9.1GB Enormous Storage Capacity

To achieve 9.1GB storage capacity, Sony's 5.25 MO disk employs MSR (Magnetically induced Super Resolution) and Land & Groove Recording technologies. This enormous capacity is 14 times the 650MB of Sony's first-generation MO disk.

Compatibility for reliable performance in diverse environments

Sony's wide-margin media is designed to be highly tolerant of variations in laser power that may occur in different usage environments. Performance stability is further assured by Sony's high-precision stamper and substrate molding technology.

Estimated archival stability exceeding 50 years

With data integrity maintained over at least one million erase/write cycles and a data-read life estimated at more than 50 years, Sony 5.25 MO media is highly suited to long-term data archiving.

Robust construction for auto-changer use

Sony uses its own rugged cartridge design and mechanical components to achieve durability of at least 100,000 load/unload cycles per side. Sony's original antistatic hard coat treatment reduces static buildup and protects the disk surface from scratches and dust.

Magnetic data resolution finer than laser spot size

With MSR (Magnetically-induced Super-Resolution) technology, the recorded magnetic domain at the center of the laser spot is selectively heated to transfer its data individually to a special readout layer. This makes it possible to distinguish magnetic data that is much smaller than laser beam spot size.

Land & groove recording raises data density

Besides writing data in the grooves like a conventional disk, this format uses the "lands" between the grooves as well. Land & groove recording creates two spiral data tracks to dramatically raise data density and disk capacity.

Widely adopted for demanding applications

With its high-speed random access and massive storage capacity, the 5.25 MO lends itself to a wide variety of applications. MO drives can be easily connected to PCs and workstations including LAN and Web servers to handle computer graphics, CAD/CAM, X-ray and ultra-sound medical images, non-linear audio/video editing, and government agency or library document archiving. Other popular applications include large-scale libraries and jukeboxes that depend on high-speed disk changes.

Magnetically-induced Super Resolution (MSR)

During playback, a magnetized part of the recording layer located at the center of the laser spot is selectively heated and transferred to the playback layer. This makes it possible to distinguish magnetic data below the optical threshold.

Land & groove recording

Data is recorded on both the lands and grooves, creating a double helical structure on the disk for higher packing density and memory capacity.