#Connect firewire 800 to usb serial

The USB standard has nearly wiped out the need for serial and parallel ports. USB ports provide power to the device connected to them, so an external power supply is not needed to power the device, while it is being used. The concept of plug-and-play is due to the USB specification. It is a standard used to connect peripherals to a computer. Other companies such as Sony and Texas Instruments have their own brand of the 1394 interface, named i.Link and Lynx respectively. As a standard, 1394 was developed in 1986 by Apple, who gave it the brand name “FireWire”. A FireWire connection has the same purpose as a USB connection: it connects 1 device to another, and allows for real-time data transfer. The official classification name for FireWire is IEEE 1394 interface. So what is a FireWire port, and what is the difference between it and a USB port? Once you are savvy with the real deal, the most obvious question is whether you can you convert FireWire to USB! To find out the answers to these questions, read on for an in-depth look at these two port specifications. Just plug your device in to the port, and… wait a minute, the plug will not fit into the port! This might happen, if you are trying to connect a device with a FireWire plug, to your computer’s USB port.

#Connect firewire 800 to usb mac

Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac computer, giving you a FireWire 800 port that supplies up to 7W for bus-powered peripherals like hard drives and audio devices.How do you connect a device to your computer? Through ports, of course. Easily connect your Thunderbolt-equipped Mac to a FireWire device with the Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter. Can FireWire 800 connect to Thunderbolt 3? So while you can use an adapter to plug an older FireWire device into a newer port (like Thunderbolt 2 or USB3) the other way is simply not feasible. However, none of them are forward compatible. Thunderbolt is backward compatible, as is FireWire and USB. Is FireWire 800 the same as 1394?įireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b-2002) However, while the IEEE 1394a and IEEE 1394b standards are compatible, FireWire 800’s connector, referred to as a beta connector, is different from FireWire 400’s alpha connectors, making legacy cables incompatible. But it definitely became a niche product, with even Apple eventually dropping the port from its MacBooks. It’s still in use in many high-end setups, and you can still buy Firewire drives today. Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 USB C adapter.įirewire didn’t die. A FireWire 400 to 800 adapter (only if you have a FireWire 400 device). If you want to connect FireWire to USB C, you also need to prepare the following 3 items. No, it is not possible to connect a FireWire interface to your computer’s USB port via a FireWire to USB adapter since this connection is not sufficient to run a FireWire audio interface. The naming scheme is accurate though, as it represents the actual speed of the cable: 400 Mbps vs. The older standard, FireWire 400, is a flatter connector with one rounded side, and the faster 800 version resembles a fat USB connector. How can you tell FireWire 400 from 800?įireWire 800 vs. FireWire 800 effectively doubles the bandwidth of the original FireWire 400 interface. What Is The Difference Between FireWire 400 And FireWire 800? Essentially, the main difference between the two interfaces can be summed up in one word: speed.