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What
is IEEE 1394 "Firewire"?
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| IEEE 1394 is
an emerging IEEE bus interface standard for portable and
desktop computing environments. It provides an important
linking technology which bridges the consumer and
computer markets. The standard describes a serial bus
driven by an advanced communication protocol which is
designed for low system cost while providing the data
transfer rate needed for a high-performance peripheral
bus. |
Its
applications include:
- Computers, both
desktop and portable
- Consumer electronics
products such as: Set-top boxes, Digital VCRs,
camcorders and DVD-RAM
- Multimedia products
such as digital cameras and stereo/audio equipment
- Electronic publishing
products such as printers and scanners
- Data storage and
retrieval products such as hard disk drives and
CD-ROMs
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How
does USB compares to 1394?
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| Benefits: |
| USB |
IEEE 1394 |
| Replaces low
and medium bandwidth peripheral ports |
Allows the
implementation of high-speed multimedia networks |
| Ease-of-Use:
Hot Plug-N-Play, single connector for all devices |
Provides I/O
port integration |
| Low Cost:
Complexity is in the host controller, low cost
peripherals and cable |
Peripherals
can communicate directly with each other without
burdening the host |
| Real-time
isochronous support |
Increases
efficiency of data transactions while simplifying S/W
driver designs |
| Peripherals: |
| |
Performance |
Applications |
Attributes |
USB |
Low
Speed 10-100kb/s |
Interactive
Devices (Game, VR) |
Very
low cost
Ease of use
Dynamic
Attach-Detach
Multiple
peripherals
|
| |
Medium
Speed 500k-10Mb/s |
POTS,
ISDN, PBX
Audio, Limited
Video
Printer /
Scanner
|
Low
cost
Guaranteed
latency
Higher bandwidth
Ease of use
|
| IEEE
1994 |
High
Speed 50-1000Mb/s |
Video,
Disk, LAN
Consumer
electronics AV
Cluster
interconnect
|
High
bandwidth
Low latency
Ease of use
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