FireWire is common port used to transfer data between your computer and other devices using a FireWire cable. It is commonly used by many different devices and is very reliable for data transfer. Before using FireWire ports, it is important to understand the different cable types and their efficiency in transferring data on devices such as camcorders and portable hard drives.
Benefits
FireWire connector and ports are the standard for high speed data transfers between computers and peripheral devices. They support transfer speeds of more than 800Mbps, and are especially efficient for video and high resolution data transfers. FireWire ports utilize a single cable connected between 2 devices, and enable streaming over a home network and the Internet using an IP address. They can deliver excellent HD compression using FireWire cables over 100 meters long. Their efficiency in data transfer is extremely beneficial.
Types of Firewire Cables
There are three different types of FireWire cables: the 4-pin, the 6-pin and the 9-pin. Different devices generally use a FireWire cable with the same size pin on both ends or two different pins on either end. The 4-pin is especially common on most consumer camcorders and many laptops. The 6-pin and 9-pin are mainly found on portable media storage devices and desktop computers. While they are all different in their physical appearance, they all support similar data transfer speeds.
Camcorders
Camcorders are probably the devices that widely use FireWire ports because of their fast data transfer speeds which are necessary when transferring high resolution video to a computer. They are used on both consumer, prosumer and professional grade camcorders. Most consumer camcorders generally use 4-pin FireWire cables, while higher end professional camcorders used 9-pin FireWire cables. Most video editing programs rely on FireWire ports because of their 2-way realtime delivery of audio and video signals from the camcorder.
Portable Hard Drives
Many storage devices such as portable hard drivers have also adopted FireWire ports as the method of data transfer. Most portable hard drives use 9-pin FireWire cables and vary in storage size (e.g. 60GB to 250GB). FireWire portable hard drives support speeds of up to 400Mbps, and are efficient for storing everything from small size text files to high memory video files. They can be used on most computers that have FireWire ports.
Misconceptions
FireWire ports cannot connect to USB ports. For starters, there isn't a FireWire to USB cable. Many portable devices either use a FireWire or USB port to transfer data because they are both totally different ports supporting separate transfer technology. There isn't a way to connect both. FireWire data transfer is only as efficient as your computer. For example, if your computer has a low RAM (e.g. 128MB) and low processor speed (e.g. less than 1GHz) data transfer speeds will be low because it lacks the components necessary to improve efficiency.
Tags: data transfer, FireWire ports, FireWire cables, transfer speeds, data transfer speeds, FireWire cable, portable hard drives