FireWire/i.LINK/1394 on XPS

A l502x xps 15 was delivered today but I haven't opened it for the lack of firewire... thinking of selling or returning it since there isnt even an expresscard slot.

Do/did the other XPS models possess firewire ports? Is it reasonable to expect newer Dells bearing a 1080p B+RGLED display to have the interface?

In other words, did they omit it on the l502x? Is the omission an anomaly or the norm?

 

I think the firewire will be removed from all future notebook has no hope against Usb 3.0.

 

From all or just Dell?

The new T series Thinkpads all have firewire.

 

What do you use firewire for? USB 3.0 and thunderbolt blow it out of the water.

 

It 's just my opinion.
The performance of USB 3.0 is much higher than Firewire, maybe in future there will be a USB 3.0 to Firewire adapter.

 

My audio and video equipment use firewire interfaces. Firewire may have had lower latency than usb2 and I don't know about usb3 but I've found no audio and some video gear now using usb3.

I guess I am shocked given the size of the xps 15 that dell engineers/marketing chose not to place a firewire port somewhere. Could have been the perfect system for me and I bet others.

Any other oems using this 1080p B+RGLED screen that may have firewire?

 

I think the real problem not is the lack of firewire ports, but the absence of Express card slot.

USB 3.0 rate of 4800Mbit/s
Firewire 800 rate of 787Mbit/s

 

Yeah I was pretty bummed out when my exchange came in, I can't use my CAC card reader, had to purchase a usb one that's pretty bulky to carry around when I get sent somewhere. I was very dissapointed in that coming from and XPS M1530.

 

if possible i would hack install an expresscard slot replacing the l502x's optical drive.

 

Yes, the FireWire issue.

Comparing speed between USB2/3 and FireWire is not the issue here.
When connection audio/video equipment using FireWire, the interface is used to control the equipment. Start play, stop, rewind, forward etc are part of the FireWire features.

For instance, to "capture" video from a camcorder, the software send a play and transfer data to the camcorder which starts playing the video and the videostream is transferred to the PC and saved as file on disc.

The speed of transfer is not that important as USB2, which is in real life somewhat slower than FireWire, can easily keep up.

There are some products advertised which claim to be a hub or converter between USB and FireWire, but they do not work. And the issue is that using USB the control signals are not "converted". So you can not control the equipment when using a converter between USB and the FireWire cable.
And without these signals, the equipment does not respond to the signals send from the software used.

I have looked but did not find any solution.

So, when FireWire is a must for you, don't buy the new XPS machines.

For me, I keep my old Acer laptop which has a firewire connector and use it just to transfer video to an external HD and use my new XPS for the actual videoediting.

 

Xymox, I was thinking of using my older sony laptop just for the firewire and the xps for editing... but the issue remains.

Clearly firewire will be used with a/v for the foreseeable future but the discussion is alive today with diminishing laptop ports:
A Presonus agent stating: "Firewire is far from dead."

 

The SXPS16 has both Firewire and Expresscard. I also use my expresscard for a CAC reader, I don't think I'd buy a laptop that didn't have one. Ports are starting to disappear from all consumer laptops now though, not just the Dells. No more port replicators (for those of us who still occasionally need a serial port), firewire, expresscard, optical drives on some models, etc. USB3 is great and all, but it will be years before people replace all their older devices with USB3 ones.

If you want all the old ports you're missing, you'd have to get a business-class laptop, but business-class + decent screen and GPU = $$$$$