1394 Trade Association Highlights 1394 in Vehicles at Consumer Electronics Show's Digital Car Pavilion, Jan. 8-11

    DALLAS--Jan. 4, 2002--The 1394 Trade Association (www.1394ta.org) will join this year's Consumer Electronics Show in the Digital Car Pavilion, with the newest, most exciting applications for the world's leading multimedia standard in all kinds of cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles.
    The Digital Car Pavilion, located in the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall, is sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association. The annual International CES begins Jan. 8 and runs through Jan. 11.
    The 1394 Trade Association will display the current uses and benefits of the 1394-FireWire-i.LINK multimedia standard in vehicles, including embedded systems and in personal electronics products such as DV camcorders, video game machines, or MP3 players. It also will include examples of future 1394-based vehicle applications, such as collision avoidance systems. The TA also will display how simple it is for passengers to add their own personal devices into a car fitted with the 1394 network architecture, using the Customer Convenience Port (CCP) that is an important part of the IDB-1394 automotive specification.
    The TA has been a leader in development of the IDB-1394 automotive standard for audio-video and multimedia applications in vehicles. The standard was approved in early 2000 and has been implemented in several test vehicles from industry leaders such as Ford Motor Company, Mack Trucks, and Toyota Motors. It establishes the basic architecture, plastic fiber and copper connector specifications for a 1394 multimedia backbone that allows consumers to connect 1394-equipped portable consumer electronics products -- such as CD players, DVDs, games or computers -- in their cars or trucks.
    "Research and surveys from around the world show again and again that distributed audio-video and broadband connections are at the top of consumers' list of desired electronics features and capabilities," said James Snider, executive director of the 1394 Trade Association. "As we predicted in 1995, the 1394 standard is rapidly becoming adapted to a very wide range of applications and market sectors. These include cars and trucks, where 1394 provides an ideal, convenient network backbone for audio and video."
    The 1394 Trade Association includes more than 165 members worldwide dedicated to the advancement of the IEEE 1394 multimedia standard. For more information please visit the TA Web site at www.1394ta.org or call the headquarters office at 817/410-5750.