The company, named Sony NEC Optiarc, focused on manufacturing optical disk drives primarily for the OEM desktop and notebook PC markets.

This took effect on December 5, 2008[3] In March 2013, Sony closed its Optiarc optical disc drive division,[4][5] laying off about 400 employees globally.

In 2017, an American company, Vinpower Digital, whose main business is manufacturing optical disc and other media duplicators for the commercial market, acquired the rights to the Optiarc brand and product line.

The naming scheme for the drives is as follows: DDU stands for DVD-ROM, AD stands for DVD-RW, BR for BD-ROM and BC for BD Combo.

The three digits that follow indicate the generation, the design (5.25" or slimline) and the speed class.