SB1394
SB1394 is Creative's own branding of the IEEE-1394a standard, more commonly known as Firewire. Sony also has a modified Firewire connection standard called iLink that is commonly found in the company's MiniDV video cameras. Creative probably decided to invent its own term for IEEE-1394, since Firewire is an Apple trademark and iLink belongs to Sony.
Firewire is a great way to daisy chain up to 63 devices from a single controller. Like USB, the devices are hot-swappable so you can plug and remove them from the PC in without rebooting the operating system. However, unlike USB's 12Mbps maximum bandwidth which is just a little faster then the old 10Mbps Ethernet networking standard (now surpassed by 100Mbps Fast Ethernet and the latest Gigabit Ethernet), Firewire provides 400Mbps transfer rate (and it can also go down to 100 or 200Mbps when needed). In addition, there is an isochronous transfer mode that guarantees data will be transferred within a certain time frame, which is crucial for applications like audio and video streams.
| A new 800Mbps IEEE-1394b standard will debut soon. This doubles the speed from the 400Mbps IEEE-1394a standard, which is adopted by Creative as the SB1394. |
At this speed, it is fast enough to run hard drives, CD writers, and many other devices that would normally eat up the entire bandwidth of a USB connection. To fill up a hard drive-based MP3 player's 6 or more gigabytes of disk space with MP3s will just take a couple of minutes instead of hours. Another good use of this technology is to transfer gigabytes of huge digital videos from a DV camera to the PC for editing quickly. This is one area in which Firewire is already an established standard.
Creative is also promoting the SB1394 as a high-speed networking solution especially for gaming. With its 400Mbps speed, IEEE-1394 is definitely able to support networking and transfer of files at much higher speeds. The downside is that Firewire cables are not as affordable as Ethernet cables, they don't stretch for long distances like Ethernet can, and you may have to spend on Firewire or Audigy cards for every PC that connects to the network. The cables aren't included in the package either.
The SB1394 is recognized as a standard IEEE-1394 controller in Windows 2000's Device Manager
The FireNet program bundled with the Audigy allows you to quickly set up a plug and play network when all PCs have the Audigy or Firewire cards, are located nearby, and the right cables are used. Check out the Unibrain web site to find out how FireNet works.
On the other hand, IEEE-1394 is not without its problems. The standard isn't completely well-defined, which may cause compatibility and other issues to seep in when manufacturers deviate from the specs and implementations already existing in the market. To counter this, Creative is offering the SB1394 Certification Program for any manufacturer to certify their IEEE 1394 devices with the Audigy.
Only products that pass the tests can carry the SB1394 seal, and Audigy owners can be assured that the device will work fine with the Audigy's SB1394. Creative's developer site has information on this program and lists Canon digital video cameras and hard drives from Maxtor and Western Digital as the first companies who have had their products certified.
Creative seems to be pushing Firewire as a standard feature on sound cards. With Intel supporting its own USB2 technology, we would not likely see Firewire ports standard on motherboards and ATX casings, so its nice that sound cards may be the possible "de facto host" for Firewire connectivity. With Creative's huge share of the sound card market, it may very well be the case that the sound card will end up providing Firewire for the PC world, just like how sound cards provided the ubiquitous joystick/MIDI port in PCs for more than a decade. Nevertheless, we'll have to see if competitors pick up on this "Firewire in sound cards" trend as well.
Many products like removable storage drives, CD/DVD writers and digital video cameras - devices that require high bandwidth connections - are gradually appearing in the market, promising easy connectivity and fast transfer speeds. In the coming months, expect to see Creative gradually introducing SB1394 connectivity in their products like the popular NOMAD Jukebox hard drive-based MP3 player. We'll also have to see how USB 2.0 is accepted in the market.
The inclusion of Firewire as a standard feature on all Audigy cards is a great move that adds value, and may even convince many people who are shopping for a Firewire card to consider the Audigy. Granted the performance of the Firewire port is not as fast as dedicated Firewire add-on cards, but it works just as well with compatible Firewire devices already out in the market. We can almost hear the advertisements screaming: "Upgrade your sound and get Firewire thrown in for free!"
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