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Canon GL Series DV Camcorders
Canon GL2, GL1 and PAL versions XM2, XM1.

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Old February 25th, 2003, 04:14 PM   #1
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firewire cable question

Has anyone used the cheaper "no name" firewire cables being sold on eBay? I know that the connectors are flimsy by nature on these cables but I'm getting really sick of paying for the overinflated price of Monster cables. Seems to me, this is exactly what eBay is good for... cheap stuff... Sorry if this has already been talked about, I tried doing a search to no avail...

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Old February 25th, 2003, 05:06 PM   #2
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I recently purchased a 3' 4pin to 4pin IEEE1394 Firewire cable for .99 cents... It does the job just fine.

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Old February 25th, 2003, 06:19 PM   #3
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Modest cost cables work fine for most purposes. Monster cables mainly provide status and bragging rights (in some circles) while deflating the billfold.

I've not bought cables on ebay - I found that ebay tends to be overpriced for many things.
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Old February 25th, 2003, 06:30 PM   #4
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Max,
Actually, this hasn't been discussed (in my memory).

I wasn't aware that Monster Cable had moved into the Firewire realm. While MC may have some faint bragging rights in the world of analog signal cables, they don't in the digital world. Don't waste your money paying them a marketing premium.

I also wouldn't bother with eBay for cables. Radio Shack, or other generic Firewire cables will generally do just fine.
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Old February 25th, 2003, 07:06 PM   #5
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Ken,

You're probably right as far as Monster goes. I recently bought an optical cable for my home theater and for some reason I had it in my mind that it was Monster. Thanks for the response, I'll go for a less expensive cable.

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Old February 25th, 2003, 10:18 PM   #6
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I've traced dropped frame issues to firewire cables. Be careful of the length of firewire 400 cables. I'm not sure that 6 foot is recommended without special cables. With generic cables the shorter the better would be my recommendation.
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Old February 25th, 2003, 10:28 PM   #7
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This article from the Apple site's knowledge-base, seems to confirm Jeff's remarks concerning cable length.

There are (much) longer cables available but they have some type of repeaters built-in to maintain signal integrity.
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Old February 26th, 2003, 05:07 AM   #8
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Monster Cable is into S-VIDEO, composiite video, audio, fiber optic (Toslink and mini), data (with RCA connctors) , passive s-video -to-composite adapters, rf splitters, y-asdapters, surge protectors, speaker connectors, speaker cable, and IEEE1394 cables. All at a premium price. THe longest IEEE1394 cable I've seen listed from Monster is 4 meters.

Long cable relies on excellent cable with low losses, including retaining the pulse shape. 4.5m is the Firewire cable spec. Probably set at aconservative to allow for low cost cable, manufacturing tollerances, and minimally performing firewire gear.

MarkerTek offes IEEE 1394 cable lengths to 70 feet, w/o repeaters at 100 Mbps data rates.

Focus (Videonics) offered lengths to 50 meters. http://www.videonics.com/products/distancedv/'.
Elite Video is another retail outlet with longer cables (100')
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Old February 27th, 2003, 06:39 AM   #9
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I just ordered a generic cable from a place in Ohio. Cost 7$ + shipping. I'll let you know how it works....
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Old February 27th, 2003, 10:56 PM   #10
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interesting.........

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : I've traced dropped frame issues to firewire cables. Be careful of the length of firewire 400 cables. I'm not sure that 6 foot is recommended without special cables. With generic cables the shorter the better would be my recommendation. -->>>

Jeff/Ken,
Is this true across platforms (e.g. Win/Mac)?

The example Ken provided was in "Mac-lish". <;~)
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Old February 27th, 2003, 11:02 PM   #11
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Dan,
Regarding the cable length recommendation, the answer would be yes. I believe the guideline is based principally on the IEEE 1394 specifications which are platform-independent.
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Old February 27th, 2003, 11:13 PM   #12
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Don P.,
Yes, I've seen those very long Firewire cables in the Markertek catalog and wondered about them. There's a Distance DV (brand) that runs up to 50 meters. It's description reads:
Quote:
Distance DV is comprised of single IEEE-1394 compatible cable with a built in proprietary filter and equalizer that connects directly to DV devices. This special design reduces attenuation and noise common with long distance cable runs.
Hey, for a $600 piece of cable it better contain something "proprietary"!
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Old February 28th, 2003, 11:54 AM   #13
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thanks for the onfo Ken

<NT>
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Old March 1st, 2003, 06:39 AM   #14
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Just tried my $7 firewire cable. It actually looks heavier than the $30 one I got fron Circus City.....works great!
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Old March 1st, 2003, 09:43 AM   #15
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George,

That's good to hear. I ended up having to buy one of those 30.00 Circuit City ones yesterday as I had to have it immediately and they are the ONLY store in Myrtle Beach carrying firewire cables right now. I think I'll order a couple of the cheapies now so that I don't run into this predicament again...

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