New Products

A week before the 1394 Auto Tech seminar, Molex Inc. introduced the HSAutoLink™ Interconnect System, a high-speed data bus for vehicles, to meet the needs of the "Connected Vehicle."  The connector and cabling system encompasses technologies incorporated from other Molex high volume products and industry standard applications such as 1394 Auto, USB 2.0, Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS), FlexRay and Ethernet.

HSAutoLink™ connectors and cables will bring FireWire and other technologies into the information and entertainment systems in vehicles.
"HSAutoLink is Molex's initial product offering that leverages its vast technology capabilities to support automakers as they enable the connected vehicle," said Mike Gardner, technical marketing manager for comfort and infotainment, Molex Incorporated. "We packaged an economical and widely deployed five-pin shielded interconnect system from the consumer market into a more rugged connector system to meet automakers’ mechanical requirements and the electrical demands of these high speed links at price points needed to enable acceptance and wide deployment of Telematics and Infotainment systems."

Computers and Storage
The new, 1394-equipped Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds is targeted at mobile users, with a Wacom Digitizer Tablet and X-Rite Color Calibrator. The ThinkPad W700ds takes all of the features offered by the W700 and adds a secondary, slide-out display, which increases monitor real estate by 39 percent.

The W700ds includes 1394a, 4GB of RAM, a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300, an NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 1GB GPU, and dual hard drives running in RAID 0 configuration. Pricing: $6,209.00 as configured. ThinkPad W700ds pricing starts at $2869 for a basic model.

The HP Pavilion A6750F desktop PC is built with AMD Phenom multi-core processors, and incorporates 1394a. The front panel features a 15-in-1 memory card reader, making it easy to transfer photos and files to and from digital cameras and other peripheral devices.  It includes an ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics card with 256MB dedicated membory (and up 3323MB shared graphics memory). The PC also has a LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+-R/RW, High Definition Audio configurable with 8 speakers, 802.11b/g Wireless LAN and 10/100/1000 Base T Ethernet LAN.

The 1394a-equipped Averatec N2700 from Trigem provides the computing power of an Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor, running at 2GHz. In addition, the laptop has been equipped with 4GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM, a 250GB SATA hard drive, a SuperMulti 8X dual-layer DVD/CD optical drive, integrated wireless 802.11 b/g, Ethernet LAN, mic-in, headphone-out and a multi-in-one card reader.

The 12.1-inch WXGA display is powered by the Intel GMA X4500HD graphics solution. In addition, the display features an integrated 1.3MP webcam, enabling immediate support for various chatting applications. The system comes equipped with a Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit operating system and weighs in at 4.0 pounds. Pricing starts under $2,000.

Fujitsu has introduced the latest in its 1394-equipped PC notebook series, the T5010, with 1394a connectivity.  The T5010 offers a wide range of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, from the 2.26GHz P8400 to the 2.8GHz T9600. Maximum RAM capacity is 4GB, although 8GB is in the pipeline with future 4GB memory modules. Graphics are handled by the GMA 4500MHD module integrated in the Intel GM45 Express chipset.

Wireless connectivity comes from Intel's WiFi Link 5300AGN (802.11a/b/g and Draft-N) and Bluetooth 2.1; mobile broadband (via a Sierra Wireless MC8790 module) is available as an option. Gigabit Ethernet is available for wired connection. There are several hard drive options including a 160GB hard drive, 320GB or 120GB hard drives or a 64GB solid state hard drive. The physical drives benefit from a shock protection system. The optical drive sits in a modular bay on the right side of the system.

The left edge houses the FireWire port, a pair of audio jacks, an ExpressCard slot, a SmartCard reader and a reader for SD- and Memory Stick-compatible media.  Pricing starts at $3,900.

Panasonic has released a new semi-ruggedized Toughbook, the CF-52, based on the Intel Core 2 Duo.  It is extremely easy to connect, with 1394a, along with SD and PC card slots, standard. In addition to Bluetooth and WLAN (standard), an optionional UMTS/HSDPA module can be integrated as an additional wireless solution.

The integrated DVD Multi Drive enables elaborate graphics and extensive product presentations on the 15.4-inch widescreen LCD. Pricing starts at $1,700. 

The HP TouchSmart Core 2 Duo All-in-One PC comes with a 22-inch touchscreen LCD panel display, designed to be responsive, and allowing the settings to be changed easily so that it runs according to user requirements. Height and tilt are easily adjusted, and the 22-inch wide-touchscreen BrightView LCD features a maximum resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels.  In addition to its 1394a port, it is equipped with a wireless keyboard, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN with integrated WLAN antenna, 0/100/1000 BaseT network interface, built-in Bluetooth v2.0, high performance 2.0 speakers with HD audio and  S/PDIF digital connection, 5-in-1 memory card reader, and line-in, line-out, headphone and digital audio out as audio ports. Also, there is a SuperMulti DVD Burner, which does exactly what a disc burner does.

