Microsoft Corporation’s new Windows 7 release guarantees optimal FireWire performance in video, audio, storage, instrumentation, and other innovative new PC applications, the 1394 Trade Association said.

The 1394 bus driver was rewritten for Windows 7 to add support for higher speeds and alternative media as defined in the IEEE-1394b specification. The legacy stack will also be present on Windows 7, providing compatibility with virtually everything that worked with previous versions.

Microsoft has a technical backgrounder on Win7 FireWire support entitled '1394 Bus Driver in Windows 7.' It provides information about IEEE 1394 support in Windows 7 so that 1394 developers can understand the new 1394 bus driver and provide support for higher speeds and alternative media.

“Win7 support for 1394b provides significant benefits to designers, developers and users who rely on FireWire 800 for their computer, consumer, industrial and, in the future, automotive, applications,” said Max Bassler, chairman of the 1394 Trade Association. “Microsoft has also added the 1394b protocol stack to its latest MS Auto Version 4.0 for the automotive systems environment, another very positive development.”

1394b is being applied in products and systems that require reliable peer-to-peer connectivity over long distances. It features 800 Mbps bandwidth with no host required, optimize bandwidth utilization, and provides all-digital signaling, longer cabling distances (up to 100 meters), loops for redundant connections, and additional types of cables, among other benefits for the PC, consumer electronics and automotive industries.