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When it comes to FireWire audio interfaces, count on Sweetwater for the most reliable selection anywhere! Our enormous warehouse and free shipping ensures you'll get it fast and at a great value. To help you choose from the many FireWire audio interfaces available, Sweetwater's friendly Sales Engineers are at your service. When a FireWire® 800 device that is designed to use a beta connector is plugged into a FireWire® 400 device or port, performance and transfer speeds will typically suffer. There are a few other types of FireWire® connectors, including proprietary connector types that use different versions of the IEEE 1394 standard. FireWire, one of the first systems for digital video, crossed over from the computer industry. Here are some details on this type of digital video connection: FireWire (also called IEEE 1394 or i.LINK) was originally developed by Apple Computer for connecting peripheral devices to Macintosh computers.
If you own a laptop, particularly a work or business notebook, chances are that it is laced with a good number of ports that it sometimes could become overwhelming keeping track of their names or what it does exactly, especially to a newbie. Some of the ports are even available in different versions.
Types Of Firewire Ports
Contrary to the belief of a few laptop users, ports aren’t for aesthetical purposes. This is why this article will guide you through the common (and uncommon) ports you’d find on laptops, their uses, available types/versions, and also how you can easily identify ports on your laptops.
1. USB Ports
USB is an acronym that stands for Universal Serial Bus (USB) and it’s the most common port you find on a laptop. In fact, if you use a MacBook Pro, it’s the only port available you’d find on the laptop. USB ports are usually used for file transfer between your laptop and other devices (laptops, storage disks, smartphones etc), attaching and charging peripherals, and also sometimes serve as a laptop’s charging point.
![Types of firewire ports for sale Types of firewire ports for sale](/uploads/1/1/9/5/119584994/922548447.jpeg)
USB ports comes in different types and each have their individual distinct characteristics. At the moment, there are three known types of USB connection ports.
USB Type-A (or USB-A)
This is 4-pin connector that is available in different types and versions: USB 1.1, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and USB 3.1. The USB 2.0 are typically colored black or gray while the USB 3.0 ports are Blue or Turquoise colored. The USB 3.0 has however been renamed by the USB Implementors Forum as USB 3.1 Gen 1.
USB 3.0
So, technically, USB 3.0 doesn’t exist anymore. If you see a laptop with a USB 3.0 port, it probably is a couple of years old. There is, however, another version of the USB 3.1 called the Gen 2 which sports transfer rate twice (10Gbps) that of the Gen 1 (5Gbps).
To know which generation (or speed) of USB 3.1 your laptop sports, you’d have to take a look at your device specs sheet as it is always specified by the manufacturer. Alternatively,
- Right on ‘My Computer / This PC‘
- Select ‘Manage‘
- Select ‘Device Manager‘
- Expand ‘Universal Serial Bus controller‘ and you should see detailed information about your laptop’s USB types and versions.
USB Type-C (or USB-C)
This is the newest and latest type of USB port that is fast replacing the USB Type-A on laptops and Type-B on other devices. Unlike the rectangle-shaped Type-A with 4-pin connector, the USB-C is slimmer, smaller, and comes with 24-pins which makes it handle higher currents and faster transfer speed.
As laptops and notebooks are getting slimmer, The USB-C port is being used by many manufacturers over USB-A.
2. RJ-45 Ethernet port
RJ-45 port and cable
RJ stands for Registered Jack and a RJ-45 Ethernet port allows you to connect to the internet on your laptop through a compatible ethernet cable. The RJ-45 port has an 8 pin – 8 contact (8P – 8C) connector and sometimes comes with two LED lights indicating packet detection and transmission.
3. SD Card reader
This is used to easily transfer files to/from a SD card. They are small, convenient, and usually found on business and portable notebooks and 2-in-1 hybrids.
![Types Types](/uploads/1/1/9/5/119584994/542453798.jpg)
4. HDMI port
A High Definition Media Interface (HDMI) port permits the transfer of audio and video signals between your laptop and other devices like laptops, digital cameras, monitors, game consoles, projectors etc. About HDMI versions, the latest is the HDMI 2.1 while older versions are the HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 1.4.
