staff were worried about the tone becoming bleak, prompting a greater focus on comedy. Several episodes incorporate references, homages, and parodies of popular media. The Japanese episode titles use four-character idioms referencing the theme of that episode's story. They drew from multiple sources, including Japanese and Western sayings (the first episode's title, "Shippu Doto", is a Japanese rendering of the German saying "Sturm und Drang"), philosophical concepts ("Inga Oho" references a proverb about the workings of karma), and pieces of classic media (the episode title "Anya Koro" references Naoya Shiga's novel of the same name). The English episode titles were created by translator Ryan Morris. Morris did not directly translate the Japanese titles, instead using alliteration to preserve the rhythm and meaning.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The series follows the exploits of the three leads−Fuu, Mugen, and Jin−when they are drawn together by circumstance and end up traveling together to find the sunflower samurai. The main cast was created by Watanabe, who wanted a cast of heroes who were silly, immature, and dangerous, with "a touch of insanity". He described Mugen and Jin as unconventional people not bound by the rules of the period. The characters were designed by Kazuto Nakazawa, who had worked as both an artist and director on multiple projects including "Ashita no Nadja" and the anime segments of "". The early character drafts were more to Nakazawa's tastes than the wishes of the production team, resulting in numerous redrafts based on requests. The voice recording included sessions with all three leads together, which caused occasional tensions due to their different work backgrounds.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: In the original plan, there were three semi-regular characters that would appear through the series. They were Rekku, a Dutchman claiming to be Japanese; Koku, a traveling priest acquainted with Jin's past; and Sara, a female ninja who falls in love with Mugen. While their roles were reduced to one-off appearances, versions of the characters survived. Rekku became the character Joji in "Stranger Searching", the priest appeared in "Lethal Lunacy", while Sara was a central character in "Elegy of Entrapment". An early antagonist is Ryujiro, the son of a corrupt government official who loses his arm to Mugen in the opening episode and later plots revenge against them. Historical figures or character homages also appear, for example painter Hishikawa Moronobu; Joji, who is a fictionalized version of Isaac Titsingh; a version of American baseball player Alexander Cartwright; and Ando Uohori, who is a direct reference to Andy Warhol.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: "Samurai Champloo" was the debut television production of animation studio Manglobe, which was started in 2002 by Sunrise veteran Shinichirō Kobayashi. The opening animation was contributed to by the studio Madhouse. A production committee to support the project was formed by Victor Entertainment's Shirō Sasaki, partnering with Tokuma Shoten and North American company Geneon Entertainment. Watanabe acted as the series director, in addition to creating the project. Kobayashi, Sasaki, Sanae Mitsugi and Hideki Goto were credited as planners and executive producers, and the producers were Takatoshi Hamano, Takashi Kochiyama and Tetsuro Satomi.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The story was composed by Shinji Obara and Yukihiko Tsutsumi of Office Crescendo, with scripts written by Obara, Dai Satō, Touko Machida, Keiko Nobumoto, Seiko Takagi, Ryota Sugi, and Watanabe. Nakazawa wrote and storyboarded episode 15, being credited as Uwadan Shimofuwato in the former role. Nakazawa also acted as both character designer and chief animation director. The art director was Takeshi Waki, the storyboard director was Kazuki Akane, and coloring was led by Eri Suzuki. Additional characters were created by Hideto Komori. Weapon designs were co-created by Mahiro Maeda and Manglobe managing director Hidero Okamoto. The cinematographer was Kazuhiro Yamada, with Syuichi Kakesu as lead editor. Numerous guest creators were also brought in for different episodes as artists or animation directors, including Shūkō Murase Takeshi Yoshimoto, Naoko Nakamoto, Hiroyuki Imaishi and Tensai Okamura.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The concept for "Samurai Champloo" was created by Watanabe in 1999, then known for this work on "Cowboy Bebop". He wanted to create a series antithetical to the largely calm and mature atmosphere of "Cowboy Bebop", wanting a complete change due to fatigue after working on one project for such a long period. The success of "Cowboy Bebop" meant he was permitted to develop whatever he wanted for his next project. As with his other projects, he drew inspiration from music, then matched a narrative to it. His approach was combining two of his favorite things, classic samurai adventure films and series and hip hop music, into a single work. He created the concept for "Samurai Champloo" during this period, but work on it was delayed due to his work on "" and his segments of "The Animatrix" at Studio 4°C. Kobayashi had invited Wanatabe to work on an original project at Manglobe when it was founded in February 2002, and Watanabe sent the "Samurai Champloo" pitch in May of that year. The pitch included the central concepts for the series, and draft designs for the lead characters. Watanabe invited Nakazawa on board as he was a fan of his work and wanted the opportunity to work with him. Obara, known more for his work on live-action movies and television dramas, was brought in through a mutual friend at Office Crescendo.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The eventual unstructured production style was unheard of in anime, and at the outset Obara created a series structure. The three-episode finale was not planned ahead, emerging naturally as part of the design approach. As the project evolved, Watanabe pushed for this structured approach to be discarded aside from the lead characters and premise, and Obara agreed to the new approach. The lack of a structure meant that the series narrative was constructed piece by piece, with few plot details being decided in advance. The fates of the three characters were also undecided during this stage. Watanabe originally planned for all three to survive, but at one point the team considered Jin and Mugen dying respectively in the final two episodes. Even the identity of the sunflower samurai was unknown to Watanabe during the early stages. Due to this approach, pre-production on the series lasted a year. Watanabe had a great deal of creative control and input, including on music selection and editing.


title: Samurai Champloo

text: The first episode took a long time to polish, being completed around the beginning of 2004, but it and subsequent episodes had an animation quality higher than other series of the time. This was attributed to the working environment of Manglobe allowing for easy communication between staff members, and Watanabe's passion for the project prompting famous staff from other notable anime projects to come on board. The non-standard style of production left some members of staff including Sasaki skeptical that the series would be finished. For the sound mixing, Watanabe wanted the same approach and quality as "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie", bringing in sound engineer Masashi Yabuhara who had worked with Yoko Kanno on the sound design of "Cowboy Bebop". The fight scenes were choreographed to appear more realistic than other period dramas, which featured a clashing of swords which in reality would chip them. Unique eyecatch artwork was created for each episode based on its themes and content. Woodblock prints portraying the characters, designed by former shojo manga creator Tsubaki Anna, were shown at various points through the series. Nakazawa created the illustration use for sponsor announcements.