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1394 TRADE ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE
Microsoft Plans to Support 1394b in Upcoming Release of Windows Vista
1394 Trade Association Makes Announcement at WinHEC 2006
Seattle, WA - May 23, 2006 – The 1394 Trade Association announced Microsoft Corporation’s plans to support 1394b, the 800 Megabit/second version of the popular FireWire™ audio-video standard, in the upcoming release of Windows Vista.
At the annual WinHEC Conference in Seattle, Microsoft announced plans to include support for the IEEE standard 1394b in Windows Vista shortly after the release of the new operating system. Building on the existing support in Windows XP for 1394a, the 800 Megabit/second transfer rates in the IEEE 1394b standard (expandable to rates of 1.6 Gigabit/second and 3.2 Gigabit/second) will further expand the bandwidth available in Windows for scenarios such as high-definition audio and video transfers and external storage solutions.
“This is a major development for 1394b that will propel the FireWire standard into a new set of leading-edge PC applications,” said Jack Bell, Marketing Working Group Chair of the 1394 Trade Association. “With the emergence of high-definition audio/video distribution and storage applications in the home, we have seen dramatic increases in support and enthusiasm this year for 1394b from the leaders in the PC and CE industries. Microsoft’s announced support will encourage significant new levels of design activity for 1394b in the PC and peripherals markets worldwide.”
“We have the interest of several major PC OEMs; 1394b will be important for high-bandwidth users as an interface for external storage systems and high-definition audio/video applications on the PC," said Mark Slezak, program manager of Microsoft's Windows Device Experience Group.
1394b can support real-time audio/video distribution over existing wires in the home while also supporting a multitude of other high performance computing and connectivity applications from a single interface. It is scalable to 3.2 Gigabits/second.
1394b is a networking standard with the ability to support up to 45 watts of power over the bus, allowing users of PC and CE devices to interconnect, provide power to and communicate with over 60 devices in a daisy-chain network, significantly reducing the amount of bulky power and connector cables typically required to wire a home entertainment network.
1394b is currently available in a complete range of high-performance PC and storage products from the industry’s leading vendors, including Apple, Intel, Seagate, Maxtor, LaCie, and Western Digital Corporation, among others. The 1394 Trade Association has estimated that by the end of 2006, more than five million 1394b-equipped Wintel and MAC PCs will have shipped.
The 1394 Trade Association is a global organization dedicated to the advancement and proliferation of the IEEE 1394 standard in the consumer electronics, computer, peripherals, automotive, industrial, and other markets.
For more information, please visit www.1394ta.org
Contact:
Dick Davies
415 652 7515
ipra@mindspring.com
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