Firewire Cables

Firewire cable is designed for computers and devices with firewire interfaces. Firewire is a type of serial technology with a high-speed transfer capability. A firewire cable consists of a piece of cable with connectors prewired on both sides. Firewire cable connects peripheral devices to PCs or other peripheral devices.

What is firewire cable used for?

Firewire cables are used for connecting digital cameras, hard drives, and scanners to computers. They can also link PCs together for file-sharing purposes.

Firewire cables have plug and play functions. These allow for immediate data transfer between peripheral devices or between peripheral devices and corresponding computers. Firewire cable assemblies also support hot-pluggable features, where connections or disconnections can happen live without interrupting transfers or causing data losses. Firewire cables are typical in the automotive, telecoms, aerospace, naval and data acquisition industries.

Types of firewire cables

The most common types of firewire cable assemblies are:

• Beta pin assemblies, with similar numbers of pins on each connector end.
• Bilingual pin assemblies, with different numbers of pins on each connector end.

What makes IEEE 1394 Firewire Cables special?

FireWire does not need the conversion of digital data to analog for data transfer since it is an all-digital interface. This brings up possibly one of the most significant applications for FireWire: serving as a digital interface for peripheral AV and consumer electronics devices. Because FireWire offers a peer to peer interface, it enables dubbing between devices (such a digital video camera) without the need for a computer. Additionally, it makes it possible for several computers to share a single peripheral without the need for specialized device or computer support.

FireWire supports up between 63 devices with data speeds of 100, 200, as well as 400 Mbps, with a maximum connection length of 4.5 feet among devices. A chain may have up to 16 hops, which results in a maximum end to end distance of 70 meters. Branching and daisy chaining, as well as peer-to-peer implementations, are supported by the IEEE 1394 standard. Free-form connections that combine daisy chains and branches are possible.

Along with being fast, FireWire also provides isochronous and asynchronous data transfer, guaranteeing a constant data rate free from delays or slowdowns. As a result of the standard's provision for assured delivery of important data, applications may utilize less buffer space, which reduces costs.

This makes it perfect for real-time data-transfer-required applications like digital audio and video. A Macintosh user may record broadcast-quality video using a FireWire interface as well as a new high-quality, affordable DVD recorders.

Compared to heavy and costly SCSI cables, FireWire wire is thin, flexible, and affordable. Additionally, unlike many earlier interfaces, you never require terminators, screws, latches, DIP switches, or device IDs.

What is a 6 pin firewire cable?

The 6-pin and 4-pin FireWire connections come in two different varieties. Two sets of wires are available for signaling on the 6-pin connection, which is often used on computers, while one pair is available for powering extra equipment. The power source for many FireWire computer devices is the interface. Typically, 6-pin FireWire-compatible computer accessories include two or three FireWire connections for daisy-chaining.