Why does my DLT drive report "format failed" right after it starts writing ?

This is an issue with writing to new tapes for the first time. It will be addressed in a future update. In the meantime, there are a few workarounds:

1. In studio "downtime", start formatting a random project to any new DLT tapes, then cancel as soon as it succeeds. Maintain a stock of "pre-formatted" tapes.
2. Try manually setting the drive's compression settings before it "settles down". This sometimes helps.
3. If suggestions 1 and 2 don't work for you, and you are having this kind of problem when writing DVD-9 jobs (where it's really irritating for the second tape to fail), the failsafe method is:
   
   1. Start writing Layer 0.
   2. If it fails, go to Step (iii), otherwise cancel the Format and then go to Step (iii).
   3. Start writing Layer 0 again, on the other tape.
   4. If formatting is successful, let it proceed, otherwise try again, with either tape, and everything should proceed smoothly.