How did digital audio tape recorders store and play back music?

Digital audio tape (DAT) recorders store and play back music by converting continuous audio signals into a series of binary digits (0s and 1s).1

The process functions as follows:

• Recording: An analog-to-digital converter samples the sound's waveform thousands of times per second, assigning numerical values to the amplitude at each instant. A microprocessor then records this digital data onto magnetic tape.1
• Playback: The recorder uses a digital-to-analog converter to read the encoded information from the magnetic tape and transform it back into continuous audio signals. These signals are then sent to the amplifier of a stereo sound system for reproduction.1

This digital method offers higher fidelity than traditional analog recording because the pulse patterns are largely immune to the noise and distortion typically found in analog media.1