New Products

Industrial IEEE-1394 Repeaters and Hubs
Point Grey Research has introduced a 2-port repeater and 5-port hub to its line of FirePRO™ professional IEEE-1394b (FireWire 800) components.

FirePRO™ components maximize the effectiveness of the imaging pipeline, while minimizing the costs of component failure and downtime. The 2-port IEEE-1394b industrial repeater is a reliable and cost- effective solution for extending IEEE-1394 devices beyond the standard 4.5m cable length, and its ultra-compact 25x56x17mm metal case makes it ideal for applications where space is limited.

The 5-port IEEE-1394b industrial hub can also be used as a cable extender and supports the simultaneous connection of multiple FireWire cameras. The compact 57x94x20mm metal case minimizes risk of damage, and an external power input ensures system stability for multi-camera arrays. Both products incorporate locking 9-pin 1394b bilingual ports and a status LED, and support transfer speeds up to 800Mb/s.

Notebook PCs
Gateway has added a new 1394-equipped model to its P-series FX edition line of notebooks aimed at gamers, entertainment enthusiasts, and digital media hobbyists. The P-7811FX, the company’s first notebook powered by Intel Centrino 2 processor technology, features Intel’s Core 2 Duo P8400 processor and the NVIDIA GeForce 9800m graphics card. The notebook sports a 17-inch widescreen display with 1,920 by 1,200 resolution and a 1.3-megapixel Web cam. It is equipped with 802.11 Draft-n wireless technology, a five-in-one media card reader, and an IEEE-1394a port.  It comes complete with 4GB of memory, a 200GB hard drive, an available second drive bay, and a multiformat dual-layer DVD/RW with DVD-RAM featuring LabelFlash. Microsoft Windows Home Premium 64-bit Edition is included. Retail price is $1,399.

Toshiba's digital products division has added five new models to its Satellite Pro line of laptops targeted at professionals and students.

The Satellite Pro line offers 1394-equipped models with displays measuring 13.3 inches to 17 inches.  Some models feature an integrated 1.3-megapixel Webcam and others feature configurations with either Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Home Basic operating systems.

All five include a DVD Super Multi drive, TruBrite widescreen display, and a variety of connectivity options including wireless LAN, Ethernet, modem and ExpressCard slot. The laptops also feature embedded support for Computrac, designed to help in theft recovery and data protection on missing notebooks.  The new Satellite Pro models include L300, L300D, M300, U400 and L350 with prices ranging from $699 through $1,049. 

Lenovo has introduced a 17-inch ThinkPad mobile workstation equipped with 1394 and a built-in Wacom graphics tablet.  The ThinkPad W700 also includes an on-board Pantone color calibrator, and will be available with either an Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core or Core 2 Duo processor. The machine includes 8 GB of DDR3 memory and two hard drive bays that can be configured for either RAID 0 or RAID 1.  For external storage, there is an optional Blu-ray disk burner.  For graphics support, the W700 is available with either a 512-MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M or 1-GB NVIDIA Quadro 3700 OpenGL graphics processor.  Other features include a fingerprint reader, and an optional built-in camera. Pricing starts at $2,949.

Consumer Electronics
Sony introduced two new HDV™ cameras equipped with 1394 and designed to meet the needs of professionals and prosumers.

With the HDR-FX1000 Handycam® camcorder, videographers gain access to cinematic features, including 24P scanning and advanced color settings for around $3,200. Tthe HVR-Z5U camcorder provides professionals with native 24P recording and other high-end features -- all for less than $5,000 -- as well as tapeless recording capability through an optional CompactFlash™ adapter, the HVR-MRC1K.  The HDR-FX1000 camcorder will be available in early November at dealers nationwide, Sony Style® retail stores, and online.

The HVR-Z5U is expected to be available in December for a suggested list price of $4,950. The HVR-MRC1K recording unit comes out in October for a suggested list price of $940.

Peripherals
Vantec Thermal Technologies, a worldwide leader specializing in computer accessories, introduced two new FireWire 800 peripherals—the Quad Interface NexStar 3 and the FireWire 800/400 PCI Host Card. The NexStar 3's Quad Interface includes FireWire 800 and FireWire 400, combining flexibility and convenience. The 3-Port FireWire 800/400 PCI Host Card is a great addition for laptop owners wanting to take advantage of FireWire 800-enabled devices.

Matrox has introduced the Concord-F series, IEEE-1394b adaptors that, through MIL, enable the use of leading 1394 industrial cameras implementing the standard IIDC protocol. The adaptors support up to the S400 and S800 modes of IEEE 1394a and 1394b respectively, ensuring maximum camera performance and minimal transfer latency. In addition, the use of bilingual copper connectivity provides for cost-effective cabling. The cards support 64-bit conventional PCI and x1 PCI Express™ host interfaces. They are also pre-licensed for the MIL IEEE 1394 IIDC drivers, so a supplemental license is not required. More details are available in the Matrox press release.

Professional Audio
TL Audio announced its newly designed M1 Tube tracker console at the 125th AES convention in San Francisco Oct. 2. Featuring the ability to be fitted with an IEEE-1394 interface card called the DO-F card, the new console is available in 8- and 12-channel versions. The DO-F card is also compatible with TL Audio’s Fat Track Tube Production Suite. The DO-F is designed to offer an easy and high quality solution for interfacing TL Audio’s leading products with a Mac- or PC-based DAW.