A Mystery No Longer: A Layperson’s Guide To FireWire!
If you have been around an Apple store lately, you may have heard a lot of jargon shot at you. Apple has such a pervasive subculture that those who are in it seem to find it inconceivable that anyone could not be a part of their subculture. As a result, Apple salespeople often rattle off specifications and jargon at such a speed at to appear daunting to those who are not technically inclined. One of the most frequent words Apple salespeople toss out with the expectation that you know what they are talking about is “FireWire.”
You may have been too afraid to ask, but you are not foolish for not knowing what FireWire is.
FireWire is the Apple brand name for the IEEE 1394 interface system. If you have a Sony product with i.Link or a Texas Instrument product with Lynx, you have a device with an IEEE 1394 interface. All three names – FireWire, i.Link, and Lynx – are brand names for the much more cumbersome “IEEE 1394 interface.” Apple developed FireWire in the late 1980s and made it popular in 1995 with the release of FireWire 400.
FireWire is similar to USB and it might help to think of it that way. FireWire ports and jacks are standardized interface points on FireWire-compatible devices. Just as personal computers, laptop computers and peripherals for computers – monitors, mice and keyboards – may use USB ports, FireWire devices use FireWire ports. While some monitors and computers use FireWire as an interface, what separates it from USB – other than the physical connection – is that you will use FireWire for devices that transfer greater amounts of data. So, while it would not be efficient to transfer the information that comes from a computer mouse using a FireWire connection, FireWire may be a vastly faster interface for transferring data to a DVD player, digital movie projector, camcorder or digital television.
As you may have surmised, FireWire is used largely for transfers of data-intensive media projects. With transfer rates from 98 to 393 Mbits/second, FireWire 400 was a formidable competitor to USB transfer rates for many years. Now, with the proliferation of high definition video, digital videos are becoming cumbersome once again. For that, Apple is touting FireWire 800 as a strong solution to delays. With transfer speeds between FireWire 800-compatible devices clocking out at 786 Mbits/second, FireWire 800 is the ideal way for Apple devices to transfer large amounts of information.
One of the other real advantages FireWire has as a transfer medium is in its encoding. All devices that have FireWire ports encode information in a common way. That means, you can plug a FireWire camcorder directly into a FireWire television without having to go through, for example, your MacBook or other Apple computer device! FireWire can provide anyone who needs fast, reliable, consistent, media transfers with a stable medium that has been in service for decades!
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