The Formac 160GB disk mini™ FireWire 400, was developed as a solution for storage portability, flexibility and performance.  A durable, sleek design with fast FireWire 400 ports that also power the drive (so no need for external an power supply), the disk mini series also features an integrated shock absorption suspension system to protect the drive from the effects of day-to-day portable usage prolonging the life of the drive.  Pricing starts under $150. http://www.formac.com/webapp/index.php

With the Iomega Platinum Series 160GB External Hard Drive users can save up to 640,000 photos, 2,960 hours of music or 240 hours of video. Plus, with Touch-Free Iomega Automatic Backup software included, it enables instant backup.  1394b is included to maximize speed and bandwidth. Bundled software includes Disaster Recovery software for PC; Dantz Retrospect for MAC; Iomega Automatic Backup software; MusicMatch Jukebox Software (PC).Compatible operating systems include Microsoft® Windows® 98 / 98SE / 2000 Professional / Me / XP Home / XP Professional; Mac OS X or higher. Price $175.
www.iomega.com

Other World Computing has launched the 1394-equipped Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2, based on the Oxford 936QSE chipset and FireWire 400/800 connectivity at up to 300 MB/second.  It features four interfaces, four drive bays and multiple RAID settings. The unit runs RAID 1, 0, 1+0/10, 5 and NRAID configurations, and supports up to 8TB of SATA-connected storage using 2TB drives. The casing is shock-resistant, uses heat-dissipating aluminum, and is equipped with status LEDs as well as a keylock that limits hard disk access. Pricing ranges from $680 to $1,900 depending on configuration.

Video Production
At NAB 2009, AJA announced the KiPro, which allows direct recording of Apple’s ProRes422 or ProRes422(HQ) without any laptop, from any SD or HD camera or vision mixer ("switcher"). The KiPro, equipped with FireWire 400 and FireWire 800, won a Best of Show Vidy Award from Videography Magazine at NAB this year. It incorporates many types of inputs and outputs, is controllable wirelessly from a laptop or iPhone, and records to two types of removable media -- either ExpressCard34 (the type that fits into a MacBookPro), or its own storage module.

The two codecs are 10-bit, full raster 720p (1280x720) or 10-bit, full raster 1080 (1920x1080), with true 4:2:2 color sampling, and are immediately editable in Apple’s Final Cut Pro. The file sizes of ProRes422 and ProRes422(HQ) are certainly higher than those used in most onboard camera codecs, but for high-end EFP, many producers will gladly accept that. In addition to the HD specs mentioned, the KiPro can also accept SD signals, and either record them as ProRes422 or ProRes422(HQ) in SD, or upscale to HD. When dealing with analog standard definition video, KiPro can handle PAL, NTSC with 7.5 ire setup, or NTSC without 7.5 ire setup. the KiPro will be available in June 2009 for $3,995 including a storage module and a universal AC adaptor.

ICs, Cables and Connectors
Two new families of IP67 IEEE 1394 FireWire cable assemblies from L-Com are available for use in industrial or harsh environments. The new WP946PXX series features assemblies with one IP67 male to one standard six-position male connector, and another version with one IP67 female six-position connector to a standard six-position male connector. The assemblies are designed for applications where dust and moisture are prevalent and can be used to connect to enclosures, panels, or directly to peripherals or PCs. Pricing from L-com.

Fujitsu Microelectronics in mid April introduced its new MB88395 1394-compliant automotive controller with SmartCODEC for 1394 Auto infotainment, camera and navigation applications. The new chip integrates 1394 PHY, 1394 Link, SmartCODEC compression capabilities and digital transmission copy protection functions in one cost-efficient device running at 800 Megabits/second. The device continues Fujitsu Microelectronics’ leadership in 1394 Auto silicon technology. Pricing is set at $17 each in samples.

Cameras
QImaging, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance, easy-to-use digital cameras for life science applications, has introduced the EXi Blue Fluorescence Microscopy Camera. This new 1394b-enabled scientific camera is optimized for applications including live-cell fluorescence imaging and high-speed kinetic studies. The 30 MHz, 14-bit EXi Blue camera combines the speed of a 1394b interface with the megapixel resolution and sensitivity of a Sony ICX285 interline sensor. Optimized implementation of the 1394b protocol delivers 800 Mb/s bandwidth capacity, allowing the EXi Blue camera to read out up to 15 full-resolution frames per second. Flexible binning enhances the camera’s sensitivity and speed. Variable exposure times range from 10 microseconds to 17.9 minutes.

The EXi Blue camera comes with a simple software package that works with most applications, and can be installed quickly and easily.   Price on request.

Point Grey Research now has a black model of its popular 1394-equipped Ladybug3 spherical digital video system. The Ladybug 3 is designed and manufactured by Point Grey as a complete hardware and software package that delivers 12 Megapixels of high resolution 360-degree visual coverage using six Sony CCDs. It is ideal for applications that require ultra-high resolution, and boasts a weather-resistant case, direct FireWire connection, and the ability to synchronize to external devices such as an external trigger or light source. The Ladybug3 system is pre-calibrated to enable high quality spherical image stitching, and uses an embedded JPEG compression engine and 800 Mbit/s IEEE 1394b interface to stream full 12 MP images at 15 FPS to the host system. Pricing on request.