Using IEEE 1394 Devices with Windows XP
Published: March 25, 2002
By Galan Bridgman, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist
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When portable devices can connect to computers with ease and accomplish quick transfers of data painlessly, the usefulness of these devices goes up exponentially. In other words, cool gadgets and computers have a synergy that makes them more fun when used together.
This brings me to the subject of IEEE 1394 ports. Like the Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394 is a serial data transfer protocol. They both support hot swapping—the ability to add and remove devices from a computer while it is running. But IEEE 1394 has advantages. USB 1.1, the most commonly used today, has a data transfer rate of 12 Mbps. IEEE 1394 has a transfer rate of 400 Mbps.
USB is now commonly used in low bandwidth applications, such as connecting digital still cameras and portable audio players. Today, IEEE 1394 is used most commonly for high bandwidth applications such as connecting digital video cameras and external hard drives.
Originally developed in 1986 by Apple Computer as the FireWire specification (so named after its blazing speed), the spec was standardized in 1995 with the less glamorous name of IEEE 1394. Sony has also done a lot to advance the popularity of 1394 with its version, dubbed i.Link, which appears on most Sony computers and digital video camcorders.
And the future of the IEEE 1394 specification is exciting. While a new USB 2.0 technology raises USB speed to 480 Mbps, the recently finished specification for IEEE 1394b has a maximum speed of 800 Mbps. Future plans include a P1394b spec, which will accommodate the use of fiber-optic cable as well as CAT-5 cable, with further speed enhancements up to 3200 Mbps. And many devices that used to require SCSI interfaces are now moving to IEEE 1394 because of its hot-swappable capabilities.
 | If you are purchasing an IEEE 1394 card for a PC that doesn't have one, make sure to get a fairly recent model (some older NEC 870A chips had performance problems), and make sure it is Open Host Controller Interface (OHCI)-compatible. |  | |
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IEEE 1394 cables typically consist of either four or six wires: two twisted pairs for data transfer and an optional two wires to supply power to external devices. There are also 6-pin to 4-pin converter cables as well as 1394 hubs to assist in connecting various cable and jack configurations or to network multiple devices. In fact, another advantage of IEEE 1394 is that it supports up to 63 devices connected simultaneously.
If you are purchasing an IEEE 1394 card for a PC that doesn't have one, make sure to get a fairly recent model (some older NEC 870A chips had performance problems), and make sure it is Open Host Controller Interface (OHCI)-compatible. OHCI is a specification that defines how 1394 interfaces with a PC host. Windows XP supports 1394 cards that provide this standardized interface. IEEE 1394 is also appearing in other types of cards, such as the Audigy family of sound cards from Creative Labs, and the new All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500DV video card from ATI Technologies.
In addition to connecting peripheral devices, IEEE 1394 can be used as a convenient network interface to connect computers to each other. For this column, I discuss how to use IEEE 1394 to connect a Sony Digital8 camcorder (discussed in my previous column Capturing Video from Digital Sources), an external 80 GB hard disk, and two computers with IEEE 1394 ports. Other types of 1394-enabled devices include scanners, DVD recorders, CD-RW drives, digital still cameras, Web cameras, and external tape drives. Finally, I discuss how to create a network bridge to demonstrate how Windows XP supports networking with a simple IEEE 1394 connector.
Digital Video Cameras
Both professional and consumer digital video cameras now provide a DV port, which is really an IEEE 1394 port. The jack is usually the small, un-powered 4-pin variety as shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1
After I plugged my Sony Digital8 camera into the 1394 port, Windows XP quickly displayed a message saying that the hardware was detected. Windows XP then offers to launch Windows Movie Maker to capture video. My previous column, Capturing Video from Digital Sources, describes how you can use Movie Maker to capture live or pre-recorded video from the camera. If you decline to run Movie Maker and just start exploring the camera on your own through Windows Explorer, you discover that it can also function much like a digital still camera. The Scanner and Camera Wizard contains the Take Picture button, shown in Figure 2 below, which will take a snapshot from the live video stream coming from the camera. Camera wizards then offer to import these pictures and deal with them exactly as you would still camera pictures, including preparing them for e-mail transmission or for publishing to a Web server.
Figure 2
Double-clicking the camera icon in My Computer opens Windows Explorer, showing the live video feed coming from the camera.
External Storage
Plugging in the external disk drive was amazing too. Windows did not display a message recognizing the hardware, but a few seconds later Windows XP began scanning the drive, finding the file types it held, and then offered me the dialog box in Figure 3 below with actions to perform.
Figure 3
When I checked My Computer, there it was—a new disk drive! The disk contained some uncompressed, 30 frame per second video files at a very high 55 Mbps data rate. They played flawlessly, without dropping frames. Years ago I used external SCSI drives for exactly this purpose, but it lacked the plug and play ease of use of the 1394-enabled drives of today. And, for those with mixed environments, these drives are fully compatible with Macintosh systems as well.
Creating Network Bridges
Now here's where IEEE 1394 can come in really handy. There's usually an issue of determining and setting up the right type of temporary connectivity between multiple computers for one-time transfers of large quantities of data. Laptops usually have infrared ports, and that works well for small quantities of data like a vCard or a single Word document, but it lacks the bandwidth needed for large files. There are Ethernet connections of 10 Mbps or more typically 100 Mbps, but you often find you lack either a hub or crossover cable to make it work. Wireless 802.11b networks might be available, but their 11 Mbps maximum transfer rate might not be fast enough either if you're transferring large files.
If IEEE 1394 ports are available, try connecting the two computers with an IEEE 1394 cable. On each machine, Windows XP will immediately create a new network connection and assign it an IP address. Within a few seconds, you should be able to open a Windows Explorer window to the other computer by typing \\machine_name in the address bar. You'll be presented with whatever shared resources the machine makes available. Depending on how it was set up, it may already have a SharedDocs folder, but if not, you can create shares to move files back and forth. At this point you can then transfer files back and forth at speeds much higher than on most other networks.
If you want to connect the guest computer to another available network, simply open a Network Connections window, select two or more connections from the LAN or High-Speed Internet group, making sure to include the 1394 connection, right-click one of the selected connections, and then click Bridge Connections. You can add or remove connections from the bridge as desired. When you are through with the bridge, just right-click the Network Bridge connection and delete it.
Figure 4
Note: If the bridge is created but does not seem functional, the three most common issues to consider are the following:
| • | Older network adapters might not work; try upgrading your card. |
| • | Some wireless LAN adapters do not correctly support promiscuous mode. |
| • | A firewall on any of your machines on the internal network might prevent the bridge from working. |
I'm having a blast with all these gadgets and look forward to integrating many more with my PC.
Galan Bridgman is a developer, architect, and enthusiast for digital media technologies. He co-developed QuickTime for Windows for Apple Computer. At Starlight Networks he developed innovative client and backend technologies using ActiveMovie® and NetShow® Server, the precursors to Windows Media Technology. He is a full-time consultant, and is currently developing a next-generation, fully-automated radio station using Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series technologies. After hours he enjoys showing others how to make the most of Microsoft's latest Windows Media applications. Check Galan's Web site for more information about him.
