 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Basics of FireWire
|
|
FireWire does not require a PC to be in the middle to arbitrate bus conflicts. The group that is not PC-oriented is coming from the video and home entertainment area, such as Sony and Apple, and they like the idea that they don't have to deal with a PC, and they like the idea of peer-to-peer. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is still working on the next-generation 1394b specification that promises to speed the technology up to 3.2Gbits/sec. But even that won't eliminate the overlap with USB 2.0.
Adding a piece of equipment to a FireWire network is as simple as finding an empty port on any connected device, then grabbing the thin, standard cable, and plugging it in. A huge number of devices may be connected with 1394 and they may be arranged in almost any fashion, in welcome contrast with such hard-to-configure computer buses as the Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI). It's
|
even simpler than the input and output analog wiring that now connects consumer video and audio equipment, since the 1394 protocol supports simultaneous input and output over a single cable. But the biggest bonus for users is 1394's performance. The bus is very fast, shooting data along at rates up to 400 Mb/s, and its protocol supports guaranteed delivery of time-sensitive information, so that digital video and audio can be transmitted in real time. In addition, 1394's multiple channels mean a device can communicate with several others at once: the 1394 bus (unlike the USB) can carry multiple independent streams of digital video and digital audio. Moreover, since 1394 is completely digital, video and audio suffer no loss in quality during recording or repeated playback.
This FireWire technology is a useful tool at home or office for making sophisticated digital music recording, and using a PC to control electronic gadgets becomes more accessible to the common man. A few years ago, USB and FireWire were meant to peacefully coexist at separate ends of the bit-speed spectrum, with USB handling low bit-rate devices, such as keyboards, and 1394 taking care of high-bandwidth consumer devices, such as digital video and transferring large amounts of music data at once. But now these areas are starting to overlap.
|
|
Report
|
|
 |
 |
|