 Number 198 - November 1999 |
| FIREWIRE
Superfast Connections Firing Up Digital World | ||
| by Doug Bedell, Dallas Morning News via Seattle Times, Aug 15, '99 | ||
|
When wiring up a home for
the future, consumers may be wise to leave a little hole in the wall to
pull through the FireWire.
FireWire, as its creators at Apple dubbed it years ago, is destined to become the streaming media conduit of the future. This ultimate convergence pipeline--also known as IEEE 1394 and i.Link--is capable of moving video, audio and data across the home at speeds 30 times faster than the Universal Serial Bus, or USB, devices used in modern computers. Right now, this glass wiring is bringing broad smiles to only a handful of videophiles and professional digital editors. But FireWire's benefits and incredible speed are pushing manufacturers to incorporate it, into more products. "It's coming," says Max Bassler, a founder of the 1394 Trade Association. "It's going to eliminate 20 miles of wiring I know I've got running through my living room alone." The idea parallels the easy USB interface championed by Apple and now being adopted by PC makers. FireWire is capable of powering up to 63 devices hooked up to a single strand. Its broad bandwidth and flexibility allow digital televisions, hard drives, stereos, digital cameras and computers to use the same cabling with efficiency. Just clamp on a device, and it's recognized and working. "If you see a phone jack in a room, you and I know you can plug in a phone there," Bassler says. "This works that same way." Ultimately, industry pundits envision first-run movies being downloaded from fast Internet connections, then streamed throughout the household with FireWire carrying a high-definition picture and full surround-sound effects. Today, more than 7 million 1394 digital video camcorders from Sony, Panasonic, Canon, JVC and Sharp are on the market. One million more ship each quarter. FireWire-equipped digital TVs are due this year, along with digital VCRs in Japan. Among computer makers, Apple, Compaq, Sony and NEC have 1394 models, and four more of the top 10 PC makers will ship 1394 PCs by year-end. Epson plans a 1394 printer this year, UMAX will ship a 1394 scanner and Fuji-Xerox has both. More than 30 1394 peripherals based on Apple's FireWire are here now or are scheduled from companies in Taiwan, Japan and the United States. FireWire was invented by Apple in the early 1990s. In 1995, it was adopted as an industry standard called IEEE 1394. But the computer industry, perhaps out of fear, has been slow to incorporate the technology until recently. FireWire, for instance, doesn't require a computer. Other "smart" devices, such as the personal video recorders ReplayTV and TiVo, can be strung along 1394 cable and hooked to large hard drives for storing movies and music for instant retrieval. Computer manufacturers have gradually added FireWire ports to their newest models as a way to meet consumer demands for simplicity. Like products with USB cabling, FireWire devices are what the industry calls "hot pluggable." Computers don't have to be shut down to configure themselves when a new device is added. A single, thin strand can be run from computer to television to stereo, eliminating the need for all those cables. |
Durable connectors take
their design primarily from the Nintendo Game Boy. And FireWire's
ability to carry power to devices eliminates the need for more plugs and
cords.
"It's so simple," Bassler says. "Kids will be telling their parents how to hook it up. With one feed from a satellite or cable, 1394 can bring that data in, then send it to the VCR, back to the audio rack and through every room in the house." For that reason, FireWire capabilities have also scared the movie world. Home digital recordings of first-run movies are so professional in quality that production houses fear rampant piracy will dilute profits. Encryption and other safeguards developed in concert with the Motion Picture Association of America have largely assuaged concerns that 1394 will he used to transport illegally obtained and copyrighted movies, images or data. Zippy new FireWire hard drives such as the Orb drive from Castlewood Systems promise to provide mass storage of video and audio with direct inputs from digital camcorders and television. That will eliminate the use of tapes and bring studio-quality production capabilities into the household. "Not everyone is going to want to do that sort of stuff," says Dick Davies, 1394 Trade Association spokesman, "but imagine what you can do if you want. It's closer than people think." Current FireWire products can already transmit data at 50 megabits per second, leaving devices with USB technology far behind at 1.5 MBps. Future enhancements will produce 1394 fibers capable of moving data at rates from 100 to 400 MBps. "The things that have been in the way of this technology are gone," says Davies. "It's on its way now."
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Number 198 - November 1999
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