History (1989): Libraries for Magneto-Optical Disks From Hitachi

According to a spokesman from Hitachi Europe GmbH, Hitachi should soon unveil a library based on its OD112-1 drives (about $5,000 with the controller) and its formatted 322MB capacity per side magneto-optical disks, manufactured by its subsidiary Maxell.

The 5.25-inch form factor drive features a 62.5ms average seek time, a 12.5ms average latency and a 925KB/s (burst) with SCSI interface via a controller (OF 112S-1/2) that can be connected to up to 4 drives and that offers a 1.5MB/s transfer rate. The disk has a 17.4KB track capacity and a 1,024 byte sector capacity. Recording density is 24,000bpi and track density 16,000tpi. The media is divided into 18,751 tracks with 17 sectors per track.

Two automatic libraries exist. The OL 112-11/21 model that can hold 24 cartridges meaning a 15GB total formatted capacity. Average mount-demounting time is 9s. Dimensions: 43cm (width), 60cm (depth). 70cm (height).

The 112-12/22 is more imposing (50x60x130cm) but can hold up to 48 cartridges meaning a 30GB capacity. Average mount-demounting time is slightly longer: 9,5s. These standard units are equipped with a drive, but a second one is offered in option for the OL 112-11/21 and up to three extra ones for the OL 112-12/22.

In France, the OL 112-1 drive was announced at FF32,800 for OEMs and libraries cost FF139,000 (OL112-11/21) or FF146,000 (OL 112-12/22).