Firewire 4 Pin Vs. 6 Pin

Firewire 6-pin connectors use four pins for data and two for power.

Firewire is a high-speed serial bus, or more simply, a fast way to transfer data from one device to another. It is most commonly used to connect your computer to external devices such as cameras, audio recorders, printers and external hard drives. It can also connect your computer to a network of computers, or connect two external devices to each other.

Types

The 4-pin connectors use all four pins for data transfer.

There are two different types of Firewire: Firewire 400 or IEEE 1394, and Firewire 800 or IEEE 1394b. The difference between the two is how fast each can transfer information. Firewire 400 is the original Firewire and it can transfer data at 100 Mbps (million bits per second), 200 Mbps or 400 Mbps, while Firewire 800 can transfer data at 800 Mbps, 1600 Mbps or 3200 Mbps. Also, Firewire 800 is backwards compatible, meaning that it will work with any earlier version of Firewire.

Connectors

You can buy Firewire with three different styles of connectors: 4 pin, 6 pin and 9 pin. The difference between these is in power and speed. Firewire 400 uses 4 pin and 6 pin, while Firewire 800 uses 9 pin. In 6-pin Firewire, four pins transfer information while the other two pins are used to provide up to 45 watts of power to external devices (camera, external soundcard, and so on) that draw their power from a host (or computer). In 4-pin Firewire, all four pins transfer information and provide no power to external devices. In 9-pin Firewire, three pins transfer power and the other six pins, information.

Features

Firewire is capable of connecting peer-to-peer, meaning that two external devices can communicate with each other without connecting to a computer. With Firewire you can connect up to 63 devices together, and you can plug and unplug Firewire while your system or device is running without causing damage (hot-plug). Many companies make Firewire, so they are easy to come by and very affordable, and most consumer electronics have a Firewire connection so you don’t have to mess with a lot of different connectors.

History

Apple developed Firewire in the mid-1980s as a way to transfer data from a computer. Apple wanted to be able to connect external devices to their computers so they took the design to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE). In 1995, Apple announced Firewire 400, and in 2004, Firewire 800.

USB vs. Firewire

In 1998, HP wanted their Firewire IP licensed by Apple; however, HP wasn’t happy with the way Apple was carrying the negotiation. HP dropped Apple and went to Intel to develop another serial bus, the USB. Apple is the license holder for IEEE 1394. USB is the more widely used of the two because it is less expensive. However, Firewire is much faster at transferring large video and audio files. USB only transfers 480 Mbps and cannot connect peer-to-peer.

References

• Ohio State University: Firewire 800 and Firewire 400
• California State University, Northridge: USB 2.0 vs. Firewire
• Jacobs University: Firewire--The History of IEEE 1394