ISO/IEC 17341:2009

Overview - ISO/IEC 17341:2009 (optical +RW, 120 mm & 80 mm)

ISO/IEC 17341:2009 defines mechanical, physical and optical characteristics for +RW rewritable optical disks (phase-change media) used for reliable data interchange. It covers 120 mm discs with 4.7 Gbytes per side (and 9.4 Gbytes double-sided) and 80 mm discs with 1.46 Gbytes per side (and 2.92 Gbytes double-sided), supporting recording speeds up to 4X. The standard enables cross-drive compatibility by specifying signal quality, data format, recording method and conformance/testing conditions. All parameters unique to the smaller 80 mm form factor are provided in an annex.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Mechanical, physical and dimensional characteristics - overall dimensions, clamping zones, runout and dynamic balance to ensure mechanical interchange between drives.
• Optical characteristics - substrate thickness, reflectivity, birefringence and angular deviation requirements for reliable read/write performance.
• Data format and track layout - physical sectors, frames, ECC blocks, modulation/NRZI conversion and assignment of logical sector numbers for consistent data addressing.
• Error control and signal characteristics - error detection codes (EDC/IED), error correction coding (ECC) and recorded/unrecorded signal quality to enable robust data recovery.
• Reference drive and read channels - defined reference optical system, read channels, wobble and tracking channels, and servo behavior for consistent drive implementations.
• Zone and disc layout - lead-in, data and lead-out zones, control data, ADIP/physical format information and reserved/test zones.
• Conformance, testing and environments - test, operating, storage and transportation conditions, plus safety and flammability requirements.
• Formatting procedures - pre-formatting, background formatting (initialization, de-icing, finalization) and verification operations.

Applications and who uses this standard

ISO/IEC 17341:2009 is essential for:

• Optical media manufacturers designing and producing +RW discs compliant with cross-drive interchange.
• Drive and firmware engineers implementing read/write channels, servo systems and ADIP handling.
• Test labs and conformance bodies verifying mechanical, optical and signal performance against the standard.
• System integrators and archival specialists ensuring reliable media interchange and long-term readability in data processing systems.
• Forensics and data recovery teams that rely on standardized sectoring, ECC and layout information for accurate recovery.

Related standards

• ISO/IEC 17341 is intended to be used together with volume and file-structure standards to provide full data interchange between systems. It also complements other optical media and file-system standards used in optical storage ecosystems.

Keywords: ISO/IEC 17341:2009, +RW, rewritable optical disk, 120 mm, 80 mm, 4.7 GB, 1.46 GB, phase change, data interchange, optical drive conformance, ADIP, ECC, track format.