SAN FRANCISCO -- The 1394 Trade Association has issued a new technical background report identifying the benefits of the 1394-Automotive standard for new vehicle networking systems. The article compares the advantages of products based on the 1394-Automotive standard with a proposed Ethernet AVB specification.
The report generally praises 1394-Automotive’s flexibility, scalability, physical layer performance, and high-level protocols, which are said to enable a cost-efficient, compact, and lightweight automotive network for rear seat entertainment, vehicle safety, and other applications.
“The 1394 technology has been proven for years in consumer AV, PC and military applications, and we have defined the AV/C Digital Interface Command Set that enables audio and video products from different manufacturers to interoperate efficiently in the automotive network,” comments Max Bassler, chairman of the 1394 Trade Association. “The standard meets the automakers' requirements for cost-efficiency, high bandwidth, reliability, longevity and light weight. The flexibility of 1394 to bridge and connect with other legacy automotive point-to-point systems is a significant benefit."
Bassler continues, "Both entertainment and driver assist systems work seamlessly over 1394. Years of development remain ahead for an Ethernet-based automotive network technology. 1394-Automotive is here now, with proven device, cabling and protocol technology.”
The background report also details the reasons why any future Ethernet AVB device for the vehicle will look very different than a standard Ethernet device, despite Ethernet’s success in many networking applications. There is currently no high-level command and control protocol for plug-and-play connectivity, says the report, and Ethernet has not been deployed in such a capacity.
The article is available now at www.1394ta.org and has been published on John Day’s automotive electronics site at http://johndayautomotivelectronics.com/index.php?s=1394+AVB.
For more information, visit www.1394ta.org
