Recording and reproducing apparatus and recording and reproducing method

A recording and reproducing method performed by a recording and reproducing apparatus including a magnetic head that is used for a magnetic tape, in which a servo band on which a servo pattern is recorded and a data band having a plurality of data tracks on which data is recorded are alternately arranged along a width direction, the magnetic head including a recording and reproducing element that records or reproduces data with respect to the data track and at least two servo reproducing elements that read servo patterns adjacent to each other in the width direction of the magnetic tape, respectively, the method comprising:

• selecting one or two servo reproducing elements from the servo reproducing elements of the magnetic head according to a position of the data track, as a target of recording or reproducing of data in the data band, along the width direction;
• and
• positioning the magnetic head along the width direction by using a result of reading of the servo patterns by the selected one or two servo reproducing elements.

A non-transitory storage medium storing a program that causes a recording and reproducing apparatus to perform recording and reproducing processing, the recording and reproducing apparatus including a magnetic head that is used for a magnetic tape, in which a servo band on which a servo pattern is recorded and a data band having a plurality of data tracks on which data is recorded are alternately arranged along a width direction, the magnetic head including a recording and reproducing element that records or reproduces data with respect to the data track and at least two servo reproducing elements that read servo patterns adjacent to each other in the width direction of the magnetic tape, respectively, the recording and reproducing processing comprising:

• selecting one or two servo reproducing elements from the servo reproducing elements of the magnetic head according to a position of the data track, as a target of recording or reproducing of data in the data band, along the width direction;
• and
• positioning the magnetic head along the width direction by using a result of reading of the servo patterns by the selected servo reproducing elements.