Recommended IEEE 1394 (FireWire) PCI/PCIe/PCMCIA/ExpressCard Manufacturers- Belkin () - Lacie () - SIIG () Cards from other manufacturers have been seen to work, providing that they are FireWire 400 only and use an approved chipset. Recommended IEEE 1394 (FireWire) Chipsets- Texas Instruments (TSB43AB22 and TSB43AB23) - VIA (VT6306 and VT6308) Please note that other chipsets may work with our FireWire devices, however we have seen the best results with the chipsets detailed above.
Below is a list of our recommendations, as well as some specific cards that have been used either successfully or unsuccessfully with our FireWire products. However, once you have exhausted all other possibilities or after narrowing down the cause of the problem to the FireWire card, it should be considered as an option to try a different card or controller. There are articles on the Focusrite Answerbase () that can be referred to for more information on this. Although Focusrite FireWire products will work with 4pin FireWire ports, if experiencing the problems described above, it could be worth using a FireWire expansion card with 6-pin FireWire ports.īefore Buying A New FireWire CardPerformance problems can stem from a number of different causes, and can normally be resolved with simple steps such as increasing buffer sizes, or tweaking the operating system to make it run more efficiently. The shell connection can be easily interrupted if the cable is moved even slightly, causing the FireWire device to disconnect momentarily from the computer. 4-pin FireWire Ports: The problem with the smaller, 4-pin FireWire ports is that the FireWire cables use the connector shell for the ground connection between the computer and the device.
NB: On Windows 7, if using the Windows Legacy FireWire driver this will read 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy), and will give no indication of the FireWire chipset. If you have more than one FireWire bus, you will see more than one entry in this list. To check your FireWire chipset: 1 Navigate to your Device Manager (Win XP: Start>Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager Win Vista: Start>Control Panel>System>Device Manager Win 7: Start>Control Panel>Device Manager) 2 Locate your IEEE Bus Host Controllers tab, and click on the + to expand it The device name is usually in the form **FireWire chipset** 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller. We would recommend using either a Texas Instruments or a VIA FireWire chipset to avoid any such issues. Chipset Incompatibilities: The FireWire chip controls all data being streamed to and from the FireWire port, and certain chips have been known to cause problems with connectivity.
However, as there are a wide range of PC manufacturers, a wide range of FireWire hardware is used, and there are some incompatibilities to be aware of. Problems usually stem from either connecting multiple FireWire devices to the same bus (see above), or from a FireWire port that has physically been damaged in some way.
Under these circumstances, we would recommend using multiple FireWire buses by installing a PCI/PCIe card (desktop), or a PCMCIA/ExpressCard (laptop).įireWire Port IncompatibilitiesWe have had no reports of incompatibilities between our FireWire devices and the built-in FireWire ports on any Apple Mac computers. When more data is being streamed than the FireWire chip can handle, audio dropouts and/or connection instability will be experienced. Whether it is possible to run multiple devices on the same FireWire bus will depend on what other FireWire devices are connected, and what they are doing. The FireWire chip is limited in the amount of data bandwidth it can handle, so the more FireWire devices connected to the FireWire bus, the greater chance there is of having more data than can be dealt with.
You may have multiple FireWire ports on your computer, but these are all connected to one physical chip, which controls the bus. Some of the main concerns are explained in more detail below.Ĭonnecting Multiple FireWire DevicesMost computers will generally be equipped with one FireWire bus. Focusrite IEEE 1394 (FireWire) Device CompatibilityIn many situations users will not experience any problems using their Focusrite FireWire product with their current setup, however if you are experiencing difficulties with connection and stability, one thing to take into consideration while troubleshooting is your FireWire bus.