What Is 1394?

The IEEE-1394 High Performance Serial Bus is a versatile, high-speed, and low-cost method of interconnecting a variety of personal computer peripherals and consumer electronics devices. The IEEE-1394 bus began life in 1986 as Apple Computer's alternative to the tangle of cables required to connect printers, modems, external fixed-disk drives, scanners, and other peripherals to PCs. The proposed standard (P1394) derived from Apple's original FireWire design, was accepted as an industry standard at the December 12, 1995 meeting of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards Board. The official name is IEEE 1394-1995 Standard for a High Performance Serial Bus. The 1394 Trade Association was formed in 1994 to accelerate adoption of the Bus by personal computer and consumer electronic manufacturers. The 1394 Trade association has dubbed IEEE-1394 the MultiMedia Connection. Adaptec has licensed Apple's FireWire technology, trademark, and logo; FireWire is used interchangeably with IEEE-1394 in these pages.

The primary advantages of FireWire over other current and proposed serial buses are:

Versatility: FireWire provides a direct digital link between up to 63 devices without the need for additional hardware, such as hubs. Digital Video (DV) camcorders, scanners, printers, videoconferencing cameras, and fixed-disk drives all share a common bus connection not only to an optional PC, but to each other as well. FireWire is a candidate for the "Home Network" standard initiated by VESA (Video Electronic Standards Association) and other industry associations.
High speed: The present implementation of IEEE-1394 delivers 100 Mbps (Megabits per second) or 200 Mbps of data (payload) and control signals (overhead). Future versions that support 400 Mbps are in the development stage, and a 1.2 Gbps (Gigabits per second) version of IEEE-1394 has been proposed. Isochronous data transmission lets even the lowest-speed implementation support two simultaneous channels of full-motion (30-frame-per-second), "broadcast quality" video and CD-grade stereo audio.
Low cost: The cost of the integrated circuits and connectors to implement FireWire is often less than the cost of the connectors and circuitry it replaces. FireWire uses a flexible, six-conductor cable and connectors derived from Nintendo's Gameboy to interconnect devices. (A four-conductor version of the standard cable is used to interconnect consumer audio/video components.) Use of FireWire for consumer electronics gear, such as camcorders and VCRs, will provide the high-volume market needed to achieve low-cost implementation of FireWire on PCI adapter cards and PC motherboards.
Ease of installation and use: FireWire extends Plug and Play features far beyond the confines of the personal computer. When you add a new device, FireWire automatically recognizes the device; similarly, on disconnect FireWire automatically reconfigures itself. The standard FireWire cable provides up to 1.5 amps of DC power to keep remote devices "alive" even when they're powered down. You don't need a computer to take advantage of FireWire; as an example, a VCR can act as a FireWire controller for camcorders, TV sets, receiver/amplifiers, and other home theater components.

Sony Corporation was the first to commercialize IEEE-1394 with its highly-successful Digital Video Handycam products, the DCR-VX1000 and DCR-VX700 camcorders, introduced to the North American market in Fall 1995. Sony also produces a high-performance IEEE-1394 video camera, the CCM-DS250, for use in videoconferencing and similar applications. On January 8, 1996, Microsoft, in conjunction with Sony, Adaptec, and other major manufacturers, issued a press release announcing Microsoft's intention to support the IEEE-1394 High Performance Serial Bus in future versions of Windows. Without question, 1996 will be the "Year of FireWire."

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