News

1394 Trade Association's Latest Home Entertainment Network (18/11/2004)

-- Also Showing Newnex' FireNEX CAT-5 and MiniFlex Products --

The 1394 Trade Association will feature the latest, most advanced home entertainment network, at the EH Expo in Long Beach. The 1394 network, along with new cabling and connector products, will be shown at booth 1112.

Built using the newest HDTV, Digital VHS, computer, storage, and audio equipment from industry leaders worldwide, the home entertainment network demo will showcase how FireWire can connect a wide range of different devices over distances up to 100 meters at between 100 Megabits/second and 250 Megabits/second.

High definition video starts in a pair of D-VHS systems provided by JVC, and is delivered over CAT-5 cabling and plastic optical fiber through a master network hub, the TP-FH4 five-port 1394b, developed by USTec, Inc. Video then moves to a Mitsubishi HD5000 for display on a plasma or flat panel display, and to a Hewlett-Packard Media Center PC. The demonstration includes file sharing between Sony VAIO and Media Center computers, and a shared Internet connection between them. It also incorporates whole house audio, using a Pioneer DVD player and A/V processor.

The TP-FH4 hub connects four 1394b wall plates, two using CAT-5 and two using plastic optical cables, with wall plates powered from the hub over the CAT-5 cable. The fifth hub port is a bilingual jack used to connect to 1394-enabled equipment located in the cabinet or to connect two TP-FH4 hubs together to work as an eight- port system.

Also in the 1394 TA booth will be the FireNEX-CAT5(tm) from Newnex, Technology Inc., an IEEE1394b compliant repeater for long distance connections. The FireNEX-CAT5(tm) is capable of sending IEEE1394 signals across a regular category 5 cable and POF at data rates of 100 Mbps up to 100 meters in length. Bus-powered by the cable to simplify installation and reduces cost, it is housed in a box smaller than a deck of cards.

The 1394 TA booth also will feature Fiber Optic distribution and management systems from Miniflex, Inc., designed to help minimize potential hazards that result from mishandling fibers during installation, maintenance and upgrades. There also is a demonstration of the new, easy-to-use FiberFin(r) all-in-one hand tool, for processing POF duplex cable.

The 1394 Trade Association is a worldwide organization dedicated to the enhancement and advancement of the 1394/FireWire standard.

www.1394ta.org