The emergence of digital consumer electronics and multimedia applications has brought with it the need to move large amounts of data quickly between electronic devices and PCs. A simple-to-use, peer-to-peer connection scheme that can carry a dense multimedia data stream is needed. IEEE-1394 technology bridges digital consumer electronics and digital computers in a single, easy-to-use and control format.

The IEEE-1394 High Performance Serial Bus or commonly known as 1394 or FireWire^®, is a versatile, high-speed, and low-cost method of interconnecting a variety of personal computer peripherals and consumer electronics devices. One of its key characteristics is that it can deliver "isochronous" data, which means "guaranteed delivery," critical for audio/video data types. Other primary advantages of IEEE-1394 include:

• VERSATILITY: Chain up to 63 devices on one IEEE^®1394 connection
  FireWire provides a direct digital link for up to 63 devices without additional hardware, such as hubs. Digital camcorders, cameras, VCRs, audio players, external hard drives, CD-RW drives, and other high-speed devices all share a common bus connection not only to the PC, but to each other as well.
• HIGH SPEED: Move Data at speeds up to 400 Mbps
  Transferring data at up to 400Mbps, with 1.2 Gbps speeds in development, 1394 / FireWire^® delivers more than 30 times the bandwidth of the USB peripheral standard.
• EASY INSTALLATION: Complete plug-and-play operation, including the hot swapping of live devices
  When a new 1394-equipped device is added, IEEE^®1394 / FireWire^® automatically recognizes the device. Simlarly, when a device is disconnected, 1394 / FireWire^® automatically reconfigures itself. You can also connect or disconnect a 1394-equipped device to and from the PC without turning off your computer.