OT: diferent types of firewire cables what to buy?

newbie123 wrote on 6/4/2003, 11:09 AM

sorry for posting here, but i just go myself a new camcorder, sony trv 18 and i am looking to get a firewire cable to hook the cam to the computer.

while looking at the prices of the cables they seem to range from 7.00 including shipping on e-bay to 34.99 at some stores. i realize the old adage you get what you pay for is likely true here as in other things. but my question is, will i notice a difference transfering my video to the computer.

i have discovered there are three standards of firewire cable s100, s200, and s400, at least on the old firewire, not talking about the new 800 firewire.

am i correct in saying that all quad shielded cables are s400, and double shielded are s200?

what type of cable are you using?

i realize this isn't a ton of money, but i have very little cash and want to get a fair price with good quality, ie no dropped frames.

thanks.

dgg in ottawa

Comments

craftech wrote on 6/4/2003, 11:33 AM

I have a Belkin and the one which came with my camera. I don't notice a difference. I also have a 6-pin to 4-pin adapter which was really cheap and I don't notice a difference with that attached either.

cyanide wrote on 6/4/2003, 11:39 AM

I use the cheapest cable I could find- about $8. Never had a problem with it...

Jsnkc wrote on 6/4/2003, 11:40 AM

Look at firewire cables as simply a data cable and not a video cable. IF you get a cheap firewire cable it won't give you worse picture quality than with a expensive cable, I'd say get one on the cheaper end, there's no use to spending $50 on a firewire cable when you can get the same length cable for $10.

Video cables are much diffrent though because they have to carry a video signal instead of just 1's and 0's, if you get a cheap video cable you will most likely have signal problems.

Chienworks wrote on 6/4/2003, 11:44 AM

I bought three 6' cables on eBay for $9. Two of them work perfectly. The third one sometimes needs to be wiggled just a bit when first plugged in to make proper contact, but then after that transfers data perfectly. I figured at that price, if only one was good and two were garbage, it was still a good deal.

newbie123 wrote on 6/4/2003, 11:45 AM

thanks for all the reply's

my only question now, does anyone actually know what the difference is with all these firewire cables?

it seems they put out all these different kinds just to mess people up.

mdsh wrote on 6/4/2003, 12:02 PM

>i have discovered there are three standards of firewire cable s100, s200, and s400, at
>least on the old firewire, not talking about the new 800 firewire.

>am i correct in saying that all quad shielded cables are s400, and double shielded are
>s200?

No. The 'S' number is the speed in Mbps. The Firewire 1 if you like can connect devices that can communicate at upto 400Mbps. Some will devices can only commucincate at 100Mbps, some at 200Mbps and some (most?) at the full 400Mbps. The devices are (sometimes) labeled S100, S200 and S400 respectivly. I would assume that the cables are rated similarly.

I have a few Belkin firewire cables and one (very expensive) Sony cable and they all work fine.

newbie123 wrote on 6/4/2003, 12:55 PM

thanks for the posts everyone, i just ordered one from ebay, and i am confortable with the purchase, especially considering the price i paid.

if the cable doesn't work as i expect it too, then poo on me for trying to pay too little i guess.

thanks again.

dgg in ottawa

Former user wrote on 6/4/2003, 1:03 PM

I have never paid more than $8 for a firewire cable, and they all work fine. I wouldn't want to use them as a vine like Tarzan, but with normal care, they should last a while.

Dave T2