FireWire Features

FireWire, also known as IEEE-1394 or i.Link was originally developed by Apple Computer as an interface format for computer peripherals. Many such peripherals including video cameras, scanners and external hard drives.

Some of the features that makes FireWire so important to digital video include:

Speed: FireWire is really fast, much faster than USB2. With transfer rates up to 400mbps this is really great for transferring digital video which contains so much data.

Compatability: [tag-tec]FireWire[/tag-tec]] is compatable with Mac, for who it was originally developed, PC and Linux. This has helped make it an industry standard.

Device control. Not really a feature of FireWire but one of the things that makes FireWire so useful. When your camcorder is conneted to your computer’s FireWire port most video editing programs can control the camcorder’s playback feature. This makes it easy to capture your video once you have selected the clips that your editing program identifies. Press the capture button and all is done automatically, thanks to the FireWire.

Plug and Play. Connect your camcorder to your computer FireWire port and it is detected and ready to play immediately.

Hot Swap. You can connect and disconnect your FireWire peripherals when ever you want. You don’t need to take any other actions like unplugging cables or turning off the computer.

If your desktop computer does not have FireWire then you can easily buy and install a FireWire expansion card. It will probably come with three 6 pin ports. If your laptop does not have FireWire already installed then it can be a little difficult. However most new laptops, apart from the really cheapest models, are now fitted with FireWire 4 pin ports.

On your digital video camcorder the FireWire port may be called a DV port or a i.Link port but they are one and the same. The shape is distinktive so you will soon see if a camcorder has the right port.

One thing that initially caused me a problem, until I realised what was happening, was that FireWire cables can be fickle. I purchased and used three cheap FireWire cables, one after the other, but my camcorder was never detected. I was beginning to think that my camcorder was faulty. It was not until I spoke to a sales rep in a reputable supplier when he told me that I really needed to buy a better quality cable with gold coated connections. I plugged in the new cable and the camcorder was detected immediately.