Ultra Density Optical
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Ultra Density Optical

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Ultra Density Optical

Ultra Density Optical (UDO) is an optical disc format designed for high-density storage of high-definition video and data. The format was introduced by Sony to replace the Magneto-optical disc format.

An Ultra Density Optical disc, or UDO, is a 133.35 mm (5.25") ISO cartridge optical disc which can store up to 30 GB (gigabytes) of data. The second generation UDO2 media format was introduced in April 2007 and has a capacity of up to 80 GB. It utilizes a design based on the Magneto-optical disc, but uses Phase Change technology combined with a blue violet laser. A UDO/UDO2 disc that can store substantially more data than a magneto-optical (MO) disc. This is due to the shorter wavelength (405 nm) of the blue-violet laser employed. MOs use a 650 nm-wavelength red laser. Because its beam width is shorter when burning to a disc than a red-laser for MO, a blue-violet laser allows more information to be stored digitally in the same amount of space.

Current generations of UDO2 media store up to 60 GB.

UDO optical disc storage media was developed as a replacement for the 9.1 GB Magneto-optical digital storage medium. The Ultra Density Optical was first announced by Sony on November 1, 2000. It was later adopted with heavy investment by Plasmon, a UK technology company with extensive experience with computer archival backup systems and solutions.

Currently, UDO/UDO2 is being championed by its development partners Plasmon, Asahi Pentax (responsible for the opto-mechanical assembly design), Mitsubishi Chemical, parent company of the Verbatim media storage brand, and various computer and IT solutions companies. Mitsubishi Chemical is the second major development partner of UDO media and the sole manufacturer of UDO media as of the 4th quarter of 2008.

On November 10, 2008, Plasmon creditors (led by Silicon Valley Bank) closed down Plasmon LMS (company) as CEO Stephen 'FX' Murphy was unable to secure funding to keep the money-losing company afloat. The UDO media factory in the UK was shut down and dismantled.

On January 13, 2009, Alliance Storage Technologies, a Colorado Springs Manufacturer of optical technology and Service Provider, acquired the assets of Plasmon (including UDO and UDO2 technology) in a liquidation sale. ASTI currently sells and supports UDO technologies sold under the Plasmon brand.

ECMA-380: Data Interchange on 130 mm Rewritable and Write Once Read Many Ultra Density Optical (UDO) Disk Cartridges –Capacity: 60 Gigabytes per Cartridge – Second Generation

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