All you need to know about FireWire

IEEE 1394 (aka FireWire ILink) is the industry norm for transferring 'real time' data almost instantaneously between a DV camcorder and your computer (faster than USB). FireWire is a Plug 'n' Play device and has been supported since Windows 98.

Know your port size:

• DV Camcorders feature a (Female) 4-pin FireWire port.
• PC's feature a (Female) 6-pin FireWire port.
• Laptops feature a (Female) 4-pin FireWire port.
• Laptops with PCMCIA Card feature a (Female) 6-pin FireWire port.

FireWire cable's can feature either 6/6 pin (Male), 6/4-pin (Male) or 4/4-pin (male) connectors at either end to attach the two. (No DV Camcorder supports FireWire 1394b)

Your DV camcorder and the majority of PC's will be FireWire capable*, if they are not you will need to upgrade. PC's will require a PCI FireWire card (see below), while laptops owners will need to purchase a PCMCIA FireWire card (see below), especially if two or more cameras are being used.

*If you are purchasing a new computer ensure that you have enough FireWire ports or spare PCI slots, so additional PCI FireWire ports can be added. Some laptops feature a FireWire port (two ports are rare).

FireWire is designed to transfer 400Mbit/sec over a distance of 4.5 metres - however DV Camcorders streams at 3.5Mbit/sec - as a result FireWire cables can be extended maximum of 20 metres. For distances over 20 metres a repeater is required (see below).

	PCI Cards If you need to add, or require additional Firewire capability, and you have a spare PCI card slot (most PC's have) then you can simply insert one of these cards and off you go.
	PCMCIA Cards If you need additional FireWire slots for your laptop you will need to purchase a PCMCIA FireWire card. This can, then be simply slipped into your laptop's PCMCIA slot.
	Express Cards Latest laptop computers use a express card as opposed to a PCMCIA card - they have the same role.
FireWire Cables Ensure that you choose 6-pin/6-pin, 6-pin/4-pin or a 4-pin/4-pin cables when ordering (Either FireWire IEEE 1394 or FireWire IEEE 1394a) FireWire Repeaters When the distance between your camera and your computer is over 20 metres you will need a 'repeater' to boast the signal along the next length of FireWire. Simply connect a single repeater between each pair of cables, and the repeater will boost the signal to the next cable while correcting any errors that may have occurred during transmission.