Is FireWire worthless/obsolete?

[Paul]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000050205&bop=And&Order=PRICED

Camcorders that cost thousands of US dollars use USB.

The first one in your list, uses Firewire.

"Canon XL2 3CCD 20X Optical Zoom Professional Camcorder"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830120134

"Connectors IEEE 1394, S-Video, AV ports"

I don't think in the larger scheme of things, it
really matters one way or another. It's just
another connector to contend with.

Paul

 

[Man-wai Chang ToDie (33.6k)]

At Newegg, they have 1 web cam that uses FireWire, they have 89 that
use USB. Isn't FireWire supposed to be good for web cams? Is USB
good for fast WebCam speeds like 25 frames per second at 640x480?
I'm sure the hype/advertising/literature says so, but I don't
believe what they say partly because much depends on a particular
system. Thanks.

Don't understand why manufacturers like Gigabyte still add an extra
Firewire chip into their motherboards...

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 8.04.1) Linux 2.6.26.2
^ ^ 11:07:01 up 28 days 19:19 3 users load average: 1.05 1.05 1.00
? ? (CSSA):
http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa/

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> John Doe

<snipped "no it would not be connected during use">

Maybe you don't really understand the context here, DevilsPGD, maybe
you are playing dumb, who knows. Doesn't matter what a camcorder is.
Why would the interface matter if you don't have the camcorder chained
to the PC during use? How does a camcorder benefit from FireWire over
USB? Looking briefly, apparently the interface isn't even important
enough to include in specifications about camcorders.

Do you get it yet, DevilsPGD?

Possibly.

1) I consider "downloading video from the camcorder to the PC" to be
"using the camcorder"

2) Firewire's guaranteed bandwidth allows you to capture live video,
something that can be done far less reliably over USB unless the camera
has a substantial buffer.

 

[John Doe]

With USB, youy are sharing that bandwidth with every other device in the
chain. With firewire, you have device control and dedicated bandwidth
available.

Like if you're using only one device on a USB hub.

Get over it, GBOY.

Its a moot point, Firewire has been and will be the defacto standard for DV
and professional camcorders for quite a while.

De facto standard?

Let's go take a look. On Newegg, first let's search for
"camcorders". Are you still with me, GBOY? Very good! Okay, now we
show all in stock camcorders and specify 100 per page. Since we're
looking for your totally spiffy FireWire, we arrange by highest
price since we know it would cost us (if it existed). Then we do a
simple text search for "connector" and lookie here.

14 = USB
2 = AV ports
6 = USB, AV Ports
1 = IEEE 1394, USB, AV Ports

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000050205&bop=And&Order=PRICED

 

[John Doe]

Many people replace a US$100 disk with a US$300 disk for higher
performance. (Some even throw on US$600 or so of cooling equipment
because the two US$1500/each CPUs that they buy don't run fast
enough for them, but I only mention them in passing here.)

Not a problem if you mention the extra costs when talking about one
CPU/device performance over another.

 

[John Doe]

FireWire (essentially IEEE-1394a) is not particularly needed for
"web cams" and most web cams use USB 2.0.

Apparently FireWire is not necessarily needed for high-end
camcorders either. Even assuming FireWire is so much better/faster
than USB, I can't imagine why it would be since you don't normally
have your camcorder connected to your PC during filming. Why not use
something like eSATA?

Whether FireWire is faster than USB isn't the only issue. The issue
is also whether common personal computer devices are available that
use FireWire. If almost nothing uses FireWire, its value is
questionable.

I think "Camcorder" is a Sony trademark (or some such thing)

The word "camcorder" is common terminology defined in US English as
"a small portable combined camera and video recording device".

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> Mark F

Many people replace a US$100 disk with a US$300 disk for higher
performance. (Some even throw on US$600 or so of cooling equipment
because the two US$1500/each CPUs that they buy don't run fast
enough for them, but I only mention them in passing here.)

Paying US$50 just so FW and floppy is available doesn't seem like a
big deal.

Indeed, I'm a bit of a performance tweaker myself, although I currently
lean toward quiet over raw performance, but I go for quiet+performance
over cost.

That being said, I'd still rather have that money in my pocket. Same
thing for onboard sound, until onboard sound finally started doing the
job better then Creative.