So whats the big deal?

[tec]

Why is firewire better than usb? just curious..

[Avid]

They use different architecture for accessing the drive.

Google your question

From the first hit...

FireWire vs. USB 2.0 - Architecture

• FireWire, uses a "Peer-to-Peer" architecture in which the peripherals are intelligent and can negotiate bus conflicts to determine which device can best control a data transfer
• Hi-Speed USB 2.0 uses a "Master-Slave" architecture in which the computer handles all arbitration functions and dictates data flow to, from and between the attached peripherals (adding additional system overhead and resulting in slower data flow control)

[IntelDoc]

However......

I have been VERY successful on my last projest using the "Digi Unapproved" USB 2.0 drives with no issues whatsoever...

Seagate 16mb cache 250 and 300 gig drives and the WD mybook drives...

Just a heads up DIGI...

Doc

[spkguitar]

And I have had nothing but trouble with USB 2.0 drives. Must be why the don't recommend them.

[VanDerGraf]

And I have had nothing but trouble with USB 2.0 drives. Must be why the don't recommend them.

LOL. Yeah, that must be why they don't recommend them. Because they don't work for *YOU*.

[spkguitar]

Definitely not what I meant.

Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't.

The real problem with USB drives is that their speeds are "burst rate" speeds. The total speed of transfer to the drive can be variable over the course of the transfer. I would hate for the transfer rate to dip to an unacceptable level rioght when I am trying to record the perfect guitart part...

With Firewire drives, the speeds are continuous/sustained transfer rates, which is more of what you are looking for when recording/playing back audio.

That's not to say that some USB drives won't work flawlessly (like Doc's), but, some USB drives won't work at all, and most USB drives will have problems, so... I can totally understand why they don't support them. My experiences with USB drives have been completely negative. Some, like Doc, have had success. I would hate to be one of the users on my side of the fence trying to use a USB drive.

However, my experiences with the recommended and qualified Oxford 911 firewire external drives have been completely positive in every respect. Not one error or problem (well, not one error that wasn't between the chair and the keyboard, anyway...)

Personally, if I want to gamble, I'll go to Vegas. If I want to make sure my audio is going to record corretly, I'll use the recommended drive, but that's just me...

I would imagine that the Digidesign testing staff has had similar experiences, and that is why one is recommended and qualified, and one... ummm... well, isn't.

[LSW]

I'm one of the lucky ones - no problems with my WD USB drive. Because of that, I wasn't convinced that firewire was better until I tried to connect my camcorder and a USB TV tuner card. The card just doesn't work most of the time. The camcorder will connect using both USB and firewire. USB is low-rez, while the firewire is flawless. It's just a good representation as to how each format streams and handles data.

[jeff markham]

i try to buy portable drives that have both USB 2.0 and Firewire
interfaces. there's such variety in controllers and motherboards that
if one of the protocols has problems, i'll switch to use the other.
if both have problems, it's usually an indication of serious issues
with the computer in-general.

that said, i prefer to use firewire whenever possible, particuarly when
chaining devices. as noted, the CPU is required to arbit the USB 2.0 protocol
and if you get close to drop out, it can improve the "smoothness" of operation.

jeff

[puremusic]

Can someone point me in a direction for a firewire drive that even have a connection for
the 002 rack. I just got a big ? when I asked for it in the computer store.
My USB2 drive works fine but it goes into rest when not using it for a while. So when I start
playing it take some time to get it going again. A few seconds, but, anyway.
I´m gonna need the USB drive for backup.

Peter

[VanDerGraf]

Definitely not what I meant.

I know, just giving you s**t, Spk.

I usually use an internal d:\ drive, but I have been "lucky" using my Acom 250GB external USB drive on occasion. But then, someone else could try the same drive and it might not work with their rig.
So many "X" factors.

Van