FireWire

FireWire is one of the fastest peripheral standards ever developed, which makes it great for use with multimedia peripherals such as video camcorders and other high-speed devices like the latest hard disk drives and printers.

FireWire-based Digital Video editing enables a revolution in desktop video production. The combination of low-cost, high-quality DV camcorders and built-in FireWire allows the creation of broadcast-quality video on Macintosh. Gone are the days of expensive video capture cards and workstations packed with high-end SCSI drives.

FireWire allows for video capture directly from both new DV camcorders with built-in FireWire ports, and from older analog-only equipment using A/V to FireWire converters. This means that all FireWire-based Macs are full-featured A/V machines that work with all existing audio/video gear, both analog and digital, when used with an AV converter box.

FireWire works with both Macs and PCs, which guarantees a wide range of FireWire-capable products at reasonable prices. Many digital videocams and cameras already use FireWire, which is also referred to as IEEE 1394 and i.LINK.

The FireWire advantage can be summed up in three words: speed, speed, and more speed—at 400Mbps, it has 30 times more bandwidth than USB, which makes it the perfect choice for high-speed storage and serious video capture. Here are some other benefits:

• Supports up to 63 devices using cable lengths up to 14 feet.
• Hot-pluggable—you don’t have to turn off a scanner or CD drive to connect or disconnect it, and you don’t need to restart your computer.
• FireWire cables are a snap to connect—you don’t need device IDs, jumpers, DIP switches, screws, latches or terminators.

What Is FireWire?

Apple has introduced the next generation of Power Macintosh G3 computers—now with built-in FireWire technology. FireWire is a high-speed serial input/output (I/O) technology for connecting peripherals to a computer. Originally developed by Apple, FireWire is now an official industry standard (IEEE 1394).

FireWire is one of the fastest peripheral standard ever developed, which makes it great for use with multimedia peripherals such as video camcorders and other high-speed devices like the latest hard disk drives and printers. New Power Macintosh G3 systems include two FireWire ports that operate at up to 400 megabits per second.

Key Features

FireWire is like Universal Serial Bus (USB) in many ways, and the two technologies coexist on Macintosh systems. While USB is great for lower-speed input devices such as keyboards, mice, and joysticks, FireWire is aimed at higher-speed multimedia peripherals such as video camcorders, music synthesizers, and hard disks. Both I/O technologies offer incredible convenience through their “hot plug” capability, eliminating any need to turn off or restart the computer when attaching a new peripheral. For additional ease of use, they also feature automatic configuration, no device IDs or terminators, and simple-to-use cables. USB can support up to 127 devices per computer, and FireWire up to 63 devices. Both technologies provide their own bus power, enabling peripherals to be even simpler. And both technologies are cross-platform industry standards.

Benefits of FireWire

FireWire revolutionizes video on desktop computers. In addition to being easy to use, FireWire lets you create broadcast-quality video at consumer prices for the first time ever. This is due in large part to a new generation of digital video (DV) camcorders that include FireWire ports. These cameras now start as low as $850, yet because they use digital technology, they produce clean, crisp video that makes older analog formats pale in comparison. And because they capture video as digital data, you can bring that video directly into your Macintosh computer over a FireWire connection as a perfect digital copy, with no conversion losses.

Combine those benefits with powerful yet easy-to-use video editing software such as Apple’s new Final Cut Pro, and you have a true paradigm shift in multimedia. The last time two powerful technologies came together like this, Apple launched the desktop publishing industry. Now we’re transforming desktop video production.

In addition to offering new FireWire devices, third-party peripheral manufacturers have announced products that convert older analog video equipment for use over FireWire. This means you don’t need to buy new video gear until you’re ready; even your original camcorder from a decade ago will work great over FireWire.

Finally, FireWire is a peer-to-peer technology, which means you can connect other Macintosh systems on the same FireWire bus. This enables a whole new world of shared peripherals. Two or more computers can share the same FireWire video camera or scanner when they are “daisy chained” on the FireWire bus.

Why Apple is using FireWire

FireWire is the future of computer I/O technology. Together, FireWire and USB radically simplify I/O connections for the user. The age of SCSI, dedicated serial and modem ports, Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), and analog video is fast coming to a close.

Consistent with Apple’s mission, USB and FireWire bring new ease of use to Macintosh owners. Attaching a hard disk to your computer is now as easy as plugging in a telephone.

Apple is the audio/video and multimedia leader. By including built-in FireWire, Apple has established that all Power Macintosh computers are now professional audio/video systems.

As we move into the future, FireWire will allow for interoperation with new digital consumer electronics devices such as televisions, VCRs, and set-top boxes. In fact, manufacturers of all these devices have already announced support for FireWire as their interface of choice.

SGI Support

Limited support on SGI Fuel. Not supported on most Silicon Graphics machines.

Small Computer System Interface