The IEEE 1394 multimedia connection enables simple, low-cost, high-bandwidth isochronous (real-time) data interfacing between computers, peripherals, and consumer electronics products such as camcorders, VCRs, printers, PCs, TVs, and digital cameras. With IEEE 1394-compatible products and systems, users can transfer video or still images from a camera or camcorder to a printer, PC, or television, with no image degradation..

History of the IEEE 1394 Standard

The 1394 digital link standard was conceived in 1986 by technologists at Apple Computer, who chose the trademark 'FireWire', in reference to its speeds of operation. The first specification for this link was completed in 1987. It was adopted in 1995 as the IEEE 1394 standard. A number of IEEE 1394 products are now available including digital camcorders with the IEEE 1394 link, IEEE 1394 digital video editing equipment, digital VCRs, digital cameras, digital audio players, 1394 IC's and a wealth of other infrastructure products such as connectors, cables, test equipment, software toolkits, and emulation models.

Future of 1394

The strong multimedia orientation, self-configurability, peer-to-peer connectivity and high performance of 1394 have encouraged new, innovative product concepts soon to be released or in development now. With the advent this year of native IEEE 1394 support in Microsoft Windows operating systems, a number of new applications for 1394 will come forth that link the worlds of consumer and computer electronics.

Benefits of 1394

Applications that benefit from IEEE 1394 include nonlinear (digital) video presentation and editing, desktop and commercial publishing, document imaging, home multimedia, and personal computing. The low overhead, high data rates of 1394, the ability to mix real-time and asynchronous data on a single connection, and the ability to mix low speed and high speed devices on the same network provides a truly universal connection for almost any consumer, computer, or peripheral application.