UDO discs are the next generation of Magneto Optical (MO) media. Developed by Plasmon, the discs have a recording capacity of 30GB, which is over three times that of the highest capacity MO media (9.1GB). The discs use similar cartridges to the ISO –standard 5.25”MO but are designed to be used with drives with blue laser pick-up.

The cartridge protects the disc from fingerprints, dust and other contaminants. They also benefit from a special proprietary anti-static coating that helps to reduce electrostatic charges that can cause problems in jukebox/library mechanisms.

Two types of discs will be available – write once and rewritable. The rewritable media is exceptionally durable supporting more than 10,000 direct overwrites. With the write-once discs, users can be assured that their data can never be altered, ensuring their suitability for long-term archiving. Both are expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter.

The UDO discs are designed for high-volume users like banks, hospitals and broadcast media, for example. Hewlett Packard and Plasmon have already announced drives and jukeboxes to support the technology.

The media will be produced at Verbatim’s parent company’s (Mitsubishi Kagaku Media’s) Mizushima factory in Japan. The announcement further enhances MKM / Verbatim’s long term commitment to Optical industry as it builds on success of the company’s Magneto Optical (MO) disk back in the 1980’s.