Lacie 301398U User Manual - Page 10

LaCie Little Big Disk User Manual Your LaCie Little Big Disk page 10 2.3. Cables and Connectors Important Info: If you choose to interface your LaCie Little Big Disk via a USB 2.0 connection, you will need to connect the power adaptor (see chapter 2.3.3. Optional A/C adaptor kit for more information). FireWire connections provide enough energy to run the drive without the power adaptor. 2.3.1. FireWire FireWire 400, also known as IEEE 1394, is a high-speed serial input/output technology for connecting peripheral devices to a computer or to each other, and FireWire 800 is the implementation of the new IEEE 1394b standard. Pushing the speed barrier to new limits, FireWire 800 offers increased bandwidth and extended cabling distance between devices. FireWire 800 is ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications, such as audio, video and graphics. Benefits of FireWire 800 include: • Resourceful architecture: FireWire 800 reduces delays in arbitration and signal distortion, and increases throughput. • Backwards compatibility: adapter cables allow FireWire 400 devices to operate under the FireWire 800 port. FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 also share the following features: • Hot-pluggable: devices can be added and removed while the bus is active. • Isochronous data delivery: no dropped frames - FireWire supports real-time data delivery. • Flexible: up to 63 devices can be connected on a single bus. Please see 6. FireWire questions and answers for a more detailed discussion of FireWire's uses and capabilities. FireWire Icons Theses icons will help you easily identify the FireWire interface. They appear on FireWire cables, and next to the FireWire port connectors on certain computers. FireWire Icon iLink Icon DV Icon