Firewyer Vayer

It seemed silly. He got his friends at Sony drunk after work one day, and they revealed to him the real reason behind the value of the name. "Sony once didn't want to use the Dolby brand because Dolby sounded better than Sony," Teener says. – "Not as a technology, just as a name. And it worked out the same way with FireWire. "They compared FireWire and Sony, and they decided that FireWire sounded cool and Sony sounded boring."

▷ Firewire: what it is, what it's for, and how it differs from usb

Do you know what IEEE 1394 or Firewire ? Of course, if you're European, you don't know too much about this port for PCs, and it's even possible that you haven't seen it on any motherboard. That's why today we are going to look in detail at what Firewire is, how it works and what we can use it for.

Connectivity is a very important aspect that we should always consider when buying "smart" electronic device. The connection port depends a lot on whether we can communicate with this equipment through the computer or make it compatible with certain devices. Almost everyone knows exactly what a USB port is, but not everyone knows Firewireport, and the truth is that we're not likely to find one nowadays, but it's worth knowing what it is and how it works if we find one one day and we need to use it.

What is a Firewire port

The first thing we should know is that its official name is IEEE 1394 port because of the standard communication protocol it uses. If a team has Firewire, you will see that it is identified that way with almost all probability.

The Firewire port is a type of input and output connection to provide high-speed communication between multimedia devices. It works through serial data transferas a USB port, and is mainly used to connect professional digital cameras, printers and other devices where we usually find a USB port.

The main reason we don't see it too often is that the use of the USB port is much more common in Europeand that's why we can see it more often in the American continent. Also, this port is mostly used by Apple equipment, because it was the manufacturer who invented it in 1995 and introduced it in their range of both personal computers and professional equipment.

The beginning

"It all started in 1987," Michael Jonas Tiner, the chief architect of FireWire, told us. Back then, he was a systems architect in the marketing department at National Semiconductor, planting technical knowledge among salespeople and marketers who understood little about it. Around that time, talk began about the need for a new generation of internal data bus architectures. A bus is a conduit through which various data can be transferred between computer components, and an internal bus is needed for expansion cards such as scientific instruments or dedicated graphics processing.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) was quick to catch on to new attempts to create three incompatible standards – VME, NuBus 2 and Futurebus. The organization was dismissive of such initiatives. Instead, they suggested to everyone – why not work together?

Teener was appointed to chair a new project to unify the industry around a single serial bus architecture. Serial means transmitting one bit at a time, not several bits at a time – parallel transmission is faster for the same frequency, but it has higher overhead, and there are efficiency problems as frequencies increase.

"Pretty quickly there were people — including a fellow named David James, then working in the architecture lab at Hewlett-Packard — saying, 'Yes, we need a serial bus, too,'" Teener said. – 'But we want offshoots from it for connections to low-speed peripherals,' like floppy disk drives or keyboards and mice and things like that."

Entering Apple

Teener took a job at Apple in 1988. Shortly thereafter, the company began looking for a successor to the Apple Desktop Bus, ADB, used for low-speed devices like keyboards and mice. Apple needed the next version to support audio transmission as well. And Tiner had just the right thing.

But the early FireWire prototype was too slow. The earliest versions offered 12 megabits per second (1.5 Mbps); Apple wanted 50. The company feared it would have to switch to expensive optics.

To solve the problem of mixed use, Tiner and James – who also came to Apple – invented the isochronous transmission method – that is, transmitting at regular intervals. This guaranteed the arrival time of the data. Guaranteed time means that the device can process high-bitrate signals more efficiently, and that there will be no variable delays in the device – the delay of the few milliseconds it takes to pass the interface will always be the same, regardless of the circumstances. This makes isochronous transmission ideal for multimedia – for professional audio and video work that previously required special hardware.

Apple appointed Roger Van Brunt and Florine Oprescu to the analog engineering team to develop the physical layer – the wires and the electrical signals running through them – and to incorporate the technology into the accelerated interface. Van Brunt realized that it was possible to avoid using optics and instead use twisted wires. The extra speed came at no increased cost.

"At about the same time, someone at IBM (what a surprise) was looking for a replacement for SCSI," Teener recalls. – And since we were also using SCSI, we thought maybe we could use our idea to replace it. We joined forces. But they wanted 100 Mbit/s.

The team turned to STMicroelectronics to achieve the increased bandwidth. These guys had a trick capable of doubling the bandwidth of a cable by timing (simply put, coordinating the behavior of different elements in a loop) called DS coding.

