Firewire
From WikiRecording
FireWire is Apple Inc.'s brand name for the IEEE 1394 interface (although the 1394 standard also defines a backplane interface). It is also known as i.LINK (Sony's name) and DV (Panasonic's name, not to be confused with DV camcorder tapes). It is a serial bus interface standard, for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer, frequently used in a personal computer (and digital audio/digital video).
FireWire has replaced Parallel SCSI in many applications, due to lower implementation costs and a simplified, more adaptable cabling system. IEEE 1394 has been adopted as the High Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) standard connection interface for A/V (audio/visual) component communication and control[1]. FireWire is also available in wireless, fiber optic, and coaxial versions using the isochronous protocols.
Almost all modern digital audio interfaces have included this connection since 1995. Since 2003 many computers intended for home or professional audio/video use have built-in FireWire/i.LINK ports, including all Sony computers, all but one of Apple's computers (and many of its older iPods), and most Dell and HP models currently produced. It is also available on many retail motherboards for do-it-yourself PCs.
Comparison to USB
Although high-speed USB 2.0 runs at a higher signaling rate (480 Mbit/s) than FireWire 400, typical USB PC-hosts rarely exceed sustained transfers of 35 MB/s (280 Mb/s), with 30 MB/s (240 Mb/s) being more typical (the theoretical limit for a USB 2 high-speed bulk transfer is 53.125 MB/s).
This is likely due to USB's reliance on the host-processor to manage low-level USB protocol, whereas FireWire automates the same tasks in the interface hardware. For example, the FireWire host interface supports memory-mapped devices, which allows high-level protocols to run without loading the host CPU with interrupts and buffer-copy operations.
FireWire 800 is substantially faster than Hi-Speed USB.
Citation
FireWire. (2008, March 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:11, March 11, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FireWire&oldid=197222773
