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20. 1394/Firewire considerations
a. The Firewire Bus
Most computers will generally be equipped with a single Firewire bus connection. You may have multiple
Firewire ports (connectors) on your computer, but these are all normally connected to one physical chip,
which controls the bus.
The Firewire bus is limited in the amount of data bandwidth it can handle. Each additional Firewire device
connected to the Firewire bus demands additional bandwidth resources, thus increasing the chances of
exceeded the total available bandwidth. Consequently, it is recommended that ERGO be the only device
connected to the Firewire bus for best possible performance. ERGO and other devices connected to the same
Firewire bus should work but of course there are limitations which are dependent on their use.
Problems may arise depending on which Firewire devices are connected. For example, a Firewire disk used
for back-up or a digital camera should not cause any problems, but when streaming audio from a Firewire
hard disk or a Firewire DSP Unit, the total Firewire bandwidth may be reached. This will result in audio
dropouts, or reduced performance on either ERGO or the other connected Firewire device. For this reason, we
would recommend that you use a separate Firewire bus for each Firewire device. This may be a PCI / PCIe card
in your desktop, or a PCMCIA or Express card in your Laptop. ERGO has been tested successfully with many
other devices, but cannot guarantee audio streaming as this is dependent on usage.
b. FireWire Chipsets
High definition audio flowing over FireWire requires a consistent stream between the chipset in the host
computer and the chipset in ERGO. Unfortunately, some FireWire chipsets have known issues when it comes
to the reliability and synchronization required for streaming audio. It is suggested to only use the best quality
branded PCI and PCMCIA cards from professional manufacturers.
c. FireWire Cables
Another issue that can degrade Firewire performance is cable quality. Many cables, even ones that feel like
quality cables, do not adhere to the IEEE 1394 specification. Improper shielding and/or grounding are
common causes of cable issues, always ensure you use the cable supplied with ERGO, or if connecting to a 4-
pin or 9-pin port, we advise purchasing high quality cables from good quality, branded suppliers.
d. Firewire Bus Power
This requires use of the 6-pin to 6-pin Firewire cable supplied with your product or the use of a 9-pin to 6-pin
cable (purchased separately)
Note: bus-power is only available on 6-pin and 9-pin Firewire connections, if connecting to a laptop which
only has a 4-pin Firewire connector you will need to use the external power supply and a 4-pin to 6-pin cable
(purchased separately).
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