FireWire and its evolution over the years

Apple coined the name FireWire for its IEEE 1394 bus in the 1990s. After 15 years of development, FireWire has undergone a number of improvements.

Apple has shared projects on the new FireWire standard in the past, but now the entire technology is frozen. In 2012, Apple introduced its new Lightning connector with the Thunderbolt standard, which we all know well from the iPhone, iPad and other Apple mobile devices.

How is FireWire different from modern USB?

USB technology has almost completely replaced FireWire today. While FireWire was faster than USB 2.0 at one time, it was more expensive to implement. This is why USB has spread much faster in different markets. However, FireWire has one important advantage over USB. It communicates over a peer-to-peer network. What does that mean?

For example, if you have two digital cameras and you want to transfer photos between them via USB, you need a host, in most cases, such as a computer. You transfer photos from one camera to the computer and then to the other.

However, with the FireWire architecture, any device can be hosted without the need for a processor to mediate the connection. There can even be multiple hosts. This allows pictures to be sent from one camera to another directly over FireWire.

History

Fire shows have now become a fashionable hobby for young people. But the earliest firecrackers were members of the Maori tribe, who on the coast of the ocean were very fond of staging entertainment-show performances with burning balls – poi (translated from the Maori language means "balls on a string"). But who knew that the women of the tribe invented this object. They used it to train their arms, and later the Maori warriors began to use this method of physical training.

The entertainment of New Zealand aborigines was watched by circus performers from Australia around the beginning of the 20th century. And in the 60's, fire shows became popular in the United States and Western Europe, performances were incorporated into the programs of many circuses. The culture of fire also spread among hippies, who were happy to be drawn into the conquest of fire.

The popularity of fire shows grew significantly in the 90's. Fire shows became popular in night clubs, at parties, music and street festivals, beach or holiday parties, and they also became a part of flash mobs and pyrotechnic shows.

Fire shows in Russia

Fire shows in our country appeared in the early 90's and are very popular nowadays. The firefighters gather mostly at night, when the action can be appreciated in all its glory. They have mastered squares, parks, embankments, central squares and other convenient places for performance and training. Their shows are always accompanied by live music. Drums, tambourines, and other percussion instruments set the rhythm and create a special mysterious atmosphere. You get the feeling of being at a shamanic ritual. This is what a flare. Photos of this performance amaze viewers no less than the action itself. It is hard to believe that this is staged and that it occurs here and now.

The flare artists themselves call themselves poyers, pogoists or poysters. But they don't just spin poi, there are a host of other projectiles.

FireWire specifications

FireWire ports, depending on the generation, differ in a number of ways:

• IEEE 1394 – This standard was finally adopted and approved in 1995. The first to arm themselves with the new standard were video camera manufacturers, in particular Sony, which began to promote the interface under its own name Link. Despite its positioning, already at that time the controller also appealed to those involved in the production of portable hard drives. The reason for this was the high data transfer rate. Data transfer speeds of up to 400Mbit/sec. The cable length was under 4.5 meters.
• IEEE 1394a – In 2000, the standard was updated. The main changes were about improving compatibility between different devices. A small bus reset delay was also added. The delay was introduced to protect against a hot reconnect reset.
• IEEE 1394b – Another update occurred in 2002. Data processing speeds increased significantly. The FireWire cables and connectors for connecting them have changed. Only the design of the ports has changed. Interface standards remained the same, and to support compatibility, specialized adapters appeared FireWire of the old generation to the new (IEEE 1394b). The structure of the cables themselves has changed, they began to be made of fiber optic. Data transfer speeds have increased to 1600 Mbit / s. The length of the cable increased to 100 meters.

Types of connectors

FireWire ports have a few more differences, depending on the generation of the interface. There are variants with a different number of pins, as well as additional power elements:

• IEEE 1394 – This FireWire port does not have its own power supply and has 4 pins. It uses one twisted pair of wires to send information from the device to the device and a second twisted pair to receive information from other devices. A similar connector is installed in laptops and video cameras that support the interface.
• IEEE 1394a – An upgraded FireWire controller has two more pins to power the interface.
• IEEE 1394b – The latest generation of the interface is equipped with two additional pins for transmitting and receiving information, as well as a backup pin.

FireWire Specifications

The FireWire standard moves data at 400 Mbps, and the faster IEEE-1394b standard, FireWire 800, moves data at 800 Mbps. An isochronous standard, FireWire streams data in real time and, as a result, is commonly used to connect set-top boxes and other audio equipment. It supports several types of connectors and has a six-pin cable that connects to the computer and a four-pin cable that connects to the device.

