HP Plans Storage Systems Based on Sony Ultra Density Optical Technology

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 6 -- Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sony will work together to package Sony's Ultra Density Optical (UDO) disk technology for the corporate and enterprise document management and archiving markets. Hewlett-Packard will blend Sony's disk technology into its optical jukebox products for delivery by the end of 2002, said Hewlett-Packard.
Sony is still developing the UDO technology with the International Standards Organization's standard 5.25-in. cartridge that has been used by the optical industry for the past 10 years. The initial 40 Gb per cartridge capacity for the technology will be achieved through the use of a violet laser and advanced optics, and will be available in both rewriteable and write-once, read-many formats. Hewlett-Packard and Sony will continue to work together to promote this format. Hewlett-Packard's next-generation archival storage systems will follow a similar capacity growth plan that has ensured the success of 5.25-in. optical products over the last decade, said Hewlett-Packard.