IEEE1394 Use on Decline

by Michael Perlman
Published on Jun 27, 2007 10:49 AM



June 27, 2007 - A new study from In-Stat reveals that IEEE 1394, branded as FireWire, i.Link, or DV cables by various manufacturers, is on the decline. IEEE 1394 is expected to reach its peak in 2008 and gradually go extinct by the year 2009. Taking its place is USB 2.0, which has a 100% saturation in the PC market, versus 33%-and-dropping for 1394.

“1394’s historic one-third penetration of the PC market is now dwarfed by high-speed USB’s... penetration. This has helped high-speed USB become the interface of choice for PC peripherals,” explained Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. DVD, HDD, and flash memory cards all employ USB, and consumers can expect to find a USB terminal on any camcorder utilizing the aforementioned formats.

Camcorders are, in fact, at center of the IEEE 1394 ecosystem, according to In-Stat. However, 1394 is used primarily in tape-based camcorders, which are also slowly declining in popularity amongst consumers. In addition, camcorder growth overall is also falling, while digital camera use is on the rise, placing an even larger emphasis on USB preference.

The full report from In-Stat is available for purchase.