Serial standard FireWire and later Thunderbolt provide a high-speed connection for Macs and peripherals

FireWire Common Uses

Televisions and set-top boxes often include a FireWire interface, so it can be used to create a home theater system connected to a Mac. It is also commonly used to connect consumer electronics, external storage devices, and a wide variety of multimedia devices. FireWire can be used to connect two networks or two computers using TCP/IP over FireWire.

FireWire has many more pros than cons. While a FireWire cable is more expensive than other connection methods, it has several advantages, not the least of which is speed, making it useful for connecting video cameras and other multimedia devices. Another advantage is that the cable transmits power at the same time as it transmits data, which means that there are fewer potentially dangerous power points, and you can charge and sync devices at the same time. In addition, because FireWire 800 can operate over distances of up to 100 meters, it can be useful in large rooms or for connecting between rooms.

Sound cards and FireWire

The music business makes heavy use of FireWire sound cards. And there are several reasons for this. First, because of the standard, sound engineers and DJs can install multiple or more sound cards on a single bus. Secondly, the channel width is sufficient for multi-channel recording or proper music playback. Sound cards from APOGEE, RME and other renowned brands deserve special attention.

• high speed for high-quality multimedia transmission;
• connection of a large number of devices (up to 63);
• hot plugging without having to shut down the computer;
• the bus is provided with its own power supply;
• Flexibility in terms of topology (peer-to-peer effect and direct connection of machinery without a PC);
• open architecture without specialized software.

FireWire adapters and converters

Today you can find a variety of adapters that allow you to connect almost any equipment with FireWire. Especially popular are the FireWire to USB converters. However, in many cases there are some problems with delays in signal transfer. A variety of errors can also occur. Therefore, these adapters are more suitable for unassuming users and novices than professionals.

Perhaps the biggest competitor to FireWire is USB. For a long time, the USB standard has been in a fierce battle with Apple's brainchild. And if initially FireWire won due to the speed of signal transfer, then later the situation has changed.

As USB 2.0 and then USB 3.0 came along, the IEEE 1394 interface began to fade into the background.

Which is better for the musician: FireWire or USB 2.0, Thunderbolt or USB 3.0?

So which is better for the musician – Thunderbolt, FireWire, or USB? The general consensus among musicians is that FireWire devices work better than USB-connected devices. This is true even for identical models of audio interfaces, which differ only in connection method.

PreSonus will explain that FireWire, unlike USB 2.0, has better bandwidth and is faster for transferring large amounts of data. PreSonus claims that this allows more inputs and outputs to be used simultaneously, increasing the stability and performance of your studio equipment. Other advantages of FireWire include:

• Streaming data transfer, which gives greater performance when working with sound;
• Possibility of simultaneous data transfer in two directions: from the device to the computer and back;
• The ability to daisy-chain multiple identical FireWire devices into one.

If you are worried about numbers then USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 performance is almost identical, 480 Mbits/sec vs 400 Mbits/sec. USB 3.0 is many times faster than FireWire 800 at 5 Gbps versus 800 Mbps.

However, audio interfaces and other studio devices that support USB 3.0 are just beginning to hit the market. Thunderbolt's bandwidth exceeds that of USB and FireWire combined, at up to 10Gbps over copper cable and up to 40Gbps over optical cable.

Audient representatives recently explained why they favored USB 2.0 when designing the new first generation Audient iD audio interfaces, despite its lower performance compared to other interfaces. According to the official information, the company's engineers had realized that USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt provide more bandwidth, but they also realized that audio interfaces don't need this, as compared to USB 2.0, the third version simply transfers more data at the same data transfer rate.

Bottom line?

The issue of FireWire and USB performance was a hot topic in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when FireWire bandwidth was significantly higher, and the market was flooded with FireWire-only devices. Today, when USB connector speeds surpass FireWire, music and studio equipment manufacturers either abandon FireWire support altogether, or produce two or three versions of devices with Thunderbolt, FireWire, and USB.

The difference between the connectors exists only on paper. In the recording studio, there is no difference between FireWire, Thunderbolt, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0 in performance, signal latency, or other metrics. The choice of device should depend only on the technical equipment of the recording studio (see Recording studio equipment for all occasions).

If maximum compatibility with other devices is important to you, USB is the way to go, if performance is the priority, consider Thunderbolt, and if further expansion is not more important to you, consider FireWire.

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