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ieee 1394 posts

1394 is -- still -- coming to home theater

Things have been a bit quiet on the 1394 front since the HANA announcement, but they want us to know things are still progressing. This article from EETimes goes into the issues faced by the connector and why it hasn't taken off yet. We all want all of our devices to be able to talk to each other and share their content but so far that hasn't materialized. Helping get the ball rolling are planned 1394b support in a Vista service pack and the ability to send 1394 signals over ethernet or coax. Still, many CE manufacturers seem to be backing ethernet and the DLNA as a way of connecting devices, and this stalemate is even more complex than Blu-ray/HD DVD. As it is, most of us have cable or satellite boxes equipped with FireWire, ethernet and USB ports that are mostly unsupported, unless you like to tinker. Is the (easily) connected home 6 months or 6 years away?

HANA is that you? Nope, it's tecStream


It will be some time before we see an of HANA's envisioned 1394 connected devices, but if you want a peek at the future, there is always UStec's tecStream home networking platform. Due to the array of devices which will connect to both your older analog sources or newer digital products via IEEE 1394.

tecStream is designed to work over Cat5 cabling, basically wiring your whole house via Ethernet back to a 1.6 Gbps central switch, and allowing you to share and view content with a single remote control, no matter where you are. They claim it can handle up to 15 streams of 30Mbps or higher.

With HANA and federal mandates hopefully combining to increase 1394 support, this sort of network may be right on time.




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