Adaptec AFW-4300 Service manual

USER’S
REFERENCE
AFW-4300
400 MBPS FIREWIRE HOST BUS ADAPTER

R
AFW-4300
User’s Reference

iii
Contents
Introduction 1
System Requirements 3
PC Compatible 3
Macintosh 3
Additional Requirements for Video Editing and
Capturing 4
For Windows 4
For Macintosh 4
Contents of Box 5
About DV Technology 6
About 1394 Technology 7
Troubleshooting 8

1
In this book:
Introduction
The Adaptec AFW-4300 Host Adapter (or AFW-4300) is a PCI
interface board that can enable your Personal Computer with
IEEE-1394 functions. With the AFW-4300, you can connect Digital
Video (DV) camcorders or other devices with a 1394 digital interface
to any PC compatible or Power Macintosh®computer with PCI
expansion slots.
Introduction 1
System Requirements 3
Contents of Box 5
About DV Technology 6
About 1394 Technology 7
Troubleshooting 8

2
AFW-4300 User’s Reference
The AFW-4300 features include:
■IEEE-1394-compliance
■Up to 400 Megabits per second (Mbps) transfer rate
■Three external connectors
■Open architecture API (OHCI Compliant)
■Compatibility assurance
To install your AFW-4300, see the AFW-4300 Installation Guide
included in your kit.

3
System Requirements
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements for the AFW-4300 are:
PC Compatible
■IBM-compatible PC, 266 MHz Processor or above
■Microsoft Windows®98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows
2000®, or Windows ME®
■Available PCI slot
■CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
Macintosh
■Mac OS 8.6 or higher
■Apple PowerMac 8600/9600 or later
■Apple FireWire®2.4 drivers or later
■Available PCI slot
■CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

4
AFW-4300 User’s Reference
Additional Requirements for Video Editing and
Capturing
■64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
■50 MB of available hard drive space for program files and
digital audio/video content
Note: DV uses 250 MB per minute of capture.
■DV camcorder or other device equipped with 1394 interface
For Windows
■266 MHz Processor or equivalent (350 MHz recommended)
■Monitor that supports 1024 x 768 resolution at 16-bit color
mode
■16-bit stereo sound card with speakers
■Video card with 4 MB RAM
For Macintosh
■350 MHz G3 processor or better (G4 recommended)
Note: For non-G3/G4 PowerPC’s, full-frame, full motion
video might not be possible.
■Digital video editing software such as Apple iMovie, Adobe
Premiere, EditDV Unplugged, or Apple Final Cut Pro

5
Contents of Box
Contents of Box
The contents in this kit are:
■Adaptec AFW-4300 Host Adapter
■6-to-4 pin FireWire cable
■AFW-4300 Hardware Installation Guide
■FireConnect 4300 CD containing:
■MGI VideoWave 4 DV editing software for Windows
■Links to latest Macintosh FireWire software and drivers
■Warranty Information
■Software License Agreement

6
AFW-4300 User’s Reference
About DV Technology
DV technology is a standard digital file and compression format for
recording video and audio data onto a digital tape. DV uses
compression to reduce the enormous size of the uncompressed
video data (much like processing 30 full-screen bitmap images every
second) to file sizes manageable by desktop computers.
DV digitizes and compresses video in the camera before the video is
recorded to tape and transfers the data directly to a hard drive
through the digital 1394 interface. In so doing, DV avoids having to
use analog conversion processes that can degrade video quality.
By avoiding analog conversion processes, DV maintains a much
higher level of clarity and picture quality at far lower data transfer
rates than is possible with customary analog video digitizing cards.

7
About 1394 Technology
About 1394 Technology
1394 (also known as FireWire or i.LINK) is an international standard
data transfer protocol created by Apple Computer, Inc. and ratified
by the International Standards Organization as IEEE 1394. Like
other data I/O protocols such as SCSI, Fibre Channel, and IDE, 1394
itself knows nothing about video, compression, or editing. It is a
series of standardized commands for moving data from one device
to another.
1394 offers advantages that make it ideal for use with audio and
video devices:
■It’s fast
It has 100/200/400 Mbps, or 12.5/25/50 MBps data transfer
rates.
■It’s guaranteed
Both isochronous (guaranteed bandwidth, ensuring full-frame,
full motion video, and CD-quality audio) and asynchronous
data transfers.
■It’s consumer friendly
Small connectors, hot-pluggable (meaning you can connect
and disconnect DV devices without rebooting a computer),
and no need for terminators or setting device IDs.
■It’s expandable
Supports up to 62 devices (16 daisy-chained) with a 4.5m
flexible cable between devices over a total length of up to 72m
or 240 feet.