Durabis

Durabis (Latin for "you will last") is a brand name for a clear polymer coating developed by the TDK Corporation. The need for a protective polymer arose because Blu-Ray discs write much closer to the readable portion of a disc than do other disc formats, including HD DVD. One of its principal applications at first will be for scratch resistance in Blu-ray Disc and other optical discs. It is claimed to be tough enough to resist screwdriver damage and make scratched optical discs (CDs and DVDs) a thing of the past.^[1]

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To meet Blu-ray's specifications, TDK's coating had to be less than 0.1 mm thick, be hard enough to resist considerable damage, and yet be transparent enough to be easily read. According to a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the process essentially spin-coats two layers onto discs. One is for protection against scratches, and the other protects against stains and oils.

It should be noted that the Durabis coating is not required for Blu-ray or any other optical disc, and both Sony and Panasonic have their own independent hard coating technologies that are primarily in use on Blu-ray pre-recorded discs.

A TDK spokesman says the present protective layer represents "the first generation" of the coating and that the company has been refining the technology to better suit Blu-ray Discs. Although it might seem possible to adapt the polymer to other uses in LCD, CRT, and plasma screens, TDK plans to target the DVD market for now, because scratches are so common on DVDs that in the rental market, they may only last about 12 to 13 rentals on average.

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