The HDMI 2.1 come with better audio and visual capabilities and features then the HDMI 2.0, and likewise the 2.0 betters the 1.4. However, it is difficult telling you difference in the port versions physically as they are sport similar 19-pin connector and are backward compatible. To know the version of your laptop’s HDMI port, check through the user’s manual or simply Google search.
Types of HDMI ports
There are four (4) different types of HDMI ports and unlike the versions, they can be easily identified by physical examination. Types of HDMI ports include HDMI Type-A (standard), HDMI Type-C (mini HDMI), Type-D (micro HDMI), and Type-E.
Types A, C, and D are commonly used on laptops while Type-E is reserved for automotive applications.
(L – R): HDMI Type-A, Type-C, and Type-D plugs
5. DisplayPort
This port (like HDMI) comes with a 20-pin connector and also sends video and audio signal to external display devices like monitors. There are two types of DisplayPorts used on modern-day laptops: standard DisplayPort and mini DisplayPort. Below are images of the two types of DisplayPorts for identification purposes.
You’d find mini DisplayPorts mostly on Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablets and Apple’s MacBook Pro. Standard full-size DisplayPorts are usually found on bigger sized laptops and (mostly) come with a locking mechanism that prevents attached cables from disconnecting accidentally.
Standard DisplayPort
6. ThunderBolt 3
Although this port is identical to the regular USB-C port, they operate on different protocols. Basically, the ThunderBolt 3 is a USB-C port that supports higher and faster transfer speed of up to 40 Gbps, four times that of regular USB-C Gen 2.
Also, all ThunderBolt 3 ports can function as a USB-C port but not all USB-C ports have ThunderBolt 3 features. To identify a ThunderBolt 3 port on your laptop, look out for a USB-C port with a thunder-like (⚡) inscription next to it, like the ports in the image below.
A ThunderBolt 3 ports hold many advantages over regular USB-C. However, in terms of compatibility, you MIT use a ThunderBolt 3 compatible cable to enjoy the full features of the port.
Types Of Firewire Cables
A ThunderBolt 3 compatible cable
Type-C can hit transfer speeds of 10 Gbps, but Thunderbolt 3 can hit a blistering speed of 40 Gbps, provided that the cable is no longer than 1.6 feet. If the cable is longer than that, the speed drops to 20 Gbps, which is still plenty fast.
The different types of FireWire® adapters are cards, hubs, pen drive-style adapters, and cables. These different adapters can be used to convert between FireWire® 400 and 800 and universal serial bus (USB) connections. Some users may prefer to classify the adapters by the connection types they work with rather than the specific method of adaptation. Most hubs and cards work with the majority of connections, but pen drive-style adapters and cables specifically convert from one connection to another. FireWire® is a form of high speed data transfer, with FireWire® 800 offering an 800 megabytes per second transfer rate.
Cables are the simplest type of FireWire® adapters. One end of the cable has one type of connection and the other end has another type of connection. This means these adapters are limited to working with two different types of connection, for example FireWire® 800 and 400, and can be used either way around: from 400 to 800 or 800 to 400. The original wire which comes with the device is rendered useless if there isn’t a matching port on the user’s computer and he or she uses a cable adapter.
Pen drive-style FireWire® adapters work in a similar way to cable adapters, but they have one female input side and one male output side. This means that they can only be used to change one specific type of connection into another type of connection. For example, a pen drive adapter might have a FireWire® 400 input and a USB output. It can only connect to the USB slot on the user’s computer, and therefore can’t be used to convert a USB connection to FireWire® 400. Users need to use the original wire that came with the device to make use of this type of adapter.
Cards and hubs are two more types of FireWire® adapters. Hubs feature multiple ports for input and one or more output ports to connect to the user’s computer. Some hubs feature multiple ports for the same type of input, allowing the user to connect several devices to one port on his or her computer. Cards attach to the motherboard or network card slot on the user’s computer and feature multiple input ports. These solutions offer the user the widest range of connectivity.
The maximum connection speed when using FireWire® adapters is the same as the slowest device. FireWire® 400 provides a 400 megabyte per second transfer rate, and if connected to an 800 port with the use of an adapter, still works at the same the maximum speed. The reason for this is that the data doesn’t go to the faster connection quickly enough to be transferred at higher speeds. Likewise, if a faster connection is changed into a slower one, the information comes in quickly, but can’t be relayed to the computer as quickly by the slower connection.