help with interfaces

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:04 pm

FWIW - I had a FW410 for a few months and it was really bad IMO.

Everything sounded horribly digital. Granted my skill level wasn't that great, but I wasn't really doing anything at that time other than trying to record an electric guitar with an SM57 and some vocals with an SM58.
The software also was a bit buggy as I recall. This is going back about 18 months or so.

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:32 pm

Greener,

I personally don't care what tools somebody uses. A common mantra around here, the equipment is secondary to the skill of the person using it. I come to these forums, and having been doing so for some time, to get advise from people who are in the know.

Cucco shared some valuable information about USB. He is an obvious professional that wanted to clarify that USB is a perfectly good protocol for recording when it is set up properly. He did not insult anybody who doesn't use it, and he backed up his statements with a simple, consise explanation.

You just claimed that everybody who uses firewire is a fool, and that it would die a lonely death. That, in my opinion, is bad advise. Firewire is a widely used protocol that is not going to go anywhere soon.

But then I see the real reason why you don't like Firewire and had to add the snide comment about all of us fools.

You don't like Apple.

So please Greener, stop drinking and posting. Don't use sarcasm. And don't give out bad advise interlaced with insults.

You could have stated that USB is a less expensive protocol that is perfectly good for the data transfer needs of sound recording if properly set up and a common format that will be around for many years to come. You could have added that you dislike buying into proprietry systems like firewire because (insert reasons here).

Anyways, for the click only crowd that want to know a little more, here is a wiki link to concerning firewire, and another all about USB.

At this point, both are required reading.

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:42 pm

One thing of interest in the USB wiki -
The apple iMac G3 of 1998 was NOT the first computer to offer USB terminals standard. I was selling computers in 96, 97 and 98 and we had Packard Bells, Compaqs and IBMs along with the Macs. The Packard Bells were the first machines that I saw (in mid-97) to have USB plugs. Despite the common gripe that Packard Bells were entirely proprietary, this new architecture that they went to at this time used an ATX form factor motherboard with only a mildly funky power plug (internal from PS to MB). Everything else was quite non-proprietary.

Just a thought.

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:06 pm

Good eye. Must be one of those Apple zealots trying to steal the glory!

Very Happy

Here's something from the Firewire Wiki

"However, the royalty which Apple Inc. and other patent holders initially demanded from users of FireWire (US$0.25 per end-user system) and the more expensive hardware needed to implement it (US$1–$2), both of which have since been dropped, have prevented FireWire from displacing USB in low-end mass-market computer peripherals, where product cost is a major constraint"

I wonder when they dropped this royalty? And did they drop it in order to compete with USB, or maybe they had well recouped the cost of development?
Or, like Greener suggested, maybe they have a brand new protocol ready for deployment?

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:39 am

Interesting questions vonRock,

I wonder if it applies to both Firewire 400 and 800.
Going from 400 to 800 looked very much a staged upgrade to keep the royalties rolling in.

I wouldn't be surprised if Firewire dropped off Mac sometime in the near future.
Seen a serial port on a Mac recently?

I'm interested to know the theoretical limit of Firewire. What is the maximum sample rate for 24bit (32bit unsigned data) streaming audio that can be pushed through Firewire 800.

Anyone know the Kbps for 24bit single channel 48khz and for say 24bit single channel 96khz?
And what's the kbps bandwidth of Firewire 800?

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:24 am

Okay, from what I can see (read visualise). Firewire 800 could stream 24 tracks of 1024khz/32bit audio.
Assuming you can utilise all 786.432 Mbit/s of Firewire 800.

Soooo... It could be a while before it's superseded.

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:57 pm

Thanks for the explanation Greener. And yes, I was using the comma in association with my signature. Smile

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:50 am

Here is Digidesign's opinion about interfaces:

MBox2 (4-in/2-out) = USB interface
MBox2 Pro (6-in/8-out) = FireWire interface
Digi 003 (8-in/8-out) = FireWire interface
Digidesign 192 (16-in/8-out ) = PCI interface

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