What is FireWire?

There are currently two versions of the FireWire interface in use:

• 800 megabits per second - The latest version of FireWire, IEEE-1394b, also known as FireWire 800 which is twice the speed of FireWire 400/1394a!  Click here for information on FireWire 800
   
• 400 megabits per second - The original version of FireWire, the IEEE-1394a interface, also known as FireWire 400 which is described below:

The original FireWire interface, FireWire 400 / 1394a:
Firewire 400 the original version of the IEEE-1394 interface specification, also known as Sony's i.LINK,®.  FireWire, IEEE-1394 or iLINK are all different names for the same high-speed digital technology that enables consumer electronics to easily interface with computer products.

It’s a natural for video.  Today, you can go to your local electronics store and purchase a digital video camcorder for about the same price you would have paid for an analog Hi8 or SVHS model.

A digital video camera gives you better picture quality than ever before possible. It actually puts professional video capabilities into the hands of just about everyone.  But better than that, with a FireWire PCI card and editing software or a FireWire Laptop card and editing software you can easily and affordably edit your videos just like the professionals.

The need for speed.   This original version of FireWire can handle up to 400 megabits per second. That’s the data equivalent of about  25,000 pages of plain, unformatted text — or about 10 large dictionaries in small type...transmitted in a single second!  This speed makes the interface the perfect choice for all types of products that require a high-speed connection, including a external FireWire hard drives, a FireWire WebCams for videoconferencing,  external DVD Burners with the FireWire interface and more!

FireWire versus USB 1.1 and USB 2.0
FireWire and USB are both widely used in the computer and consumer electronics industries.  USB 1.1 is well suited for computer mice, keyboards, and other lower-bandwidth input devices.

And while USB 2.0 provides a tremendous speed advantage over the older v1.1 USB standard, FireWire remains the high-speed interface performance king for external devices such as hard drives, DV camcorders and 4X and up DVD burners/writers.