Archival Disc
A long-term optical storage medium co-developed by Sony and Panasonic.
Sony and Panasonic jointly developed the Archival Disc (AD), a trademarked optical disc format for long-term data storage, which was discontinued in 2024. First announced on 10 March 2014 and released in the second quarter of 2015, the discs were built to resist dust, water, and fluctuations in temperature and humidity, with a projected readability of at least 50 years. The collaboration between the two companies on this next-generation optical media standard was first disclosed on 29 July 2013. Panasonic began mass production in 2016. Since then, Sony and Panasonic have worked together on another format, Optical Disc Archive.
The original discs stored 300 gigabytes of data, followed by a 500-gigabyte version, and eventually a third version capable of holding one terabyte, as outlined in the companies’ roadmap. The standard employed signal processing technologies including narrow track pitch crosstalk cancellation, high linear density inter-symbol interference cancellation, and multi-level recording. Each disc had two sides, with three layers per side, using a land and groove format. The track pitch measured 0.225 μm, the data bit length was 79.5 nm, and error correction relied on Reed–Solomon Code.
In 2019, Sony and Panasonic released a third-generation Optical Disc Archive. The following year, Sony began shipping its Gen3 PetaSite Optical Disc Archive, which could store up to 2.9 PB of data.
Sony anticipated the format would be used in the film industry for 4K audiovisual data, archival services, and cloud data centers handling big data. By 2014, the disc was not intended for consumers but for professional data archiving. To increase capacity while maintaining playback signal quality, the standard planned to use crosstalk cancellation and partial-response maximum-likelihood (PRML) signal processing. Both companies marketed the format under their own brands.
Sony incorporated Archival Disc into its Optical Disc Archive professional product line, aiming for a 6-TB storage medium. By 2020, they offered 5.5 TB Optical Disc Archive Cartridges. The format also appeared in Sony’s everspan product, which could hold up to 180 PB of data. In 2016, a projected use case for Archival Disc was cold data storage within data centers.
- introduced
- Second quarter of 2015
- discontinued
- 2024
- maximum_capacity
- 1 terabyte (third version)
- developers
- Sony and Panasonic
- intended_use
- Professional-level data archives, film industry, cloud data centers
- readable_lifespan
- At least 50 years
Quick Facts
- Encoding
- Same as Blu-ray for data, different disc metadata format
- Use
- Long-term data storage
- Capacity
- 300 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB
- Read
- 155-405 nm diode laser, Numerical Aperture NA=0.85
- Write
- 405 nm diode laser
- Weight
- 16 grams (0.56 oz)
- Standard
- [https: · panasonic.net/cns/archiver/pdf/E_WhitePaper_ArchivalDisc_Ver100.pdf Archival Disc whitepaper v1]
- Blocksize
- 2048 bytes
- Dimensions
- 120 mm diameter / 1.2 mm thickness
- Owner
- Sony · Panasonic
- Released
- p=y · 2015
- Discontinued
- p=y · 2024
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The agreement between Sony and Panasonic to jointly develop the next generation optical media standard was first announced on 29 July 2013. The discs were mass-produced by Panasonic in 2016. Originally, the discs were designed to hold 300 gigabytes of data, then a second version could hold up to 500 gigabytes, and eventually a third version could store up to one terabyte of data, based on the roadmap plans of both companies. The disc structure features dual sides, with three layers on each side, and a land and groove format. The track pitch is 0.225 μm, the data bit length is 79.5 nm, and the standard utilizes Reed–Solomon Code error correction.
Reader's Guide
Archival Disc represented a focused effort by Sony and Panasonic to address the need for durable, long-term digital storage in professional environments. Unlike consumer optical media, it was designed from the outset for archival services, the film industry (including 4K resolution audiovisual data), and cloud data centers handling big data. Its resistance to environmental factors such as dust, water, and temperature fluctuations, combined with a projected readability of at least 50 years, positioned it as a solution for cold data storage. The format was used in Sony's Optical Disc Archive product range and its everspan product, which could hold up to 180 PB of data. Despite its technical achievements, the product was discontinued as of 2024, and the two companies have since collaborated on another format, Optical Disc Archive. Its legacy lies in demonstrating a viable, high-capacity optical alternative for long-term data preservation.
Did You Know?
- Archival Disc was first announced on 10 March 2014 and introduced in the second quarter of 2015.
- The discs were designed to be readable for at least 50 years under specified conditions.
- The third version of the disc could store up to one terabyte of data.
- Sony and Panasonic had previously announced their agreement to jointly develop the standard on 29 July 2013.
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