Sony Unveils Second Generation of Optical Disc Archive

(ASIA PACIFIC, 12
May 2016) – Sony
is unveiling the second generation of its Optical Disc Archive System, which
adopts a new, high-capacity optical media developed jointly by Sony and
Panasonic. This newest media, rated with a 100-year shelf life, doubles the
capacity of a single cartridge to 3.3TB. Generation 2 of Optical Disc Archive
System also introduces an 8-channel optical drive unit, doubling read/write
speeds over the previous generation, accommodating 4K video in real time, and
meeting the users’ increasing data storage needs.

Optical Disc Archive, launched in 2013,
is widely used by broadcasters, sports organisations, corporations, schools,
and production companies. It delivers reliable long-term storage and provides
stable operations with efficient power consumption. Continuing its open
platform approach for wider compatibility, Sony is providing technologies and
support to encourage other manufacturers to develop supporting products for
Optical Disc Archive. Currently, 42 companies have announced their support and
have created interfaces for Optical Disc Archive.

Optical Disc
Archive technology is designed for use in near-line applications, deep archive
storage, or disaster recovery systems. Hardware configurations range from
stand-alone to large, scalable robotic archive systems. The main components of
Optical Disc Archive Generation 2 include a stand-alone USB drive unit
(ODS-D280U), an 8GB fibre channel library drive unit (ODS-D280F) for use in
robotic systems, and the Optical Disc Archive media cartridge (ODC3300R).

“Optical Disc
Archive is one of our most modular technologies,” said Yanai Shunsuke, Manager,
Corporate & Professional Marketing Department at Sony Electronics. “It can
scale from a table top drive accepting a single cartridge at a time up to a
library that supports petabytes of data. This technology crosses a number of
markets and applications, and can be tailored to meet the unique requirements
of individual organizations.”

Acceptance of
Optical Disc Archive has been steadily growing with the following new
customers: Alabama Public TV APTV (US), ATM Grupa (Poland), ATV (Turkey),
Beijing Television (China), Capitol Broadcast (US), Carolina Panthers (US), China
Central Television (China), China Education Television (China), KUAC-TV (US),
National Film Board of Canada (Canada), San Marino RTV (San Marino), Sun TV
Network Limited (India), Universität Mozarteum Salzburg (Austria), Wells Fargo
(US), and WRAL (US).

Furthermore, in
order to achieve higher efficiency based on improved Read/Write performance and
higher capacity, the key broadcasters listed below are planning to adopt
Optical Disc Archive Generation 2 into their daily operations: Artear
(Argentina), Golf Channel (US), KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) (Korea), RTRS
(Bosnia and Herzegovina), Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation (Japan), and University
of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).

Several key
broadcasters, such as Polsat, Sony Pictures Television, and ZDF, also plan to
conduct “Proof of Concept” (PoC) trials using the Optical Disc Archive
Generation 2.

Sony Optical
Archive Inc. (US), a fully owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, recently
announced a new library system called Everspan. The new system incorporates the
newest optical media and new drives for large-scale robotic systems targeted
specifically at data centres. This market expansion further advances the use of
optical media in the storage market and facilitates a stable supply of both
optical media and drives.