News
[PSUs]| Thursday 6th July 2006 |
A survey by high-tech market research firm In-Stat found that digital televisions, set-top boxes, and DVD recorders are all driving Firewire growth, And as consumers seek new ways of moving digital content around, the High-Definition Audio Video Networking Alliance (HANA) has endorsed FireWire as a transmission medium for high-definition content, a development which In-Stat says may spur the adoption of the technology in home video networks.
In the computer market, FireWire has until now struggled to establish itself in corporate desktops, where the cheaper USB technology is prevalent. However as In-Stat notes, Microsoft has announced that it will support the faster 1394b FireWire standard in its next-generation Vista operating system, which In-Stat believes may 'breathe additional life' into the technology.
Nonetheless
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'The CE segment is expected to surpass the combination of the PC and PC peripheral segments in 1394 devices by 2007,' said Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst.
Overall, In-Stat estimates that the worldwide market for FireWire-enabled devices will grow from 115.8 million units in 2005 to 219.9 million in 2010, adding that if HANA is successful in promoting it as a home networking technology, then it will begin to be implemented in new devices such as wall plates or separate home gateway boxes.
FireWire was developed by Apple in the 1990s and adopted as the 1394 standard by the IEEE in 1995. FireWire 400 (1394a, also known as i-Link) is widely used in audio and video environments because of its higher sustained throughput compared to USB 2. FireWire 800 (1394b) was adopted as a standard in 2002 and doubles the maximum speed that data can be carried to almost 800Mbit/sec.
Its advantage in CE devices is that it enables peer-to-peer device communication; in other words, unlike USB, data can be moved between devices without recourse to a host computer.
In-Stat's report - 1394 2006: Will Vista and HANA Support Provide a Boost? - costs $3,495.
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