Why the IEEE1394b triumph is already on the cards.

The digital age has generated a complex variety of technologies, audio and video systems gies, audio and video systems which are all becoming increasingly popular. The use of digital technology around the home and in the office is increasingly taken for granted: simply think of how easy it has become to download movies off the Internet onto the computer or edit your holiday films on your PC. The key technology that makes all this possible is the so-called IEEE1394 multimedia bus – the most reliable, most cost-effective and most efficient way to move to audio and video data. Endorsed by the most well-known bodies, such as the American Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. and the 1394 Trade Association – a worldwide consortium of more than 170 companies – this standard has been able to steadily develop.

1394 – The Technology
A multimedia connection with the IEEE standard enables the simplest, cheapest broadband isochronous (realtime orientated) data transfer between computers, peripherals and consumer products such as camcorders, video machines, printers, PC’s, televisions and digital cameras. With IEEE1394 compatible devices or products, users can transfer videos or images from a camera or a camcorder onto printer, PC or TV without any loss of quality. To illustrate the function of IEEE1394, one should simply imagine a large road network which gives speed limits and right of way to an assortment of different vehicles. What matters to a truck might not be relevant to a car – but each of them are processed through an organised system with standard rules. The IEEE1394 protocol is essentially set up in the same way: it is efficient and does not require individual elements to know how the entire system is set up. The general architecture of the 1394 standard regulates the data flow. What makes 1394 different to other standards is that it segments the data flow between connectors into asynchronous and isochronous channels. Asynchronous channels are used for command and control functions of the bus and also for the transfer of bulk data such as IP files between applications and the network.

Isochronous channels are focused on audio data and streaming video. 1394 is one of the few interfaces that are set up for asynchronous as well as isochronous transfer.

1394 means "Plug and Play" – that means that the entire system can continue working whilst additional connections are connected or disconnected.

1394 is "peer-to-peer" – that means that the user doesn’t have to think about nector (or system) on the entire network has a sort of individual 1394 intelligence. 1394 offers a highspeed network where users are no longer required to configure or address complex network setups themselves.

Unlike analogue and even other digital technical image transfer standards, IEEE1394 is industry friendly and thus usable in highly complex automated manufacturing systems. Additionally, the Firewire architecture makes the usually required expensive image processing PC cards – known as framegrabbers – redundant.

IEEE1394b – the next step.
The 1394 bus in the 1394 to 1995 specifications as well as version 1394a allows speeds of up to 400 megabits/ second over distances of 4,5 meters. This amount of performance has ensured that the 1394 interface has become a standard port in almost all of today’s hard disks, printers, scanners, notebooks and computers. But 1394 is not static, it is constantly undergoing development. After 1394a, version 1394b has now set the parameters for further groundbreaking communication forms and products. The 1394b technology builds on the strengths of 1394a and adds several advancements to it:

More bandwidth
1394b increases the bandwidth from the current 400 megabits/second to 800Mbits. And that is only the beginning. Further bandwidth increases for the 1394b standard of 1,6 to 3,2 Gigabits/second are foreseen – eight times as much as what 1394a revolutionized data communication with today.

Longer distances
1394b makes data transfers within networks over 100 meters possible. Transfers via high-performance, industrial CAT5 cables, fibre optic cables such as Plastic Optical Fibre (POF), Glass Optical Fibre (GOF) and Shielded twisted pair connections (STP) lets networks work more efficiently.

Compatible with 1394a
1394b hardly replaces 1394a – which makes the investment in the Firewire standard secure. IEEE1394b is backward compatible – all devices fitted with this new technology can communicate with 1394a devices without any restrictions. Alternately, the A standard integrates the B-standard without any conflicts.

New plugs and connections
To ensure that further development of Firewire technology stays transparent, new connections and plugs were developed. A 1394b end device will typically have a "beta" as well as a "bilingual" connection. Whereas the "beta" connection is concerned purely with 1394b signals, a "bilingual" connection offers the transfer of 1394a and 1394b signals. The connectors conceptualised for this compatibility offer the following combinations:

• bilingual, 4 pole 1394a cables which are usually used by commercial devices such as camcorders.
• bilingual, 6 pole cables 1394a cables which are usually used in all other end devices such as DTV’s, DVD’s and set top boxes
• Beta-to-beta connection cables purely for the connection of 1394b end devices.

A continuously functioning communication solution is thus created for all combinations of 1394a and 1394b applications. The architecture of a network can now that influence communication efficiency, bridging of distances, specific applications, required bandwidths and last but not least, the costs. The move from 1394a to purely 1394b applications is thus a safe investment for the future.

Contact Information: Parameter / Oy Optoparameter Ab Tekniikantie 4, FI-02150 Espoo Finland Tel: +358 9 43 555 00 Fax: +358 9 43 555 011 www.parameter.se sales.fi@parameter.se