Firewire or USB 2.0

[RoConno]

If you had a choice, and you/I do, would you go firewire or USB 2.0 connectivity? Is one faster than the other? I don't think there are as many firewire capable extras as there are for USB 2.0.

 

[corkyg]

I have both and use both. For sustained, heavy data flow, such as burning a DVD, I use Firewire. For quick small jobs, USB 2. There are more USB devices around - that's the mass market. Firewire is a more mature technology - derived from SCSI III by Apple - hence, there is a bias against it from Redmond, WA. Firewire B leaves USB in the dust but there are few devices that use it.

I use Firewire for external HDDs as well. USB 2 for media readers, etc.

 

[RoConno]

Thanks for your response Corky-G. I think I understand the major differences now.

 

[BadThad]

USB, it's far more prevalent and compatible.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: BadThad
USB, it's far more prevalent and compatible.

And it is also more prone to simply dropping out. Firewire is more reliable. It really depends on what you want to do.

Prevalence is a given - all the lemmings are using USB. Compatible? I don't think you can make a technical case for that. Exactly what does that mean? Firewire was XP compatible before USB 2 was hatched.

The best solution is to have both capabilities. BTW - some digital cameras and camcorders have only a Firewire connection.

 

[Severian]

As a for instance, all my external devices such as hard drives, digital cameras, and mp3 players, utilize USB 2.0, which has always worked fine for me. However, my Sony digital camcorder can connect via either USB 2.0 or Firewire to the computer; but I can only capture video to the computer using the Firewire connection, as it's considered more reliable by Sony.